Black September: The 1970–71 Events and their Impact on the Formation of Jordanian National Identity
Soon after the 1967 War, the Palestinian Resistance Movements (PRM) which established themselves in Jordan challenged Jordan's authority presenting a military and even existential threat to Hashemite rule. The prestige of the fedayeen as the primary torchbearers of the struggle against Israel rose dramatically following the Karameh Operation of March 1968, which was perceived as a military victory by the PRM and entrenched its legitimacy. The period between the Karameh raid and September 1970 was characterized by the strengthening of the fedayeen organizations and their entrenchment in Jordan by means of the establishment of autonomous military, political, and social institutions. The bloody events of September 1970–July 1971 induced a change in Jordan's official ideological line and marked a significant step in the coalescence of Jordanian national identity. From then on, the particularist trans-Jordanian identity in Jordan was emphasized more explicitly, along with such other attributes of this identity as Bedouin tribal identity, Islamic identity, and Hashemite identity.