On this date, September 16th, in 1970, Jordanian armed forces attacked the headquarters of the PLO in Jordan, killing 10,000 to 25,000 "Palestinians", an event which came to be called "Black September" by the "Palestinians".

"Palestinians" living in Jordan under Yasir Arafat had been active against the Jordanian government since the 1950's.  They agitated for King Hussein's overthrow; they wore military uniforms and carried their weapons openly in public; they set up checkpoints to extort "protection" money from motorists and shopkeepers;  they kidnapped their fellow Jordanians for ransom;  they set up their own "police" force and refused to allow Jordanian investigation of crimes committed by "Palestinians."  They wantonly murdered Jordanian soldiers and civilians.  Future Jordanian Prime Minister Zaid al-Rifai said that "the [jihadis] killed a soldier, beheaded him, and played soccer with his head in the area where he used to live."

The "Palestinians" in Jordan were supported politically and materially by Egypt and Syria, and financially by Saudi Arabia.

In early September, 1970, the "Palestinian" jihadis made several attempts to assassinate fellow Muslim King Hussein.  Around the same time, they also hijacked five airliners, flew them to Dawson's Field in Jordan, and blew them up in front of live televsion cameras.

Finally, on September 16th, Hussein declared martial law and ordered his soldiers to attack PLO headquarters.  As usual, the jihadis were soundly routed and forced to retreat.  That's when things started to get interesting.

On September 18th the Syrians invaded Jordan with tanks and troops.  King Hussein frantically called on the U.S. and Britain to step in militarily to save his regime.  President Nixon and Prime Minister Heath each sent several aircraft carriers to the region, and increased troop levels.  In response, the Soviet Union sent a fleet of their warships to the region, to protect the Syrians and their other allies in the region.  The Israelis sent aircraft sorties over the Syrians, and forced them to withdraw back to Syria.  Eventually, with the "Palestinians" expelled, the situation stabilized, and relative peace returned to Jordan.

In October 1974,  Yasir Arafat met in negotiation with King Hussein.  Arafat demanded that Jordan allow the PLO to return to Jordan and reestablish their state-within-a-state.  Hussein declined.

Previous Days in the "Religion of Peace™":

Sept 15: Ottomans conquer Persia
Sept 14: Assassination of Gemayel
Sept 13: Confiscation of Armenian property
Sept 12: Salvation of Vienna
Sept 11: Sept 11