1971 Palestinian coup d'état

The 1971 Palestinian coup d'état refers to events from 17 to 19 September 1971, when the government of the Republic of Palestine was overthrown and replaced. The coup, which deposed the administration of President Ahmad Shukeiri and the Palestine Arab Party, was led by both civilian and military officials loyal to the Palestinian Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party with help from the Communist Party of Palestine, and supported by Syrian military intelligence. The coup was followed by the 1971 Palestinian presidential election, which saw Ba'ath Party Regional Secretary Rifaf Khan win by a landslide. Legislative elections were subsequently held in early 1972 for the Palestine Arab Congress, in which the Ba'athists gained a majority of seats followed by the Communists. Following the legislative election, the Ba'athists and Communists formed the National Progressive Front (NPF) with three smaller allied leftist parties, which to this day holds over three-quarters of seats in Congress.

These events are officially referred to by the Palestinian government as the Revolution of September 1971 (Arabic: ثورة أيلول عام ١٩٧١ thawrat aylūl ‘ām alf wa tisa‘at mi’ah wa wāḥid wa saba‘ūn). It was the last successful coup in modern Palestinian history, with the Ba'ath Party having ruled ever since and dominating legislative politics through the NPF.