Palestinian commander Rebelled against Yasser Arafat to form a rival party Abu Musa was a military commander. A Jordanian of Palestinian descent he defected from the Jordanian army in 1970. Palestinians fighters were pushed out of Jordan in 1971 in battle with Jordanian forces, that killed thousands, later known as 'Black September.' Many fighters, including Abu Musa, fled to Lebanon. He joined Fatah movement, headed by Yasser Arafat, to create a Palestinian state, demanding the return of hundreds of thousands Palestinian refugees who fled or were forced from their homes during the 1948 war and the creation of the Jewish state. Abu Musa rebelled against Arafat in 1982, after Israel invaded southern Lebanon and bombed Beirut, pushing out Palestinian forces. Arafat and much of the Palestinian leadership fled to establish a base in Tunisia. A year later he established a rival group, Fatah Uprising, backed by the Assad regime in Syria. Abu Musa went to Damascus. Said Musa Maragha, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Musa was born in the village of Bethany, near Jerusalem. He passed away in Damascus.