Arafat's game

The PLO's pernicious influence both in Jordan (to little effect) and then in Lebanon (to more destructive effect) was a good example of how wrong-headed the policies of the UN have been after the establishment of the State of Israel in the administration of the Palestinian situation. 

Arafat's presence, first in Jordan and then in Lebanon, introduced a new power player onto the scene. In the case of Jordan’s King Hussein knew enough and was strong enough to expel the weak power broker from the territory. When the PLO went to Lebanon, its institutions of authority and its repudiation of the power/challenge system of rule made it incapable of resisting the power challenge the newly introduced PLO represented. 

As a result, the authoritative balance of power that had governed Lebanon for more than a century came apart and descended into civil war. To moderate the war Israel had to come in and expel the PLO from the Lebanese territories, only then the introduction of Israel as an occupying rather than a conspiring force left Lebanon open to the intrusions first of the Syrians, and then of the Iranians. 

So now we have Arafat's children firmly ensconced in the borders of Israel: Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the west. Iran was playing Arafat's game better than Arafat did.