Fatah (Arabic: فتح), literally opening, is a reverse acronym from the Arabic name Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini (Arabic: حركة التحرير الوطني الفلسطيني, literally: "Palestinian National Liberation Movement"). Fatah is a major Palestinian political party and the largest organization in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the center-left of the spectrum. It is mainly nationalist although not predominantly socialist. Fatah has maintained a number of militant groups since its founding. Unlike Hamas, Fatah is not recognized as a terrorist organization by any government, and it is also supported by the United States and the European Union.
The reverse acronym was chosen because it is similar to the word fath, "opening" (after the first Arab-Muslim conquests, or "openings"). Al-Assifa is the military arm of the Fatah.
In the January 25, 2006 parliamentary election, the party lost its majority in the Palestinian parliament to Hamas, and resigned all cabinet positions, instead assuming the role as the main opposition party.