Fedayeen ("One who sacrifices himself") was a link of support between the Palestinian communities who had been forced to flee their country during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Fedayeen were based in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.
The Israeli view is that the Fedayeen were recruited, armed and trained mainly by Egypt's security forces under the control of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser to kill as many Israeli civilians as they could ambush on roads and in isolated communities.
The Fedayeen name was later selected by Saddam Hussain to designate his Fedayeen Saddam, in part to imply a connection to the Palestinian resistance.
