In 1962, Hussein was expelled from Mapam, and his application to once again become a teacher was rejected.[1] In 1965, Hussein moved to Paris,[2] and two years later, he became a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and was stationed at its New York City office,[3] where he worked as a Hebrew-Arabic translator.[8] He moved to Damascus four years later, where he co-founded al-Ard, also known as the Palestinian Research Center.[3] In 1973, he served as a broadcaster in the Syrian Broadcasting Service's Hebrew-language program.[3] Later in the 1970s, he moved back to New York to serve as the PLO's correspondent to the United Nations.[8]