Figure 1.--Here Israeli armored cars are seen moving south out of southern Lebanon. The press caption read, "Lebanese children waving goodbye to Israeli troops as they set out for the Israeli border yesterday at the end of their occupation. The photograph is undated, but was probably taken in May 2000. The children waving are probably Christian children. We notice that the fate of Christians in Arab countries is very poorly covered by the media which focuses primarily on Israeli actions.

The Front Line states bordering Palestine invaded when Israel declared independence (1948). Egypt, Jordan, and Syria played important roles in the fighting. Prosperous Lebanon did not. While hostile and the scene of sporadic firefights, Lebanon stayed out of significant participation in the subsequent major wars. This only began to change when the Lebanese offered sanctuary to the PLO after Black September in Jordan (1970). The PLO from Lebanese bases, began attacking northern Israel. from that point for nearly 20 years, the Israelis began to think that southern Lennon was important to Israeli security. An Israeli presence there was needed for protection terrorist attacks. There was thus broad public support for IDF incursions into southern Lebanon. The IDF military assessment saw it as vital. The Israeli Security Zone in southern Lebanon became the scene of a protracted attritional conflict between the IDF/SLA and Hezbollah fighters. As a result, of small-scale, but continued loses, the Israeli public consensus began to change. This resulted in a major shift in Israeli security policy. The IDF continued to believe the Security Zone was important nd unilateral withdrawal was a serious risk, but not the general public. [Kaye] Labour leaders in particular supported withdrawal. This thinking continued into the 1990s based on the rather optimistic belief that it would facilitate a political settlement with Syria. Ehud Barak became Israel's Prime Minister, committing Israel to unilaterally withdraw to the international border (1999). Up to this time, it was thought that Israel would only withdraw from South Lebanon only upon reaching a settlement with Syria. In January 2000, Hezbollah assassinated the commander of the South Lebanon Army's Western Brigade, Colonel Aql Hashem, at his home in the Security Zone (January 2000). This weakened the SLA. The Israelis wihdrews (May 23-24, 2000). Without the IDF support, the SLA soon collapsed. And Hezbollah moved into the southern Christian villages even as the withdrawal was in progress. The Israelis debated the consequences for some time. Given the use of the rockets, and their increasing range, hostile bases near the border are becoming bless of an issue.

Sources

Kaye, Dalia Dassa. "The Israeli decision to withdraw from Southern Lebanon: Political leadership and security policy," Political Science Quarterly Vol. 117, No. 4 (Winter, 2002-2003), pp. 561-85.

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