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The PLO’s presence in Lebanon and terror attacks across the border ultimately led to the Israeli intervention (1982). The Israelis drove most PLO guerrillas out of Lebanon. The Israelis faced a well armed Syrian military on their flank. While the Syrian Army did not confront the Israelis directly, they did commit their modern Soviet equipped air force, including the much feared Mig-25 Foxbat. The Israelis used American F-4 Phantoms to attack ground targets and the new F-15 Eagle to fly cover. The results were startling. The Israelis shot down some 80 Soviet-built Syrian aircraft without a single loss in air combat. The Israelis reached Beirut and engaged PLO forces. A brokered agreement allowed the PLO to withdraw and a multi-lateral peace-keeping force was deployed to Beirut. The Israeli occupation gradually became a target of much international criticism. Following the election of a coalition government in Tel Aviv, the Israelis decided to withdraw (early-1985) to a 'security zone' along the southern border. The Israeli Deference Forces (IDF) supported Christian militias which became the South Lebanon Army (SLA). Hezbollah which grew from the radicalization of the Shia population, bore the brunt of the subsequent fighting against the Christian militias and the Israelis. With Iranian and Syrian support it steadily grew to be a significant political force in Lebanon. The Israeli Security Zone became the scene of a protracted attritional conflict between the IDF/SLA and Hezbollah fighters which only came to an end when the Israeli government decided to pull their troops out of southern Lebanon (1989). Without IDF support, the SLA collapsed). The Syrian army in the rest of Lebanon proved to be the ultimate power broker. They enforced a political settlement. This process began with the election of a National Assembly (November 1989). President René Daowad was assassinated. A new President, Elias Hrawi, became one of a new troika including Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss and the speaker of the parliament, Hussein Husseini.
Lebanon was one of the front-line Arab states that had opposed Israel from the very beginning (1948). It did not, however, play a major role in the various Arab invasions of Israel. There was sporadic firing across the border, but this escalated significantly after Black September the PLO moved into Lebanon and set off the Civil War (1970). Which led to increasing attacksd on Israel. The Abu Nidal Organization, a splinter group of Fatah, executed an assassination attempted on Israeli ambassador Shlomo Argov in London (June 3, 1982). Israel retaliated with air strikes on PLO and PFLP targets on Arab West Beirut. There were some 100 casualties. [Smith, p. 378.]
The PLO responded rockets and artillery (June 5). This left the ceasefire that had been negotiated in tatters. While all this was going on, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 508 calling for "all the parties to the conflict to cease immediately and simultaneously all military activities within Lebanon and across the Lebanese-Israeli border ...." (June 5)
The PLO’s presence in Lebanon and terror attacks across the border ultimately led to the Israeli intervention.
The Israeli intervention was Operation Peace for Galilee (June 6). Galilee was northern Israel which had born the brunt of PLO rocket and artillery fire since the POLO moved into Lebanon. The Israeli forces quickly drove 25 miles (40 km) up the coast to largely Cristian East Beirut. They were aided by Maronite Christian leaders and militia. The Israeli cabinet had authorized what Gen. Sharon described as a plan to advance 40 kilometers into Lebanon, demolish PLO bases, and create an expanded security zone. The goal was that would put northern Israel out of range of PLO rockets. Israeli chief of staff Rafael Eitan and Sharon ordered IDF forces to head straight for Beirut. Gen. Sharon had earlier created a contingency plan in September 1981. The UN Security Council responded with another resolution --Resolution 509 (June 6). It ordered Israel to withdraw to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon. The United States vetoed a proposed resolution demanding that Israel withdraw (June 8).
IDF units were well entrenched outside Beirut (by June 1983). The United States demanded that the PLO withdrawal from Lebanon. Sharon ordered air raids on West Beirut. An estimated 16,000 PLO fedayeen fighters withdrew into well entrenched positions. Arafat saw an impending disaster and began negotiations to prevent his fighters from being destroyed. This was turning into a PLO disaster. The Israelis were concerned about the casualties if they had to assault fixed positions. The United Nations attempted to defuse the situation. mother UN Security Council resolution was proposed that "demands the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli forces engaged round Beirut, to a distance of 10 kilometers from the periphery of that city, as a first step towards the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, and the simultaneous withdrawal of the Palestinian armed forces from Beirut, which shall retire to the existing camps ...." (June 26). This was unacceptable to the Israelis because it would have left the PLO in Lebanon. As a result, the United States vetoed the resolution, stating that it was "a transparent attempt to preserve the PLO as a viable political force". [New York Times, June 27, 1982.] President Reagan called Prime Minister Begin to end the siege. Prime-Minister Begin returned the President's call and told the President that he had ordered Sharon to end the attack. This left the IDF facing the PLO in Beirut. Clashed continued and civilians were being killed. Philip Habib became President Reagan's special envoy to the Middle East (1981-83). The President sent him to Lebanon to work out a solution. Finally, the IDF conducted an intensive, day-long bombardment of the PLO positions in West Beirut. This apparently convinced the PLO that they had to go. Habib finally succeeded in hammering out an agreement (August 12). The truce agreement involved he withdrawal of both Israeli and PLO forces and a multi-national force that would guarantee the safety of the withdrawing PLO fighters and to safeguard civilians.
The multi-national force part of the IDF-PLO truce began landing (August 21). It included U.S. Marines along with French, Brutish and Italian units. They were tasked with arranging the PLO withdrawal. American mediation also arranged the evacuation of Syrian troops from Beirut. The Israelis drove most PLO guerrillas out of Lebanon, but complained that some 2,000 PLO fighters were left hiding in Palestinian refugee camps on the outskirts of Beirut.
The Israelis faced a well armed Syrian military on their flank. Much of the interior north of Beirut was controlled by the Syrian. While the Syrian Army did not confront the Israselis directly, they did commit their modern Soviet equipped air force, including the much feared Mig-25 Foxbat. The Israelis used American F-4 Phantoms to attack ground targets and the new F-15 Eagle to fly cover. The results were startling. The Israelis shot down some 80 Soviet-built Syrian aircraft without a single loss in air combat. Bachir Gemayel was elected president (August 23). He was soon after assassinated by Habib Tanious Shartouni, affiliated with the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (September 14). .
A deeply disturbing action occurred at the Sabra refugee camp. Some PLO fighters remained there. The Israelis were allied with the Kataeb Party (the Phalanges), a Christian political party and militia. The Party played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War. The Phalangists (allied with the IDF) entered the Shatila refugee camp and the Sabra neighborhood of Beirut close by (September 16-18). [Schiff and Ya'ari, p. 282.] They killed Lebanese and Palestinian moistly Shiite civilians (September 16-18). There is no exact accounting of the fatalities. Estimates range from 460-3,500 killed. The Israelis ordered the Phalangist allies to clear out PLO fighters. Militia men under the orders of Phalangist leader Elie Hobeika proceeded to slaughter civilians. IDF soldiers stayed out of the camp, but blocked any exits.
Lebanon (President Amine Gemayel), Israel, and the United States signed a tri-partate agreement on (May 17, 1983). The Agreement addressed the Israeli withdrawal, but made it conditional on the departure of Syrian troops. It is believed that America and Israel exerted considerable pressure on Gemayel, a Maronite Christian, who had reservations. The text of the agreement read "... the state of war between Israel and Lebanon has been terminated and no longer exists." As a result, the agreement was essentially a peace agreement with Israel. At the time, peace with Israel was very controversial in the Arab World. The Camp David accords (1979), led to the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (1981), so Gemayel's reservations were understandable. And as Gemayel had foreseen, many Lebanese Muslims saw the Agreement as an attempt by Israel to gain a permanent hold on the Lebanese South. [Washington Post Staff] The Lebanese Muslim mindset was that Israel was the real danger not Syria. The Agreement was portrayed in the wider Arab world as an abject surrender, imposed by America and Israel. Gemayel was seen as an Arab Quisling. Tensions in Lebanon escalated. Syria as expected rejected the the Agreement and refused to even discuss the withdrawal of its troops. As it occupied half the country, a stalemate resulted. This meant essentially that the economic decline that began with arrival of the Palestinians would continue and continues to this day. Unlike many Lebanese presidents, Gemayel survived, but only by relocating to Switzerland.
Israel decided to pull back from Beirut. It withdrew from the Chouf District southeast of Beirut (August 1983). An unintended consequence was setting off what became known in Lebanon as the Mountain War. One consequence was the withdrawl removed the buffer between the Druze and the Antichrist Maronite militias. The result was another round of intense combat. Israel declined to intervene. This involved a general desire to draw back and diplomacy with the Druze. The Druze managed to gin the upper hand and gained control over the largest share of the Chouf. IDF now only remained in the southern Security Zone. The Reagan Administration decided to intervene, Battles continued between the Lebanese Army and various opposing factions over critical terrain contested during the Mountain War. The Reagan Administration ordered naval gunfire on to Druze and Syrian positions to support the Lebanese Army positions which were threatened. [Geraghty, pp. 64–72.]
The new Iranian Islamic regime set up a base in Bekaa Valley, at the time controlled by the Syrians. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) according to one historian, 'founded, financed, trained and equipped Hezbollah to operate as a proxy army' for Iran. [Geraghty, pp. 165–66.] The IRGC organized Hezbollah with resources provided by Iranian oil. The men were recruited from poorly funded Shi'a groups resisting the Israeli occupation as well as Lebanon's main Shi'a movement--the Nabih Berri's Amal Movement. Hezbollah was inspired by the revolutionary Islamism of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Iranian resources and and many Shi'a inbitered refugees, Hezbollah managed to quickly grow into a strong, armed force. There was, however, a major different between Iran and Lebanon -- oil. Iran could finance revolutionary policies and prioritizing conflict with America and Israel because of oil. Lebanon could not. Thus the rising Hezbollah power has meant increased chaos and disruption leading to economic failure and generalized poverty. Soon after Hezbollah was founded, attacks on Western targets began, especially American targets. Suicide attacks were especially effective. A Hezbollah suicide bombing attack on the U.S. Embassy in West Beirut killed 63 people. This was only the beginning of a series of Hezbollah attacks on Western targets, especially American, in Lebanon.
(April 18, 1983). The most devastating Hezbollah destroyed the barracks of the American and French forces in Beirut. The death too included 241 American and 58 French (October 23). [Geraghty, pp. 165-66.] Two gunmen shot American University Beirut President Malcolm H. Kerr in the back of his outside his office in a school hallway (January 18, 1984). The attacks continue after American forces withdrew. The U.S. Embassy annex in East Beirut was bombed (September 20, 1984). The death too included 24, including 2 U.S. servicemen. A hijacked TWA plane wound up at Beirut airport,
President Reagan banned on all flights to and from Lebanon (July 1, 1985). The ban lasted for 10 years (1997).
The Amal Movement competing with Hezbollah within the Shi'ia population launched the February 6 Intifada uprising in West Beirut. It was basically a battle in West Beirut between political parties, led by the Amal Movement (February 6). The result was the decisive defeat of the Lebanese Army. The battle began with the defection of many Muslim and Druze units of the Lebanese Army to various Muslim militias. It was a disaster to the Lebanese Government from which it has never recovered. The Lebanese Army basically disintegrated. [Young] This left the U.S. Marines' position in Lebanon untenable. The Regan Administration was already preparing to withdraw. Syria and Muslim militias had already gained control of most of the country and were increasingly pressuring President Gemayel. The Lebanese Government canceled the 17 May Agreement (March 5). The Marines left after only a few weeks. Again Muslim extremists won, but the Lebanese people were the losers. Lebanon has been a rare Muslim country without oil that was prosperous. Intifada was just one more step in dismantling a formerly prosperous country.
The Israeli occupation gradually became a target of much international criticism which saw it as an occupation of an independent country. The Israeli critics mostly ignored the much larger Syrian occupation.
The political situation changed in Israel. A coalition government had to be formed, with a greater representation leaning toward a peaceful approach. The new Israeli Government decided to withdraw (early-1985) to a a southern 'Security Zone along the border. The IDF supported and supplied Christian militias which formed the the South Lebanon Army (SLA).
Hezbollah which grew from the radicalization of the Shia population, bore the brunt of the subsequent fighting against the Christian militias and the Israelis. The Iranian Revolution meant significant support from Iran and well as the radicalization of Lebanese Shiites (1979);. With Iranian and Syrian support, Hezbollah steadily grew to be a significant political force in Lebanon. The problem for Hezbollah is that Lebanon does not have oil fields to help finance a failing economy resulting from their radical policies.
The Syrian Army proved to be the ultimate power broker in Lebanon. They enforced a political settlement. This began with the election of a new National Assembly (November 1989). President René Daowad, who had replaced Gemayel,
was assassinated. A new President, Elias Hrawi, became part of a new troika including Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss and the speaker of the parliament, Hussein Husseini that could govern Lebanon under close Syrian supervision. Lebanese Muslims got what they wanted, but the Lebanese economy like the Syrian economy languished. Hezbollah continued the war with Israel, using raids and rockets provided by Iran. This would lead to further tragic consequences fir the Lebanese people.
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 and 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.
Geraghty, Timothy J. Peacekeepers at War: Beirut 1983—The Marine Commander Tells His Story, forward by Alfred M. Gray Jr. (Potomac Books: 2009).
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. 561-585.
Schiff, Ze'ev and Ehud Ya'ari. Israel's Lebanon War (Simon and Schuster: 1985).
Smith, Charles D. Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict 4th ed. (2001).
Washington Post Staff. "Israel and South Lebanon," Washington Post Staff (March 5, 1984), p. 3.
Young, Michael. "Remembering the uprising of Feb. 6, 1984," The Daily Star (February 7, 2004).
New York Times, June 27, 1982.
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