THE LEBANON WAR

In Lebanon, the fragile state of no-war, no-peace, in place since 1973, began to break
down as the PLO strengthened its mini-state in Lebanon, established PLO military
training centers, and escalated artillery and cross-border attacks on civilians in northern
Israel. Israelis were forced to spend long periods of time in bomb shelters. The
immediate trigger for Israel's operation into Lebanon was the attempted assassination of
the Israeli ambassador in London on June 3, 1982. The next day, Israeli jets attacked
PLO targets in Lebanon and the PLO responded with rocket and artillery barrages into
northern Israel. The Israeli cabinet met to approve sending ground troops into Lebanon.
Defense minister Ariel Sharon briefed the cabinet on "Operation Peace for Galilee" a
plan for a limited incursion of twenty-five miles into Lebanon to wipe out PLO positions
in southern Lebanon and thus safeguard Israel's population in northern Israel. The
cabinet, including the opposition Labor Party, supported the plan for a limited operation.
Mr. Sharon and Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan, however, had a wider-reaching grand plan
beyond that of destroying the PLO's military power in southern Lebanon and the
creation of a security zone there. They envisioned completely eradicating the PLO's
military, political and economic hold over Lebanon, evicting Syrian forces from Lebanon,
and facilitating the creation of a Christian-dominated Lebanon which would sign a peace
treaty with Israel. The Lebanese presidential election was scheduled for August 23,
1982. Sharon discussed the Israeli plan with Christian Phalangist leader Bashir
Gemayel, who apparently supported it and agreed to help rout the PLO from Beirut.
Counting on Phalangist assistance, Sharon and Eitan ordered Israeli troops to advance
as far as Beirut. On June 6, Israeli ground troops began their advance into Lebanon and
quickly overran PLO positions in the south. On June 9, Israel destroyed Syrian SAM
missiles which were installed in the spring of 1981 in the Bekaa Valley. A Syrian-Israeli
air confrontation ensued which resulted in severe military losses for the Syrians. The
Soviet Union rejected Damascus's plea for direct Soviet intervention but Moscow sent
equipment and advisers. Israel laid siege to the PLO in West Beirut leading to a PLO
surrender and agreement to evacuate Lebanon. On August 23, Bashir Gemayel was
elected the President of Lebanon. Israel hoped that a Lebanese-Israeli peace treaty
was on the horizon. A multinational peacekeeping force arrived in Lebanon in order to
supervise the departure of the PLO. By September 1, 1982, over 14,000 armed PLO
forces had left Beirut. PLO headquarters was transferred to Tunis, Tunisia.The
evacuation of the PLO failed to bring stability to conflict-ridden Lebanon and ChristianPalestinian tensions remained high. On September 14, 1982, President Bashir Gemayel
was assassinated.

On September 16, without obtaining prior cabinet approval, Sharon and Eitan moved
Israeli troops into West Beirut and permitted Christian Phalangist forces to enter the
Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila with the purpose of routing out
remaining PLO forces that had evaded evacuation. The Phalangist militias, however,
massacred Palestinian civilians. Israel's limited objective of removing the PLO's threat
to northern Israel was accomplished with the evacuation of PLO forces from Beirut. The
PLO state-within-a-state had been dismantled. The larger objectives of the war were not
realized. Syria remained ensconced in 35 percent of Lebanon and the Christiandominated Lebanese government was not strong enough either to conclude a peace
treaty with Israel or to control rival Lebanese factions from assaulting each other and
attacking Israel. Ethnic, communal and religious violence in Lebanon remained
unabated and Israel continued to pursue a peace treaty with Amin Gemayel, the new
president of Lebanon. With American mediation, on May 17, 1983, a Lebanese-Israeli
agreement was signed. Although the document was not a formal peace treaty, it
terminated the state of war between Israel and Lebanon. The document was short-lived,
however. Syria had no intention of removing its troops from Lebanon as the agreement
called and the Phalangists were not strong enough to control the numerous rival
factions in Lebanon from engaging in terrorist actions against Israel. U.S. forces in
Lebanon, there since July 1982, were also subject to terrorism. In October 1983, a
suicide bomb attack killed 241 U.S. marines. In February 1984, U.S. marines were
removed from Lebanon. In March 1984, under pressure from Syria, the Lebanese
government formally canceled its agreement with Israel. In June 1985, Israel withdrew
from Lebanon, except for forces stationed in the security zone in southern Lebanon,
established as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel. The security zone is a strip of land
three to five miles wide along the length of the Lebanese-Israeli border. Over the years,
the zone has shielded Israeli civilian settlements in northern Israel from cross-border
attacks. Many terrorists on their way to northern Israel have been caught and stopped in
the security zone. At the same time, since 1985, many Israeli soldiers have been killed
in the security zone by terrorist groups such as Hezbollah (Party of God). The larger
objectives of the Lebanon campaign left a significant imprint upon Israeli society. Israel's
campaign in Lebanon was the first war Israel waged which provoked widespread debate
within Israel. While many Israelis agreed with the limited objective of destroying the
PLO's power in southern Lebanon in order to protect Israel's northern population, they
disagreed with the larger objectives envisaged by Sharon and Eitan. These larger,
unrealistic goals, they argued, had caused an unnecessarily high number of Israeli and
Palestinian civilian casualties in Lebanon. For the first time, Israelis took to the streets
for anti-war demonstrations.