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PLO withdrawal from Lebanon | ||||||||
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Part of 1982 Lebanon War, Lebanese Civil War | ||||||||
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Palestine Liberation Organization | Israel | United States France Italy |
The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) withdrawal from Lebanon during the 1982 Lebanon War of most of its forces began on 21 August 1982, under the mediation of United States envoy Philip C. Habib. [4] The withdrawal was prompted by intense military pressure from Israeli forces, [5] which had launched a large-scale invasion of Lebanon in June 1982, dubbed by them 'Operation Peace for Galilee'. Israel's objective was to expel the PLO, which had established a stronghold in southern Lebanon and was launching attacks into northern Israel. The invasion also aimed to secure a buffer zone and influence the Lebanese Civil War, which had begun in 1975.
The PLO had established its presence in Lebanon in 1971, after being exiled from Jordan following the Black September conflict, where the Hashemite monarchy, led by King Hussein, sought to suppress the growing influence and militancy of the PLO within its borders. The PLO’s presence in Lebanon, particularly in southern Lebanon and Beirut, significantly contributed to the instability of the country, exacerbating the already volatile situation of the ongoing Lebanese Civil War.[ citation needed ]
After weeks of heavy fighting between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and PLO fighters, particularly around Beirut, which was besieged by Israeli forces, a negotiated settlement was reached. Under the agreement, brokered by Philip Habib, the PLO leadership and thousands of its fighters were given safe passage out of Beirut and dispersed to several Arab countries, including Tunisia, Yemen, Sudan, and Syria. Yasser Arafat, then leader of the PLO, and his command relocated to Tunis, where the PLO established a new base of operations.
The withdrawal of PLO forces effectively ended its strong presence in Lebanon, marking a significant turning point in the Lebanese Civil War and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[ citation needed ] While the PLO's military presence was removed, the Israeli invasion and subsequent occupation of parts of Lebanon further complicated Lebanon’s political and social landscape, and led to the rise of other militant groups, most notably Hezbollah, which was formed with Iranian support to resist the Israeli occupation.
The aftermath of the PLO's withdrawal also led to several tragic events, including the infamous Sabra and Shatila massacre in September 1982, where Christian Phalangist militias, allied with Israel, killed hundreds of Palestinian refugees in camps in West Beirut, while Israeli forces were accused of complicity by allowing the militias to enter the camps.
Plans for an Israeli invasion of Lebanon to remove the PLO were in place as early as the first southern incursion in March 1978. Defense Minister Ariel Sharon said preparations for the attack had been underway "since he took office" in August 1981. Prime Minister Begin postponed the invasion in February and again in April, waiting for the Sinai withdrawal to be finalized. A ceasefire agreement between Israel and the PLO in July 1981 was effective, but Sharon and Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan required backing from the leaders of northern settlements. Sharon outlined three objectives for the war: to crush the PLO, expel the Syrians from Lebanon, and establish a strong central Lebanese government that Israel could pursue a peace deal with. [6]
Philip Habib, a seasoned American diplomat, played a crucial role in brokering the delicate negotiations that led to the PLO's withdrawal from Lebanon in 1982. Appointed as U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East by President Ronald Reagan, Habib mediated between several hostile parties, including the PLO, Israel, the Lebanese government, and Syria, to secure a peaceful resolution to the siege of Beirut and the wider conflict.
Habib's engagement with the PLO, particularly through indirect negotiations with its leader Yasser Arafat, was a sensitive and complex process. The PLO had entrenched itself in Lebanon since 1971 and, by 1982, had over 10,000 fighters stationed in the country, particularly in and around West Beirut. As Israeli forces surrounded the city in June 1982, a humanitarian crisis loomed for both the Lebanese civilian population and the Palestinian refugees living in the area. The Israeli bombardment of Beirut, aimed at pressuring the PLO into surrendering, led to high civilian casualties, creating international outrage and mounting pressure for a negotiated settlement.
Habib’s diplomacy focused on two primary objectives:
Habib's negotiations were indirect, as the U.S. at the time did not have formal diplomatic relations with the PLO, which was still considered a terrorist organization by the United States. Nevertheless, through intermediaries, Habib was able to communicate with Arafat and work out the terms for a PLO withdrawal, while simultaneously liaising with Israeli and Lebanese officials to reach an agreement. The negotiations culminated in a multinational peacekeeping force, composed of troops from the United States, France, and Italy, being deployed to oversee the safe evacuation of PLO fighters and to act as a buffer to protect Palestinian refugees and the local population.
Under the agreement, more than 14,000 PLO fighters were evacuated from Beirut between 21 August and 1 September 1982, departing under the protection of the multinational force. Arafat and his top leadership relocated to Tunis, Tunisia, where the PLO established a new base. The fighters were dispersed across various Arab countries, including Syria, Yemen, and Sudan.
On 7 July 1982, US president Ronald Reagan agreed in principle to deploy a small American military force as part of a larger multinational peacekeeping mission to facilitate the withdrawal of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from West Beirut and prevent a bloody confrontation between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters. [7]
Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, who watched the evacuation at Beirut’s port, stated that the guerrillas had suffered a devastating defeat, one from which they would struggle to recover. The PLO had lost its "kingdom of terror,"[ citation needed ] from which it had "carried out the most horrific acts against Israel and the world."[ citation needed ] He also said his forces would stay on high alert during the two-week evacuation period and warned that if there were any delays, they would resume heavy bombardment. [4]
While the withdrawal successfully reduced immediate hostilities in Beirut, the safety of Palestinian refugees remained precarious. Despite the peacekeeping force, which was tasked with protecting civilians in the aftermath of the withdrawal, tragedy struck just weeks later. On 16–18 September 1982, members of the Phalangist militia, a right-wing Christian Lebanese faction allied with Israel, entered the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps and massacred hundreds, possibly thousands, of Palestinian refugees. Israeli forces, which controlled the area around the camps, were accused of allowing the Phalangists to enter and failing to prevent the atrocities.
Habib’s efforts in negotiating the evacuation agreement earned him the US Presidential Medal of Freedom. [8]
Another PLO withdrawal would occur in December 1983 after a clash with pro-Syrian forces. Then 4,000 Arafat loyalists left by sea to northern Yemen, Algeria, and Tunisia in Greek ships that were escorted by a French force. [9]
Yasser Arafat, also popularly known by his kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, President of the State of Palestine from 1989 to 2004 and President of the Palestinian Authority (PNA) from 1994 to 2004. Ideologically an Arab nationalist and a socialist, Arafat was a founding member of the Fatah political party, which he led from 1959 until 2004.
The Sabra and Shatila massacre was the 16–18 September 1982 killing of between 1,300 and 3,500 civilians—mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shias—in the city of Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. It was perpetrated by the Lebanese Forces, one of the main Christian militias in Lebanon, and supported by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that had surrounded Beirut's Sabra neighbourhood and the adjacent Shatila refugee camp.
The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) operating in southern Lebanon and the Israeli military, which had caused civilian casualties on both sides of the border. The Israeli military operation, codenamed Operation Peace for Galilee, was launched after gunmen from the Abu Nidal Organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov, Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin blamed the PLO, using the incident as a casus belli. It was the second invasion of Lebanon by Israel, following the 1978 South Lebanon conflict.
The Kataeb Party, officially the Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party, also known as the Phalangist Party, is a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936. The party and its paramilitary wings played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), opposing Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon as well as collaborating with Israel. During the 1982 war, Phalangist militiamen committed the infamous Sabra and Shatilla massacre with support from the IDF. The Phalangists were also responsible for the Black Saturday massacre, the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, Ehden massacre, and the Karantina massacre, some of the worst massacres committed during the Lebanese Civil War. In 1982, Pierre's youngest son Bachir, the leader of the party's militia, was elected President, but was assassinated before he could take office. He was succeeded by his older brother Amine, who led the party through much of the war. In decline in the late 1980s and 1990s, the party slowly re-emerged in the early 2000s and is currently part of the Lebanese opposition. The party currently holds 4 out of the 128 seats in the Lebanese Parliament.
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The Tel al-Zaatar massacre was an attack on the Tel al-Zaatar refugee camp, a UNRWA-administered camp housing Palestinian refugees in northeastern Beirut. The attack ended on August 12, 1976 with the massacre of 2,000 to 3,000 people. The siege began in January of 1976 with an attack by Christian Lebanese militias led by the Lebanese Front as part of a wider campaign to expel Palestinians, especially those affiliated with the opposing Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from northern Beirut. After five months, the siege turned into a full-scale military assault in June and ended with the massacre in August 1976.
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