Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon | |||||||||
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Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Lebanese Civil War and the Arab Cold War | |||||||||
Fedayeen of Fatah at a rally in Beirut, 1979 | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Israel Free Lebanon Lebanese Front | PLO Syria LNM Supported by: Soviet Union [1] | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
1982: | 1982: | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
1982:
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The Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon was a multi-sided armed conflict initiated by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) against Israel in 1968 and against Lebanese Christian militias in the mid-1970s. PLO's goals evolved during the insurgency; by 1977, its goal was to pressure Israel into allowing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. [2] [3] [4] In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon and expelled the PLO, thereby ending the insurgency.
During the 1948 Palestine war, about 100,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled by Israel into Lebanon; [5] it is from these Palestinian refugee camps that most insurgents were recruited. [6] In 1968, PLO guerrillas began conducting raids into Israel, and Israel conducted retaliatory raids into Lebanon. At the time, PLO's objective was to establish a single democratic state in all of historical Palestine with equal rights for Jews, Muslims in Christians. [4] By 1977, the objective had evolved to establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, alongside Israel. [2] [3] [4] The Lebanese army was too weak to prevent the PLO from using Lebanese soil as a base for the insurgency, [7] and eventually the PLO succeeded in creating a "state within a state" in southern Lebanon.
The insurgency continued during the 1970s, and served as a major catalyst for the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975. Fighting between the Palestinians and the Christian militias lasted until the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which led to the expulsion of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from Lebanese territory. While the PLO relocated to Tunisia in the aftermath of Israel's invasion, other Palestinian militant factions, such as the Syria-based PFLP–GC, continued to carry out low-level operations from Syrian-occupied Lebanon. After 1982, the insurgency is considered to have faded in light of the inter-Lebanese Mountain War and the Israel–Hezbollah conflict, the latter of which took place for the duration of the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon.
During the 1948 Palestine war, 730,000 Palestinians fled or were forced to leave by Zionist forces, [lower-alpha 1] of which 100,000 arrived in Lebanon. [5] Most of the guerrillas would be recruited from Palestinian refugee camps. [6] By 1969, this population had grown to 235,000 as a result of natural population growth and immigration, including Palestinians who fled or were expelled by Israel during the 1967 war. [2] On the eve of the 1982 Israeli invasion, the Palestinian population in Lebanon was 375,000. [2]
While the first Palestinian attack on Israel from Lebanon happened in 1965, the number of armed Palestinians prior to 1967 was estimated at just 200. [6] The 1967 Six-Day war stimulated the growth of the Palestinian fedayeen (guerrillas). [6] After 1967, the number of armed Palestinians increased to 2,000 and by 1968 it had reached 15,000. [6]
From 1968 onwards, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) began conducting raids from Lebanon into Israel, while Israel began making retaliatory raids into Lebanon and encourage the Lebanese factions to deal with the Palestinian fedayeen. [7] After an Israeli airline was machine-gunned by Palestinian militants at Athens Airport, Israel bombed the Beirut International Airport in retaliation, destroying 13 civilian aircraft. [8] On 8 May 1970, a PLO faction called the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) crossed into Israel and carried out the Avivim school bus massacre, a bombing which killed 13 civilians, 9 of whom were children, and injured 25 others, all children.
The unarmed citizenry could not expel the armed foreigners, while the Lebanese army was too weak militarily and politically. [7] The Palestinian camps came under Palestinian control after a series of clashes in 1968 and 1969 between the Lebanese military and the emerging Palestinian guerrilla forces. [9] The Cairo Agreement had guaranteed refugees the right to work, to form self-governing committees, and to engage in armed struggle. [9] "The Palestinian resistance movement assumed daily management of the refugee camps, providing security as well as a wide variety of health, educational, and social services." [9]
In 1970, the PLO attempted to overthrow a reigning monarch, King Hussein of Jordan, and following his quashing of the rebellion in what Arab historians call Black September, the PLO leadership and their troops fled from Jordan [10] to Syria and finally Lebanon, where cross-border violence increased.
With headquarters moved to Beirut, PLO factions recruited new members from the Palestinian refugee camps. [11] South Lebanon was nicknamed "Fatahland" due to the predominance there of Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization. With its own army operating freely in Lebanon, the PLO had created a state within a state. [12] By 1975, more than 300,000 Palestinian displaced persons lived in Lebanon. [13] Aside from being used as an operation base for raids on Israel and against Israeli institutions across the world, the PLO and other Palestinian militant organizations also began a series of airplane hijack operations, targeting Israeli and international flights, carrying Israelis and Jews. The more profound effect on Lebanon was destabilization and increasing sectarian strife, which would eventually deteriorate into a full-blown civil war.
In reaction to the 1972 Munich massacre, Israel carried out Operation Spring of Youth. Members of Israel's elite Special Forces landed by boat in Lebanon on 9 April 1973, and with the aid of Israeli intelligence agents, infiltrated the PLO headquarters in Beirut and assassinated several members of its leadership.
In 1974, the PLO altered its focus to include political elements, necessary for a dialogue with Israel. Those who insisted on a military solution left to form the Rejectionist Front, and Yassir Arafat took over the PLO leadership role. [14]
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command, which split from the PLO in 1974, carried out the Kiryat Shmona massacre in April of that year. In May 1974, the DFLP crossed again into Israel and carried out the Ma'alot massacre.
The Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) was a complex conflict in the form of various factions and shifting alliances between and among Lebanese Maronite Catholics, Lebanese Muslims, Palestinians, Lebanese Druze, and other non-sectarian groups. Governmental power had been allotted among the different religious groups by the National Pact based partially on the results of the 1932 census. Changes in demographics and increased feelings of deprivation by certain ethnic groups, as well as Israeli–Palestinian clashes in the south of the country all contributed to the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War.
Beginning in May 1976, Israel supplied the Maronite militias, including the Lebanese Forces, led by Bachir Gemayel, with arms, tanks, and military advisers. [15] [16] The border between Israel and Lebanon was at this time was nicknamed the Good Fence.
Fearing loss of commercial access to the port of Beirut, in June 1976 Syria intervened in the civil war to support the Maronite-dominated government, [17] and by October had 40,000 troops stationed within Lebanon. The following year, however, Syria switched sides and began supporting the Palestinians.
On 11 March 1978, eleven PLO militants made a sea landing in Haifa, Israel, where they hijacked a bus, [18] full of people, killing those on board in what is known as the Coastal Road massacre. By the end of the day, nine hijackers [19] and 37 Israeli civilians were killed. [18] In response, on 14 March 1978, Israel launched Operation Litani occupying southern Lebanon, except for the city of Tyre, [20] with 25,000 troops. The objective was to push the PLO away from the border and bolster a Lebanese Christian militia allied with Israel, the South Lebanese Army (SLA). [18]
On 22 April 1979, Samir Kuntar and three other members of the Palestine Liberation Front, a sometimes faction of the PLO, landed in Nahariya, Israel from Tyre, Lebanon by boat. After killing a police officer, who had discovered their presence, they took a father and his daughter hostage in an apartment building. After fleeing with the hostages from police back to the beach, a shootout killed one policeman and two of the militants. Kuntar then executed the hostages before he and the remaining invader were captured.
In April 1981, the United States tried to broker a cease-fire in southern Lebanon among Israel, Syria and the PLO. In July 1981, Israel responded to PLO rocket attacks on northern Israeli settlements by bombing PLO encampments in southern Lebanon. United States envoy Philip Habib eventually negotiated a shaky cease-fire that was monitored by UNIFIL. [21]
The 1982 Lebanon war began on 6 June 1982, [22] when Israel invaded again in direct retaliation over the assassination attempt by ANO (Abu Nidal organization), a splinter group from Fatah) on Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambassador to the UK, attacking Palestinian military bases and refugee camps affiliated with Palestine Liberation Organization and other Palestinian military movements, including the ANO. During the conflict, over 17,000 Lebanese were killed, [23] [ verification needed ] and the Israeli army laid siege to Beirut. During the war, fighting also occurred between Israel and Syria. The United States, fearing a widening conflict and the prestige the siege was giving PLO leader Yasser Arafat, got all sides to agree to a cease-fire and terms for the PLO's withdrawal on 12 August. The predominantly Muslim Multinational Force in Lebanon arrived to keep the peace and ensure PLO withdrawal. Arafat retreated from Beirut on 30 August 1982 and settled in Tunisia.
Palestinian guerrilla action intended to serve as a war of national liberation for Palestinians. [2] While the envisioned goal evolved, by 1977, PLO's political objective was to create a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. [2]
In 1968, the PLO called for the establishment of a nonsectarian democratic state in all of historical Palestine, in which Christians, Muslims and Jews would have equal rights, thereby tacitly accepting Jewish presence in Palestine. [4] The goal was akin to regime change in Israel, as opposed to a drastic redrawing of borders. [24] In 1974, PLO accepted the creation of a "national authority" in the West Bank and Gaza as a first stage towards liberating Palestine. [25] This represented a fundamental change in PLO's objectives, as it was interpreted as an acceptance of two states in historic Palestine, and thus an implied recognition of Israel. [26]
This tacit recognition of Israel caused the Rejectionist Front to break away. [25] who accused the PLO of "capitulation" and even assassinated PLO diplomats. [26] Many Israelis dismissed these changes, arguing that the idea of "stages" implied the PLO sought to create a single state. Some Palestinians who supported the 1974 changes insisted that a single democratic state remained their long-term objective. [3]
This ideological struggle continued until the 13th PNC meeting in March 1977, which endorsed the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. [3] This "independent state" would comprise the West Bank and Gaza, which was widely interpreted as accepting Israel's permanent existence. [25] Shortly after that, the PLO established contacts with the Israeli left. [25]
The 1982 Israeli invasion in support of Lebanese Christian militias resulted in the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) departure from Lebanon to Tunisia. The creation of Security Zone in South Lebanon has benefited civilian Israeli population as Galilee suffered lesser violent attacks (dozens civilians killed), than previously by PLO in the 1970s (hundreds of Israeli civilian casualties). The relocation of PLO bases to Tunisia resulted in deterioration of the Israeli-Tunisian ties, which had previously considered relatively tolerant.
Despite this Israeli success in eradicating PLO bases and partial withdraw in 1985, the Israeli invasion had actually increased the severity of conflict with local Lebanese militias and resulted in the consolidation of several local Shia Muslim movements in Lebanon, including Hezbollah and Amal, from a previously unorganized guerrilla movement in the south. Over the years, military casualties of both sides grew higher, as both parties used more modern weaponry, and Hezbollah progressed in its tactics. By the early 1990s, Hezbollah, with support from Syria and Iran, emerged as the leading group and military power, monopolizing the directorship of the guerrilla activity in South Lebanon.
Fatah, formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist and social democratic political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the second-largest party in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, is the chairman of Fatah.
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the Palestinian territories and the diaspora. It is currently represented by the Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank city of Al-Bireh.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command or PFLP-GC is a Palestinian nationalist militant organisation based in Syria. It is a member the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
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 Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.
Khalil Ibrahim al-Wazir was a Palestinian leader and co-founder of the nationalist party Fatah. As a top aide of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat, al-Wazir had considerable influence in Fatah's military activities, eventually becoming the commander of Fatah's armed wing al-Assifa.
As-Sa'iqa officially known as Vanguard for the Popular Liberation War - Lightning Forces, is a Palestinian Ba'athist political and military faction created and controlled by Syria. It is linked to the Palestinian branch of the Syrian-led Ba'ath Party, and is a member of the broader Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), although it is no longer active in the organization. Its Secretary-General is Dr. Mohammed Qeis.
The War of the Camps, was a subconflict within the 1984–1990 phase of the Lebanese Civil War, in which the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut were besieged by the Shia Amal militia.
The Palestine Liberation Army is ostensibly the military wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), set up at the 1964 Arab League summit held in Alexandria, Egypt, with the mission of fighting Israel. However, it has never been under effective PLO control, but rather it has been controlled by its various host governments, usually Syria. Even though it initially operated in several countries, the present-day PLA is only active in Syria and recruits male Palestinian refugees.
Fatah al-Intifada is a Palestinian militant faction founded by Said Muragha, better known as Abu Musa. Officially it refers to itself as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement - "Fatah", the identical name of the major Fatah movement. Fatah al-Intifada is not part of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
The Tel al-Zaatar massacre was an attack on Tel al-Zaatar, a UNRWA-administered refugee camp housing Palestinian refugees in northeastern Beirut, that 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.
The Communist Action Organization in Lebanon – CAOL (Arabic: منظمة العمل الشيوعي في لبنان | munaẓẓamah al-‘amal al-shuyū‘ī fī lubnān), also known as Organization of Communist Action in Lebanon (OCAL), is Marxist-Leninist political party and former militia in Lebanon.
The Arab–Israeli conflict began in the 20th century, evolving from earlier Intercommunal violence in Mandatory Palestine. The conflict became a major international issue with the birth of Israel in 1948. The Arab–Israeli conflict has resulted in at least five major wars and a number of minor conflicts. It has also been the source of two major Palestinian uprisings (intifadas).
The Israeli–Lebanese conflict, or the South Lebanon conflict, is a long-running conflict involving Israel, Lebanon-based paramilitary groups, and sometimes Syria. The conflict peaked during the Lebanese Civil War. In response to Palestinian attacks from Lebanon, Israel invaded the country in 1978 and again in 1982. After this it occupied southern Lebanon until 2000, while fighting a guerrilla conflict against Shia paramilitaries. After Israel's withdrawal, Hezbollah attacks sparked the 2006 Lebanon War. A new period of conflict began in 2023, leading to the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Palestinian fedayeen are militants or guerrillas of a nationalist orientation from among the Palestinian people. Most Palestinians consider the fedayeen to be freedom fighters, while most Israelis consider them to be terrorists.
Fatahland or Fatah land was a term used by Israel to refer to the areas in Southern Lebanon controlled by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and its largest faction, Fatah, during the Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon from 1968 to 1982. Today, the term is used to refer to Fatah's governance over the Palestinian enclaves in the West Bank, as opposed to Hamastan, in the context of the Fatah–Hamas conflict that has been ongoing since 2006.
The Sixth of February Movement or '6th FM' was a small, predominantly Sunni Nasserist political party and militia active in Lebanon from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s.
The Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon lasted for eighteen years, from 1982 until 2000. In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in response to attacks from southern Lebanon by Palestinian militants. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) occupied the southern half of Lebanon as far as the capital city Beirut, together with allied Maronite Christian paramilitaries involved in the Lebanese Civil War. The IDF left Beirut on 29 September 1982, but continued to occupy the country's southern half. Amid rising casualties from guerrilla attacks, the IDF withdrew south to the Awali river on 3 September 1983.
The Battle of Tripoli was a major battle during the middle of the Lebanese Civil War in late 1983. It took place in the northern coastal city of Tripoli between pro-Syrian Palestinian militant factions and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led by Yassir Arafat. It resulted in the withdrawal of PLO and mostly ended their involvement in the war.