Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon
| Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 LNMSupported by:  Soviet Union[1] | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| 1982: |
1982:
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| Strength | |||||||||
1982:
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1982:
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The Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon was a multi-sided armed conflict initiated by Palestinian militants against Israel in 1968 and against Lebanese Christian militias in the mid-1970s. It 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.
Following the PLO's expulsion from Lebanon, the Israeli military and Lebanese Christian militias became embroiled in a conflict against Iran-backed Lebanese Shia militias, namely Hezbollah, marking the beginning of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict.
History
Palestinian raids into Israel from Lebanese soil
From 1968 onwards, the
Lebanese inability to expel Palestinian fighters
The unarmed citizenry could not expel the armed foreigners, while the Lebanese army was too weak militarily and politically.[2] 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.[4] The Cairo Agreement had guaranteed refugees the right to work, to form self-governing committees, and to engage in armed struggle.[4] "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."[4]
PLO's relocation to Lebanon after expulsion from Jordan
In 1970, the PLO attempted to
and finally Lebanon, where cross-border violence increased.Heightened insurgency through the 1970s
With headquarters moved to
In reaction to the 1972
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
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.
Outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975
The
Dark Green – controlled by Syria:
Purple – controlled by Maronite groups;
Light Green – controlled by Palestinian militias
Beginning in May 1976, Israel supplied the Maronite militias, including the Lebanese Forces, led by Bachir Gemayel, with arms, tanks, and military advisers.[10][11] 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,[12] 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
On 22 April 1979,
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
1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon
The
Aftermath
PLO's relocation to Tunisia after expulsion from Lebanon
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.
Beginning of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict
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.
See also
- 1958 Lebanon crisis
- Cedar Revolution
- Hamas in Lebanon
- Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)
- List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
- Palestinian Fedayeen insurgency
- Syrian occupation of Lebanon
References
- ^ Golan, The Soviet Union and the Palestine Liberation Organization, pp. 35–36.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56025-442-3.
- ISBN 978-1-86450-333-3.
- ^ a b c Peetet, Julie M. (December 1997). "Lebanon: Palestinian refugees in the post-war period". Le Monde diplomatique. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
- ^ "Black September in Jordan 1970-1971". Armed Conflict Events Database. 16 December 2000. Retrieved 15 September 2006.
- ^ Eisenberg, Laura Zittrain (Fall 2000). "Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors?: Israel and Lebanon After the Withdrawal". Middle East Review of International Affairs. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
- ISBN 978-0-7146-5392-1.
- The CIA World Factbook. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 16 August 2006.
- ^ "Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 20 October 2006.
- ISBN 978-0-312-20828-8.
- ^ Kjeilen, Tore. "Lebanese Civil War". Encyclopaedia of the Orient. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2006.
- ^ Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (October 2005). "Background Note: Syria". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 15 September 2006.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4191-2943-8.
- ISBN 978-1-4039-6248-5.
- ISBN 978-0-252-06074-8.
- ^ Helen Chapin Metz, ed. (1988). "Israel in Lebanon". Israel: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress.
- ^ "Timeline: Lebanon". BBC News. 15 June 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2006.
- ^ "War Stats Redirect".