Siege of Beirut
Siege of Beirut | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the 1982 Lebanon War | |||||||
Aerial view of the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, used by the Palestinians as an ammunition depot amidst armed confrontations with the Israelis | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Israel SLA Lebanese Front |
PLO Syria LNRF INM ASALA PKK | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
76,000 | 12,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
4,000–5,000 Lebanese civilians killed[1] |
During the
Background
PLO's expulsion from Jordan and relocation to Lebanon
The
Israel in Lebanon and the United Nations ceasefire
In 1978, and again in 1981 and early 1982, the
Israeli assault on the PLO and Syrian troops
The Israeli forces invaded in a three-pronged attack. One group moved along the coastal road to Beirut, another aimed at cutting the main Beirut-
, and other areas for Beirut.Siege
Peace negotiations by the United States
The ring around Beirut was closed by 13 June 1982, 7 days after the start of Israeli invasion to Lebanon. PLO and part of Syrian forces were isolated in the city.
Israel hoped to complete the siege as quickly as possible; their goal all along in invading Lebanon was for a quick and decisive victory. In addition, the
Role of Lebanese Christian militias
At first Israelis thought that
Israeli attacks on Palestinian leaders
For seven weeks, Israel attacked the city by sea, air, and land, cutting off food and water supplies, disconnecting the electricity, and securing the airport and some southern suburbs, but for the most part coming no closer to their goals. As with most sieges, the population of the city, thousands of civilians, suffered alongside the PLO guerrillas. Israel was roundly accused of indiscriminately shelling the city in addition to the other measures taken to weaken the PLO. By the end of the first week of July 500 buildings had been destroyed by Israeli shells and bombs.[3]
On 14 July, Sharon and chief of staff Rafael Eitan obtained Prime Minister Begin's support for a large scale operation to conquer West Beirut in order to achieve the eviction of the PLO. But the plan was rejected on 16 July by the full Israeli cabinet, out of concern for heavy loss of life. Some parties threatened to leave the ruling coalition if the plan was adopted.[4]
At the end of July, with negotiations still deadlocked, the IDF intensified its attacks.
The
American-brokered peace agreement
On 10 August, when American envoy
During the siege, the Israelis secured several key locations in other parts of Lebanon, but did not manage to take the city before a peace agreement was finally implemented. Although Syria had agreed on 7 August, Israel, Lebanon, and the PLO finally agreed, with US mediation, on the 18th. On 21 August, 350
Results
In the end, Israel succeeded in ending the rocket attacks for a very short period, and routed the PLO from Lebanon. The siege also saw the
The conclusion to the conflict has been portrayed as a tactical victory for Israel, but a strategic victory for the PLO:
"Dating from the siege of Beirut in 1982, Israel has practiced a complex and limited form of urban warfare. In Beirut, this involved a cordon around the city, accompanied by limited attacks with artillery, ground, and air forces to put pressure on the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Syrian forces inside. The IDF did not launch a general assault on the city; it awaited a political solution that resulted in evacuation of enemy forces under the auspices of outside powers. Despite the IDF's restraint, it was depicted as little short of barbaric by much of the international media. The PLO's evacuation was treated as a victory parade, rather than the retreat it was, and the PLO lived to fight another day. The battle was a tactical victory for Israel, but a strategic defeat."[8]
International reaction
- New York Times interview) that during one of two phone conversations on 12 August between US president Ronald Reagan and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Reagan angrily described the bombing of West Beirut as a "holocaust".[10]
- Israel: While Prime Minister Begin did not deny that civilians were hurt, and he reportedly expressed regrets over the loss of innocent life, he stressed that their deaths were "...not the Israelis' fault".[10]
- Soviet Union: The Soviet Union tried to pass a United Nations resolution calling for a worldwide arms embargo on Israel, which was vetoed by the U.S.[9][10]
Aftermath
Sabra and Shatila massacre
Bachir Gemayel, the Lebanese president-elect, was killed in Eastern Beirut a few weeks after the withdrawal of PLO forces. His death resulted in the Lebanese Forces entering the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps and slaughtering almost two thousand Palestinian civilians, mostly women, children and the elderly.[11] This occurred under the supervision of Israeli troops who illuminated the areas with flares and provided bulldozers for mass burials of the victims.
PLO retreat from Lebanon
Following the siege of Beirut, Arafat left for Greece, and then Tunis, establishing a new headquarters there. PLO fedayeen continued to operate out of Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, and the Sudan, as well as within Israeli-controlled territory.[citation needed]
In late 1983, 4,000 Arafat loyalists were evacuated from Tripoli on five Greek vessels.[12]
Osama bin Laden's rationale for the 9/11 attacks
Decades later, the siege was cited by
God knows it did not cross our minds to attack
U.S. Sixth Fleet. As I watched the destroyed towers in Lebanon, it occurred to me to punish the unjust the same way: to destroy towers in America so it could taste some of what we were tasting and to stop killing our children and women.— Osama bin Laden, 2004[14]
See also
References
Citations
- ISBN 0-8090-7454-0
- ^ Shlaim. 1999, p. 410.
- ^ Shlaim. 1999, p. 411.
- ^ a b Morris. 2001, p. 535.
- ^ Morris. 2001, pp. 535–536.
- ^ Jilani, Zaid (2016-12-30). "Barack Obama Wasn't Nearly As Tough on Israel as Republican Presidents". The Intercept. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
- ^ a b Shlaim. 1999, p. 413.
- ^ Keiler, Jonathan F. (2010). "Who won the Battle of Fallujah?". In Schlosser, Nicholas J. (ed.). U.S. Marines in Iraq, 2004-2008: Anthology and Annotated Bibliography. U.S. Marines in the Global War on Terrorism. University of Michigan. p. 108.
- ^ a b When Push Comes to Shove: Israel flouts U.S. diplomacy with an attack on Beirut, Time, August 16, 1982.
- ^ a b c "Begin 'deeply hurt' by Reagan in call on Beirut 'holocaust'". Ottawa Citizen. 30 August 1982. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "The forgotten massacre". The Independent. September 15, 2012.
- ^ "4,000 Palestinians evacuate Tripoli on Greek vessels". The New York Times. 21 December 1983.
- ^ "Osama Bin Laden Warns America". CBS news. 2004-10-30.
- ^ "God knows it did not cross our minds to attack the towers". The Guardian. London. October 30, 2004. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
Source
- An Nahar, September 1, 1982.
- Davis, M. Thomas. 40 km into Lebanon. Washington, DC: National Defense University Press (1987), pp. 96–101.
- Davis, Paul K. Besieged: 100 Great Sieges from Jericho to Sarajevo. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2000).
- Gabriel, Richard. Operation Peace for Galilee: The Israel-PLO War in Lebanon. New York: Hill and Wang (1984).
- Rabinovich, Itmar. The War for Lebanon 1970–1985. Ithaca: Cornell University Press (1985).
- Shlaim, Avi. The Iron Wall. New York: Norton press (1999)
- Morris, Benny The righteous victims. New York: Vintage books (2001)
External links
- Lebanese civil war 1982 pictures and information. This website is from a pro-Lebanese perspective (Free Patriotic Movement)