1982 Lebanon War

Map of modern Lebanon The 1982 Lebanon War , also known as the 1982 Invasion of Lebanon , and dubbed Operation Peace for the Galilee ( Shlom HaGalil in Hebrew ) by Israel, began June 6 , 1982 , when the Israel Defence Force invaded southern Lebanon in response to the Abu Nidal organization 's assassination attempt against Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom , Shlomo Argov , but mainly to halt Katyusha rocket attacks on Israeli population in the northern Galilee region launched from Southern Lebanon. After attacking PLO , Syrian and Muslim Lebanese forces, Israel occupied southern Lebanon. Surrounded in West Beirut and subject to heavy bombardment, the PLO and the Syrian forces negotiated passage from Lebanon with the aid of international peacekeepers.

The Government of Israel decided to launch the military operation after the assassination attempt against Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov , by the Abu Nidal Organization , a mercenary organization opposed to the PLO . After attacking the PLO , as well as Syrian , leftist and Muslim Lebanese forces, Israel occupied southern Lebanon and eventually surrounded the PLO and elements of the Syrian army . The Year in Review . In the early 1980s, the terrorists operating out of Lebanon were controlled by Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (P.L.O.). On three occasions, in 1970, 1972, and 1978, Israel had retaliated by ground operations carried out up to Lebanon's Litani River. ... Meanwhile Israel had conducted preemptive shelling and air strikes to deter PLO terrorist attacks on settlements in Galilee in northern Israel." Israel , Infoplease . "The PLO had long plagued Israelis with terrorist actions." Chomsky, Noam.

The 1982 Lebanon War ( , Al-ijtiyāḥ , "the invasion"), ( , Milhemet Levanon Harishona , "the first Lebanon war"), called Operation Peace for Galilee ( Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil or Mivtsa Sheleg ) by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War , began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) invaded southern Lebanon , after repeated attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) operating in southern Lebanon and the IDF which caused civilian casualties on both sides of the border. The military operation was launched after gunmen from Abu Nidal's organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov , Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Menachem Begin blamed Abu Nidal's enemy, the PLO , for the incident, and used the incident as a casus belli for the invasion. Begin referred to the operation as self-defense to "avoid another Treblinka ". After attacking the PLO – as well as Syrian, leftist, and Muslim Lebanese forces – Israel occupied southern Lebanon, eventually surrounding the PLO and elements of the Syrian army . Surrounded in West Beirut and subjected to heavy bombardment, the PLO forces and their allies negotiated passage from Lebanon with the aid of United States Special Envoy Philip Habib and the protection of international peacekeepers. The PLO, under the chairmanship of Yasser Arafat , had relocated its headquarters to Tripoli in June 1982. By expelling the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), removing Syrian influence over Lebanon, and installing a pro-Israeli Christian government led by Bachir Gemayel , Israel hoped to sign a treaty which Menachem Begin promised would give Israel "forty years of peace". The long occupation that followed Israel's 1982 invasion had repercussions for Israel with Hezbollah being conceived to fight the Israeli occupation. Following the assassination of Lebanese President Bachir Gemayel, Israel's position in Beirut became untenable and the signing of a peace treaty became increasingly unlikely. Outrage following Israel's role in the Phalangist-perpetrated Sabra and Shatila massacre , of mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shiites, and Israeli popular disillusionment with the war would lead to a gradual withdrawal from Beirut to southern Lebanon , which was initiated following the 17 May Agreement and Syria's change of attitude towards the PLO. After Israel had left most of Lebanon, the War of the Camps broke out between Lebanese factions, the PLO and Syria, in which Syria fought its former Palestinian allies. At the same time, Shi'a militant groups began consolidating and waging a low-intensity guerrilla war over the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, leading to 18 years of low-scale armed conflict . The Lebanese Civil War would continue until 1990, at which point Syria had established complete dominance over Lebanon . The Lebanon War: Operation Peace for Galilee (1982) , Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The recognition that this goal was obviously unsuccessful must betempered by an awareness of the Lebanese situation since 1982. Even when the first two aims seemed to have been met, Syrian recalcitrance acted as a stumbling blocks the Syrians would by nomeans agree to a withdrawal from Lebanon in conjunction with the Israelis and therefore were able to effectively scuttle the 17 May, Agreement between Israel and Lebanon before it had any chance of fulfillment; Syria offered a haven for PLO fighters in the Bekaa Valley from which they could stage raids on the IDF in Lebanon and from which many have now moved back into Beirut and Sidon; and despite having taken severe losses during the June fighting, Syria was able to quickly replace those losses with better Soviet equipment accompanied by a number of Soviet advisors." Hirst, David (2010). Beware of Small States . In time, however, Arafat and his guerrilla leadership decided that they would have to withdraw, leaving no military and very little political or symbolic presence behind. Their enemy's firepower and overall strategic advantage were too great and it was apparently ready to use them to destroy the whole city over the heads of its inhabitants. The rank and file did not like this decision, and there were murmurings of 'treason' from some of Arafat's harsher critics. Had they not already held out, far longer than any Arab country in any former war, against all that the most powerful army in the Middle East – and the fourth most powerful in the world, according to Sharon – could throw against them? (...) But [Palestinians] knew that, if they expected too much, they could easily lose [Lebanense Muslim support] again. 'If this had been Jerusalem', they said, 'we would have stayed to the end. But Beirut is not outs to destroy. The Year in Review . In the early 1980s, the terrorists operating out of Lebanon were controlled by Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (P.L.O.). On three occasions, in 1970, 1972, and 1978, Israel had retaliated by ground operations carried out up to Lebanon's Litani River. ... Meanwhile Israel had conducted preemptive shelling and air strikes to deter PLO terrorist attacks on settlements in Galilee in northern Israel." Israel , Infoplease . "The PLO had long plagued Israelis with terrorist actions." Tucker, Spencer C.; Roberts, Priscilla (2008). A Political, Social, and Military . The Arab-Israeli Conflict: A History . Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues . The operation was called Operation Peace for Galilee and was launched in reply to ongoing PLO attacks from its Lebanese bases.

The 1982 Lebanon War , dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil or Mivtsa Sheleg ) by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First Lebanon War ( , Milhemet Levanon Harishona ), and known in Lebanon as "the invasion" ( , Al-ijtiyāḥ ), began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) 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 IDF that had caused civilian casualties on both sides of the border. The military operation was launched after gunmen from Abu Nidal's organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov , Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin blamed Abu Nidal's enemy, the PLO, for the incident, and used the incident as a casus belli for the invasion. After attacking the PLO – as well as Syrian, leftist, and Muslim Lebanese forces – the Israeli military, in cooperation with their Maronite allies and the self-styled Free Lebanon State , occupied southern Lebanon, eventually surrounding the PLO and elements of the Syrian Army . Surrounded in West Beirut and subjected to heavy bombardment, the PLO forces and their allies negotiated passage from Lebanon with the aid of United States Special Envoy Philip Habib and the protection of international peacekeepers. The PLO, under the chairmanship of Yasser Arafat , had relocated its headquarters to Tripoli in June 1982. By expelling the PLO, removing Syrian influence over Lebanon, and installing a pro-Israeli Christian government led by President Bachir Gemayel , Israel hoped to sign a treaty which Begin promised would give Israel "forty years of peace". Following the assassination of Gemayel in September 1982, Israel's position in Beirut became untenable and the signing of a peace treaty became increasingly unlikely. Outrage following the IDF's role in the Phalangist -perpetrated Sabra and Shatila massacre of Palestinians and Lebanese Shias , as well as Israeli popular disillusionment with the war, led to a gradual withdrawal from Beirut to the areas claimed by the Free Lebanon State in southern Lebanon (later to become the South Lebanon security belt ), which was initiated following the 17 May Agreement and Syria's change of attitude towards the PLO. After Israeli forces withdrew from most of Lebanon, the War of the Camps broke out between Lebanese factions, the remains of the PLO and Syrian forces, in which Syria fought its former Palestinian allies. At the same time, Shi'a militant groups began consolidating and waging a low-intensity guerrilla war against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, leading to 15 years of low-scale armed conflict . The Lebanese Civil War would continue until 1990, at which point Syria had established complete dominance over Lebanon . The New York Times . 15 June 1982 . Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991 "Israel invades Lebanon in response to terrorist attacks by PLO guerrillas based there", USA Today (cited in guardian.co.uk, Facts on File, AP). In the early 1980s, the terrorists operating out of Lebanon were controlled by Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (P.L.O.). After Israel's ambassador to Britain, Shlomo Argov, was shot in cold blood and seriously wounded by the Palestinian terror group Abu Nidal in London in 1982, fed-up Israelis sent tanks and troops rolling into Lebanon to disperse the guerrillas. On three occasions, in 1970, 1972, and 1978, Israel had retaliated by ground operations carried out up to Lebanon's Litani River. ... Meanwhile, Israel had conducted preemptive shelling and air strikes to deter PLO terrorist attacks on settlements in Galilee in northern Israel." "Israel" , Infoplease . "The PLO had long plagued Israelis with terrorist actions." Tucker, Spencer C.; Roberts, Priscilla (2008). A Political, Social, and Military . The Arab-Israeli Conflict: A History . Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues . The operation was called Operation Peace for Galilee and was launched in reply to ongoing PLO attacks from its Lebanese bases. Israeli intelligence knew that this late-model weapon had been supplied to Abu Nidal's organization but not yet to other terrorist groups. . . The key point that the intelligence officers wanted to convey to the Cabinet was that Abu Nidal's organization was an exception among the Palestinian terror groups. Once among Yasser Arafat's closest friends, Abu Nidal had over the years turned into the chairman's most vicious enemy . .Abu Nidal referred to Arafat contemptuously as "the Jewess's son" and had made repeated attempts on his life. There are <ref group=lower-roman> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

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 Israel Defense Forces (IDF), 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 Israelis sought to end Palestinian attacks from Lebanon , destroy the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the country, and install a pro-Israel Maronite Christian government. Israeli forces attacked and overran PLO positions in southern Lebanon and briefly clashed with the Syrian Army , who occupied most of the country's northeast. The Israeli military, together with the Christian Lebanese Forces and South Lebanon Army , seized control of the southern half of Lebanon and laid siege to the capital Beirut . Surrounded in West Beirut and subjected to heavy Israeli bombardment, the PLO and their allies negotiated a ceasefire with the aid of United States special envoy Philip Habib . The PLO, led by Yasser Arafat , were evacuated from Lebanon, overseen by a multinational peacekeeping force . By expelling the PLO, removing Syrian influence over Lebanon, and installing a pro-Israeli Christian government led by President Bachir Gemayel , the Israeli government hoped to sign a treaty that would give Israel "forty years of peace". Following the assassination of Gemayel in September 1982, Israel's position in Beirut became untenable and the signing of a peace treaty became increasingly unlikely. There was outrage at the IDF's role in the Israeli-backed, Phalangist -perpetrated Sabra and Shatila massacre of Palestinians and Lebanese Shias . This stoked Israeli public disillusionment with the war. The IDF withdrew from Beirut and ended its operation on 29 September 1982. The May 17 Agreement of 1983 ended the state of war between Israel and Lebanon, and provided for an Israeli withdrawal from the country. Amid rising casualties from guerrilla attacks, the IDF retreated south of the Awali river on 3 September 1983. From February to April 1985, the Israeli military undertook a phased withdrawal to its " South Lebanon security zone " along the border. The Israeli occupation saw the emergence of Hezbollah , an Iranian-backed Shia Islamist group. It waged a guerrilla war against the Israeli occupation until the IDF's final withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. In Israel, the 1982 invasion is also known as the First Lebanon War . Journal of Conflict Studies . The failure of the invasion can be seen as the result of a number of misconceptions by the Israelis. The most prominent misconceptions underlying Israel's policy were: that Lebanon had a Christian majority, that the position of the president was a strong one, that the Lebanese Forces were powerful, that the Maronites wanted a Christian state, that the Maronite faction they were liaising with represented all Maronites, and that the Maronites were reliable. In the latest poll, in May, 36 percent of the public still said it was right to launch the war in 1982 and 60 percent said it was wrong. Significantly, 75 percent said the war was a failure. The failure of the political objectives of Operation Peace for Galilee highlights a significant disconnect in Israel's execution of the conflict. In the opinion of John Garofano, Israel's political leaders, especially Ariel Sharon, had overestimated the time available and underestimated the cost in lives to achieve these goals. Corroborating this view, Shlomo Gazit, a former head of Israeli military intelligence says that both Begin and Sharon 'chose to isolate themselves from their intelligence advisors and never evinced the slightest doubt that they could achieve their objective'. As the siege of Beirut continued, Sharon's ability to direct IDF operations was gradually restricted by his cabinet colleagues to the point that he could only issue piecemeal orders. Meanwhile, the IDF suffered large numbers of casualties in fierce urban fighting and later became bogged down in two decades of a low-intensity war against Hezbollah that it could not win Hertling, Mark. In 1982, the IDF were initially successful, but changes in government policy and civilian leaders' strategic objectives caused mission creep, dysfunction, and eventual failure to achieve military goals. Israel withdrew its forces to the border areas by 1985, and withdrew further to the international boundary in 2000. However, the failure of "Operation Peace for Galilee" goes far beyond the objectives implied by the war's shrewdly chosen code name, since those who planned it had set their sights much farther afield. The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century . Adding to their frustration was the most recent and only failure of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF): Operation Peace for Galilee, the ill-fated invasion of Lebanon. Beware of Small States . In time, however, Arafat and his guerrilla leadership decided that they would have to withdraw, leaving no military and very little political or symbolic presence behind. Their enemy's firepower and overall strategic advantage were too great and it was apparently ready to use them to destroy the whole city over the heads of its inhabitants. The rank and file did not like this decision, and there were murmurings of 'treason' from some of Arafat's harsher critics. Had they not already held out, far longer than any Arab country in any former war, against all that the most powerful army in the Middle East – and the fourth most powerful in the world, according to Sharon – could throw against them? (...) But [Palestinians] knew that, if they expected too much, they could easily lose [Lebanese Muslim support] again. 'If this had been Jerusalem', they said, 'we would have stayed to the end. But Beirut is not outs to destroy. The New York Times . 15 June 1982 . Encyclopedia of International Peacekeeping Operations . A Chronology of European Security and Defence 1945–2007 . Israeli intelligence knew that this late-model weapon had been supplied to Abu Nidal's organization but not yet to other terrorist groups. . . The key point that the intelligence officers wanted to convey to the Cabinet was that Abu Nidal's organization was an exception among the Palestinian terror groups. Once among Yasser Arafat's closest friends, Abu Nidal had over the years turned into the chairman's most vicious enemy . .Abu Nidal referred to Arafat contemptuously as "the Jewess's son" and had made repeated attempts on his life. A Political, Social, and Military . The Arab-Israeli Conflict: A History . Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues . The operation was called Operation Peace for Galilee and was launched in reply to ongoing PLO attacks from its Lebanese bases. A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881–1998 sales, Ben (1 October 2024). There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ). There are <ref group=lower-roman> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

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 Israel Defense Forces (IDF), 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 Israelis sought to end Palestinian attacks from Lebanon , destroy the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the country, and install a pro-Israel Maronite Christian government. Israeli forces attacked and overran PLO positions in southern Lebanon and briefly clashed with the Syrian Army , who occupied most of the country's northeast. The Israeli military, together with the South Lebanon Army , seized control of the southern half of Lebanon and laid siege to the capital Beirut . The Lebanese Forces however, despite their clandestine alliance with Israel, refused to participate in the war against the PLO as their leader Bachir Gemayel viewed any direct involvement as assisting an invading army. Surrounded in West Beirut and subjected to heavy Israeli bombardment, the PLO and their allies negotiated a ceasefire with the aid of United States special envoy Philip Habib . The PLO, led by Yasser Arafat , were evacuated from Lebanon, overseen by a multinational peacekeeping force . By expelling the PLO, removing Syrian influence over Lebanon, and installing a pro-Israeli Christian government led by President Bachir Gemayel , the Israeli government hoped to sign a treaty that would give Israel "forty years of peace". Following the assassination of Gemayel in September 1982, Israel's position in Beirut became untenable and the signing of a peace treaty became increasingly unlikely. There was outrage at the IDF's role in the Israeli-backed, Phalangist -perpetrated Sabra and Shatila massacre of Palestinians and Lebanese Shias . This stoked Israeli public disillusionment with the war. The IDF withdrew from Beirut and ended its operation on 29 September 1982. The May 17 Agreement of 1983 ended the state of war between Israel and Lebanon, and provided for an Israeli withdrawal from the country. Amid rising casualties from guerrilla attacks, the IDF retreated south of the Awali river on 3 September 1983. From February to April 1985, the Israeli military undertook a phased withdrawal to its " South Lebanon security zone " along the border. The Israeli occupation saw the emergence of Hezbollah , an Iranian-backed Shia Islamist group. It waged a guerrilla war against the Israeli occupation until the IDF's final withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. In Israel, the 1982 invasion is also known as the First Lebanon War . Journal of Conflict Studies . The failure of the invasion can be seen as the result of a number of misconceptions by the Israelis. The most prominent misconceptions underlying Israel's policy were: that Lebanon had a Christian majority, that the position of the president was a strong one, that the Lebanese Forces were powerful, that the Maronites wanted a Christian state, that the Maronite faction they were liaising with represented all Maronites, and that the Maronites were reliable. In the latest poll, in May, 36 percent of the public still said it was right to launch the war in 1982 and 60 percent said it was wrong. Significantly, 75 percent said the war was a failure. The failure of the political objectives of Operation Peace for Galilee highlights a significant disconnect in Israel's execution of the conflict. In the opinion of John Garofano, Israel's political leaders, especially Ariel Sharon, had overestimated the time available and underestimated the cost in lives to achieve these goals. Corroborating this view, Shlomo Gazit, a former head of Israeli military intelligence says that both Begin and Sharon 'chose to isolate themselves from their intelligence advisors and never evinced the slightest doubt that they could achieve their objective'. As the siege of Beirut continued, Sharon's ability to direct IDF operations was gradually restricted by his cabinet colleagues to the point that he could only issue piecemeal orders. Meanwhile, the IDF suffered large numbers of casualties in fierce urban fighting and later became bogged down in two decades of a low-intensity war against Hezbollah that it could not win Hertling, Mark. In 1982, the IDF were initially successful, but changes in government policy and civilian leaders' strategic objectives caused mission creep, dysfunction, and eventual failure to achieve military goals. Israel withdrew its forces to the border areas by 1985, and withdrew further to the international boundary in 2000. However, the failure of "Operation Peace for Galilee" goes far beyond the objectives implied by the war's shrewdly chosen code name, since those who planned it had set their sights much farther afield. The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century . Adding to their frustration was the most recent and only failure of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF): Operation Peace for Galilee, the ill-fated invasion of Lebanon. Beware of Small States . In time, however, Arafat and his guerrilla leadership decided that they would have to withdraw, leaving no military and very little political or symbolic presence behind. Their enemy's firepower and overall strategic advantage were too great and it was apparently ready to use them to destroy the whole city over the heads of its inhabitants. The rank and file did not like this decision, and there were murmurings of 'treason' from some of Arafat's harsher critics. Had they not already held out, far longer than any Arab country in any former war, against all that the most powerful army in the Middle East – and the fourth most powerful in the world, according to Sharon – could throw against them? (...) But [Palestinians] knew that, if they expected too much, they could easily lose [Lebanese Muslim support] again. 'If this had been Jerusalem', they said, 'we would have stayed to the end. But Beirut is not ours to destroy. The New York Times . 15 June 1982 . Encyclopedia of International Peacekeeping Operations . A Chronology of European Security and Defence 1945–2007 . Israeli intelligence knew that this late-model weapon had been supplied to Abu Nidal's organization but not yet to other terrorist groups. . . The key point that the intelligence officers wanted to convey to the Cabinet was that Abu Nidal's organization was an exception among the Palestinian terror groups. Once among Yasser Arafat's closest friends, Abu Nidal had over the years turned into the chairman's most vicious enemy . .Abu Nidal referred to Arafat contemptuously as "the Jewess's son" and had made repeated attempts on his life. A Political, Social, and Military . The Arab-Israeli Conflict: A History . Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues . The operation was called Operation Peace for Galilee and was launched in reply to ongoing PLO attacks from its Lebanese bases. A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881–1998 sales, Ben (1 October 2024). There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ). There are <ref group=lower-roman> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).