Sabra and Shatila massacre

This page is related to the 1982 events only. The Sabra and Shátila massacre ( Maḏbaḥat Ṣabrā wa Shātīlā ) — or Sabra and Chatila massacre — was a massacre of Palestinian and Lebanese Muslim civilians carried out between 16 and 18 September 1982 by the Kataeb Party , a Christian Lebanese Forces militia group, following the assassination of Phalangist leader and president-elect Bachir Gemayel . The Israeli Defense Force (IDF), who surrounded Beirut's Palestinian refugee camps after having invaded Lebanon , allowed the Lebanese Forces militia to enter two of these refugee camps, Sabra and Shatila and continue the massacre throughout the night by shooting flares to illuminate the camp ( 33°51′40.47″N 35°30′01.50″E  /  33.8612417°N 35.5004167°E  / 33.8612417; 35.5004167 ) . The exact number killed by the Lebanese Forces militia is disputed, with estimations running from 800 according to international sources to 3,500 according to Palestinian sources (the red cross body count was around 400, but is likely not to include all or even most of the dead bodies). Regarded as a reprisal for the Damour massacre by Islamic Palestinians & Syrians a few years earlier , which personally impacted Elie Hobeika . The view of the Sabra and Shatila killing as a revenge for the Damour massacre was asserted by the prominent writer Samir Khalaf , by New York Times writer Thomas Friedman , and by author B. Gabriel who wrote that "Palestinian militiamen started the killings in 1976, long before the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres. Beit Mellat, Deir Achache, Damour." The Damour massacre, however, had been a response to the Karantina massacre, which had taken place earlier in 1976. In the Karantina massacre, Phalangists killed an estimated 1500 Muslims. The Phalangists stood under the direct command of Elie Hobeika , who later became a long-serving Member of Parliament and, in the 1990s, a cabinet minister. The Israeli military's Chief of Staff was Lt. Debate continues today regarding Israeli responsibility for the massacre (see section 'Israeli role in the massacre' ). In 1982, an independent commission chaired by Sean MacBride concluded that the Israeli authorities or forces were, directly or indirectly, involved. The Israeli government established the Kahan Commission to investigate, and in early 1983 it found Israel indirectly responsible for the event, and that Ariel Sharon bears personal responsibility for the massacre for allowing the Phalangists into the camps. The Israelis had been supplying the Phalangists with weapons and equipment, and had provided transportation of the Phalangists to the camps. The commission, which was not a judicial body which could recommend criminal charges, but an investigative body only, demanded that Sharon resign as head of the Defence Ministry. Sharon initially refused to resign, but after the death of an Israeli and the injury of ten other Israelis from a hand grenade thrown into a dispersing Peace Now rally , a compromise was reached where he resigned as Defense minister, but remained in the cabinet as Minister without portfolio. Israel in Lebanon: The Report of International Commission to enquire into reported violations of International Law by Israel during its invasion of the Lebanon .

The Sabra and Shatila massacre was the killing of between 762 and 3,500 civilians, mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shiites , by a militia close to the Kataeb Party , also called Phalange, a predominantly Christian Lebanese right-wing party in the Sabra neighborhood and the adjacent Shatila refugee camp in Beirut , Lebanon . From approximately 6:00 pm 16 September to 8:00 am 18 September 1982, a widespread massacre was carried out by the militia. The Phalanges, allies to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), were ordered by the IDF to clear out Sabra and Shatila from PLO fighters, as part of the IDF maneuvering into West Beirut. The IDF received reports of some of the Phalanges atrocities in Sabra and Shatila but failed to stop them. The massacre was presented as retaliation for the assassination of newly elected Lebanese president Bachir Gemayel , the leader of the Lebanese Kataeb Party. It was wrongly assumed that Palestinian militants had carried out the assassination. In June 1982, the Israel Defence Forces had invaded Lebanon with the intention of rooting out the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). By mid-1982, under the supervision of the Multinational Force , the PLO withdrew from Lebanon following weeks of battles in West Beirut and shortly before the massacre took place. Various forces — Israeli, Phalangists and possibly also the South Lebanon Army (SLA) — were in the vicinity of Sabra and Shatila at the time of the slaughter, taking advantage of the fact that the Multinational Force had removed barracks and mines that had encircled Beirut's predominantly Muslim neighborhoods and kept the Israelis at bay during the Beirut siege. The Israeli advance over West Beirut in the wake of the PLO withdrawal, which enabled the Phalangist raid, was considered a violation of the ceasefire agreement between the various forces. The Israeli Army surrounded Sabra and Shatila and stationed troops at the exits of the area to prevent camp residents from leaving and, at the Phalangists' request, fired illuminating flares at night. The direct perpetrators of the killings were the " Young Men ", a gang recruited by Elie Hobeika , a prominent figure in the Phalanges, the Lebanese Forces intelligence chief and liaison officer with Mossad , from men who had been expelled from the Lebanese Forces for insubordination or criminal activities. The killings are widely believed to have taken place under Hobeika's direct orders. Hobeika's family and fiancée had been murdered by Palestinian militiamen, and their Lebanese allies, at the Damour massacre of 1976, itself a response to the 1976 Karantina massacre of Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims at the hands of Christian militants. Hobeika later became a long-serving Member of the Parliament of Lebanon and served in several ministerial roles. Other Phalangist commanders involved were Joseph Edde from South Lebanon , Dib Anasta , head of the Phalangist Military Police , Michael Zouein , and Maroun Mischalani from East Beirut . In all 300-400 militiamen were involved, including some from Sa'ad Haddad 's South Lebanon Army. In 1983, a commission chaired by Seán MacBride , the assistant to the UN Secretary General and President of United Nations General Assembly at the time, concluded that Israel , as the camp's occupying power, bore responsibility for the violence. The commission also concluded that the massacre was a form of genocide. In 1983, the Israeli Kahan Commission , appointed to investigate the incident, found that Israeli military personnel, aware that a massacre was in progress, had failed to take serious steps to stop it. The Kahan Report, Ariel Sharon and the SabraShatilla Massacres in Lebanon: Responsibility Under International Law for Massacres of Civilian Populations" . Beware of small states: Lebanon, battleground of the Middle East . Beware of small states: Lebanon, battleground of the Middle East . The carnage began immediately. It was to continue without interruption till Saturday noon. Night brought no respite; the Phalangist liaison officer asked for illumination and the Israelis duly obliged with flares, first from mortars and then from planes. From Beirut to Jerusalem . From there, small units of Phalangist militiamen, roughly 150 men each, were sent into Sabra and Shatila, which the Israeli army kept illimnated through the night with flares. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation: people, power, and politics . Israel in Lebanon: The Report of International Commission to enquire into reported violations of International Law by Israel during its invasion of the Lebanon . Beware of small states .

The Sabra and Shatila massacre (also known as the Sabra and Chatila massacre ) was the killing of between 460 and 3,500 civilians, mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shiites , by a militia close to the Kataeb Party (also called Phalange), a predominantly Christian Lebanese right-wing party, in the Sabra neighborhood and the adjacent Shatila refugee camp in Beirut , Lebanon . From approximately 18:00 on 16 September to 08:00 on 18 September 1982, a widespread massacre was carried out by the militia in plain sight of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), its ally. The Phalanges were ordered by the IDF to clear Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) fighters out of Sabra and Shatila, as part of the IDF maneuvering into West Beirut. The IDF received reports of some of the Phalange atrocities in Sabra and Shatila but did not take any action to prevent or stop the massacre. The massacre was presented as retaliation for the assassination of newly elected Lebanese president Bachir Gemayel , the leader of the Lebanese Kataeb Party. It was wrongly assumed by the Phalangists that Palestinian militants had carried out the assassination. In June 1982, the IDF had invaded Lebanon with the intention of rooting out the PLO. By mid-1982, under the supervision of the Multinational Force , the PLO withdrew from Lebanon following weeks of battles in West Beirut and shortly before the massacre took place. Various forces — Israeli, Phalangists and possibly also the South Lebanon Army (SLA) — were in the vicinity of Sabra and Shatila at the time of the slaughter, taking advantage of the fact that the Multinational Force had removed barracks and mines that had encircled Beirut's predominantly Muslim neighborhoods and kept the Israelis at bay during the Beirut siege. The Israeli advance over West Beirut in the wake of the PLO withdrawal, which enabled the Phalangist raid, was considered a violation of the ceasefire agreement between the various forces. The Israeli Army surrounded Sabra and Shatila and stationed troops at the exits of the area to prevent camp residents from leaving and, at the Phalangists' request, fired illuminating flares at night. According to Alain Menargues , the direct perpetrators of the killings were the " Young Men ", a gang recruited by Elie Hobeika (a prominent figure in the Phalanges as well as the Lebanese Forces intelligence chief and liaison officer with Mossad ), from men who had been expelled from the Lebanese Forces for insubordination or criminal activities. The killings are widely believed to have taken place under Hobeika's direct orders. Hobeika's family and fiancée had been murdered by Palestinian militiamen and their Lebanese allies during the 1976 Damour massacre , itself a response to the Karantina massacre of Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims at the hands of Christian militants earlier that year. Other Phalangist commanders involved were Joseph Edde from South Lebanon , Dib Anasta , head of the Phalangist Military Police , Michael Zouein , and Maroun Mischalani from East Beirut. In all 300–400 militiamen were involved, including some from Sa'ad Haddad 's South Lebanon Army. In 1983, a commission chaired by Seán MacBride , the assistant to the UN Secretary General and President of United Nations General Assembly at the time, concluded that Israel , as the camp's occupying power, bore responsibility for the violence. The commission also concluded that the massacre was a form of genocide. In 1983, the Israeli Kahan Commission , appointed to investigate the incident, found that Israeli military personnel, aware that a massacre was in progress, had failed to take serious steps to stop it. The commission deemed Israel indirectly responsible, and Ariel Sharon , then Defense Minister, bore personal responsibility "for ignoring the danger of bloodshed and revenge", forcing him to resign. "Israel in Lebanon: Report of the International Commission to Enquire into Reported Violations of International Law by Israel during Its Invasion of the Lebanon". How Does Law Protect in War . International Committee of the Red Cross . The Kahan Report, Ariel Sharon and the SabraShatilla Massacres in Lebanon: Responsibility Under International Law for Massacres of Civilian Populations" . Beware of small states: Lebanon, battleground of the Middle East . Beware of small states: Lebanon, battleground of the Middle East . The carnage began immediately. It was to continue without interruption till Saturday noon. Night brought no respite; the Phalangist liaison officer asked for illumination and the Israelis duly obliged with flares, first from mortars and then from planes. From Beirut to Jerusalem . From there, small units of Phalangist militiamen, roughly 150 men each, were sent into Sabra and Shatila, which the Israeli army kept illuminated through the night with flares. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation: people, power, and politics . Menargues 2004 , Du coup d'état de Béchir Gémayel aux massacres des camps palestiniens, final chapter. The Guardian . guardian.co.uk . The New Face of Lebanon: History's Revenge . Israel in Lebanon: The Report of International Commission to enquire into reported violations of International Law by Israel during its invasion of the Lebanon . Beware of small states .

1982 killing of civilians in Beirut, Lebanon This article is about the 1982 massacre. The Sabra and Shatila massacre was the killing in Lebanon of between 460 and 3,500 civilians—mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shiites— by the militia of the Lebanese Forces . The group was a Maronite Christian Lebanese right-wing party under the command of Elie Hobeika . It committed the atrocity in the Sabra neighborhood and the adjacent Shatila refugee camp , in Beirut . President Bachir Gemayel had been assassinated two days earlier and the Phalangists sought revenge. From approximately 18:00 on 16 September to 08:00 on 18 September 1982, a widespread massacre was carried out by the militia, while the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had the camp surrounded. The militia had been ordered by the IDF to clear Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) fighters out of Sabra and Shatila, as part of the IDF's maneuvering into West Beirut. As the massacre unfolded, the IDF received reports of atrocities but did not take any action to prevent or stop the massacre. In June 1982, the IDF had invaded Lebanon with the intention of rooting out the PLO. By 30 August 1982, under the supervision of the Multinational Force , the PLO withdrew from Lebanon following weeks of battles in West Beirut and shortly before the massacre took place. Various forces—Israeli, Lebanese Forces and possibly also the South Lebanon Army (SLA)—were in the vicinity of Sabra and Shatila at the time of the slaughter, taking advantage of the fact that the Multinational Force had removed barracks and mines that had encircled Beirut's predominantly Muslim neighborhoods and kept the Israelis at bay during the Beirut siege. The Israeli advance over West Beirut in the wake of the PLO withdrawal, which enabled the Lebanese Forces raid, was in violation of the ceasefire agreement between the various forces. The Israeli Army surrounded Sabra and Shatila and stationed troops at the exits of the area to prevent camp residents from leaving and, at the request of the Lebanese Forces, fired illuminating flares at night. According to Alain Menargues , the direct perpetrators of the killings were the " Young Men ", a gang recruited by Elie Hobeika (the Lebanese Forces intelligence chief and liaison officer with Mossad ), from men who had been expelled from the Lebanese Forces for insubordination or criminal activities. The killings are widely believed to have taken place under Hobeika's direct orders. Hobeika's family and fiancée had been murdered by Palestinian militiamen and their Lebanese allies during the 1976 Damour massacre , itself a response to the Karantina massacre of Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims at the hands of Christian militants two days before. In all 300–400 militiamen were involved, including some from Sa'ad Haddad 's South Lebanon Army. In February 1983, a commission chaired by Seán MacBride , the assistant to the UN Secretary General and President of United Nations General Assembly at the time, looking into reported violations of International Law by Israel concluded that Israel , as the camp's occupying power, bore responsibility for the violence. The commission also concluded that the massacre was a form of genocide. In February 1983, the Israeli Kahan Commission , appointed to investigate the incident, found that Israeli military personnel, aware that a massacre was in progress, had failed to take serious steps to stop it. The commission deemed Israel indirectly responsible, and Ariel Sharon , then Defense Minister, bore personal responsibility "for ignoring the danger of bloodshed and revenge", forcing him to resign. The Kahan Report, Ariel Sharon and the SabraShatilla Massacres in Lebanon: Responsibility Under International Law for Massacres of Civilian Populations" . Beware of small states: Lebanon, battleground of the Middle East . The New York Times . Beware of small states: Lebanon, battleground of the Middle East . The carnage began immediately. It was to continue without interruption till Saturday noon. Night brought no respite; the Lebanses Forces liaison officer asked for illumination and the Israelis duly obliged with flares, first from mortars and then from planes. From Beirut to Jerusalem . From there, small units of Lebanese Forces militiamen, roughly 150 men each, were sent into Sabra and Shatila, which the Israeli army kept illuminated through the night with flares. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation: people, power, and politics . Menargues 2004 , Du coup d'état de Béchir Gémayel aux massacres des camps palestiniens, final chapter. The Guardian . guardian.co.uk . The New Face of Lebanon: History's Revenge . Israel in Lebanon: The Report of International Commission to enquire into reported violations of International Law by Israel during its invasion of the Lebanon . Beware of small states .

1982 mass murder of civilians in Beirut, Lebanon This article is about the 1982 mass murder in Beirut, Lebanon. 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 . In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon with the intention of rooting out the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). By 30 August 1982, under the supervision of the Multinational Force , the PLO withdrew from Lebanon following weeks of battles in West Beirut and shortly before the massacre took place. The Lebanese president Bashir Gemayel banned the Lebanese Forces from operating in Beirut, replacing their positions with the Lebanese army. On 11 September 1982, the multinational force withdrew from Lebanon, and the Lebanese army entered parts of West Beirut to restore civil order but did not enter the Palestinian camps. Various forces—Israeli, Lebanese Forces and possibly also the South Lebanon Army (SLA)—were in the vicinity of Sabra and Shatila at the time of the slaughter, taking advantage of the fact that the Multinational Force had removed barracks and mines that had encircled Beirut's predominantly Muslim neighborhoods and kept the Israelis at bay during the siege of Beirut . On the 14th of September, Bashir was assassinated by an SSNP militant under the orders of the Syrian regime, and taking advantage of the power vacuum Israel occupied west Beirut the following day. The Israeli advance over West Beirut in the wake of the PLO withdrawal, which enabled the Lebanese Forces raid, was in violation of the ceasefire agreement between the various forces. The killings are widely believed to have taken place under the command of Lebanese politician Elie Hobeika , whose family and fiancée had been murdered by Palestinian militants and left-wing Lebanese militias during the Damour massacre in 1976, itself a response to the Karantina massacre of Palestinians and Lebanese Shias at the hands of Christian militias. In total, between 300 and 400 militiamen were involved in the massacre, including some from the South Lebanon Army . As the massacre unfolded, the IDF received reports of atrocities being committed, but did not take any action to stop it. Instead, Israeli troops were stationed at the exits of the area to prevent the camp's residents from leaving and, at the request of the Lebanese Forces, shot flares to illuminate Sabra and Shatila through the night during the massacre. In February 1983, an independent commission chaired by Irish diplomat Seán MacBride , assistant to the Secretary-General of the United Nations , concluded that the IDF, as the then occupying power over Sabra and Shatila, bore responsibility for the militia's massacre. The commission also stated that the massacre was a form of genocide . And in February 1983, the Israeli Kahan Commission found that Israeli military personnel had failed to take serious steps to stop the killings despite being aware of the militia's actions, and deemed that the IDF was indirectly responsible for the events, and forced erstwhile Israeli defense minister Ariel Sharon to resign from his position "for ignoring the danger of bloodshed and revenge" during the massacre. The New York Times . The Guardian . guardian.co.uk. The New Face of Lebanon: History's Revenge . Final Conflict: The War in Lebanon . The Kahan Report, Ariel Sharon and the Sabra Shatilla Massacres in Lebanon: Responsibility Under International Law for Massacres of Civilian Populations" . It was to continue without interruption till Saturday noon. Night brought no respite; the Lebanses Forces liaison officer asked for illumination and the Israelis duly obliged with flares, first from mortars and then from planes." Friedman, Thomas (1995). From Beirut to Jerusalem . From there, small units of Lebanese Forces militiamen, roughly 150 men each, were sent into Sabra and Shatila, which the Israeli army kept illuminated through the night with flares. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation: people, power, and politics . 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 ).