by Ann Williams
In their new location, the Palestine forces regrouped under the leadership of Yasser Arafat and his Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Their relocation caused major disruption for Lebanon, however, as it brought a violent response from Israel. Lebanon became the subject of violent attacks, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The second major effect was on the balance of the population, due to the fact that the Palestinians were Muslims, who now greatly outnumbered the Christians in the Lebanese population.
By 1975, the tension had mounted to fever pitch between the Lebanese Christians and the Lebanese Muslims, who were supported by the PLO. It resulted in a bloody war, which caused the dissolution of the Lebanese government and army as the two nations rivalled for what they felt was rightfully theirs. The conflict did not just stay within the borders of Lebanon; neighbouring nations intervened. Syria sent a 40,000-strong peacekeeping force into eastern Lebanon, while the Syrians took the side of the Muslims and the PLO. Israel started to assist the anti-Muslim forces by supplying them with weapons and offering them extra manpower.
War raged on and by 1978, with southern Lebanon now completely occupied by the Palestinians, Israel decided to attack.
TIMELINE OF THE CONFLICT
March 11, 1978
PLO terrorists made a sea landing in Haifa, Israel, took over a bus and then drove towards Tel Aviv, firing from the windows. By the end of the day the IDF had killed nine terrorists, who had murdered 37 Israeli civilians. Four days later the Israelis retaliated.
March 14, 1978
Operation Litani was the official name of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) invasion of Lebanon up to the Litani river. The purpose of the operation was to force the PLO away from the positions they held on the border and to bolster the strength of the SLA. The IDF managed to take control of an area about 10 km (6 miles) and then continued north and captured all of Lebanon south of the Litani river.
It is estimated that 285,000 Lebanese and Palestinian civilians were taken refugees due to Operation Litani, and the death toll of civilians was between 1,000 and 2,000 people. Twenty Israeli soldiers were killed and the PLO suffered an unknown number of casualties. On the one hand the Israelis considered the operation to be a military success, as they succeeded in driving the PLO forces north of the river, but on the other hand they had not succeeded in stopping their retreat. As a result of the operation the Lebanese government created the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, and this brought about a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.
June, 1978
The Israeli forces withdrew from southern Lebanon and turned over control of the area to the South Lebanon Army (SLA), which was led by Major Saad Haddad. Haddad was a renegade Lebanese officer who had formed his own militia, and during this time he was involved in frequent conflicts with the PLO.
June, 1981
In response to PLO rocket attacks, Israeli forces started a heavy bombing campaign of PLO targets in Lebanon. The president of Lebanon asked Islamic leaders if they could use their influence to stop the endless death, destruction and displacement of his people. After a four-day conference leaders of 37 Islamic countries and the PLO called for an immediate cease-fire.
July 1981–June 1982
The PLO decided to interpet the cease-fire in its own way and, after a short break, it carried out several attacks from Jordan and also attacked Jewish targets in Europe. During this period 26 Israelis were killed and 264 were injured.
On April 3, 1982, Ya’acov Bar-Simantov, second secretary of Israel’s embassy in France and a Mossad officer, is shot dead in Paris. The Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions claimed responsibility, but Israel blamed the PLO and labelled the murder a violation of the terms of the July 1981 cease-fire.
On June 3, 1982, an attempt was made on the life of the Israeli ambassador in London, Shlomo Argov. He was shot as he was leaving a diplomatic affair at the Dorchester Hotel in the centre of London. The terrorists fired a burst from a sub-machine gun at Argov, wounding the 52-year-old father of three in the head and, although he survived the attack, he was left completely paralyzed. This last attack proved to be the final straw, and in June 1982 Israel launched a large-scale invasion of Lebanon, which became known as Operation Peace for Galilee. The PLO responded with a massive artillery attack on the Israeli population of Galilee. On June 6, the IDF moved into Lebanon to drive out the terrorists.
Israeli forces, who allowed the Palestinians to leave Lebanon, remained in control of south Lebanon until 2,000, when their troops were withdrawn to try to put a stop to the ongoing guerilla war with the Shi’ite Lebanese militia called Hezbollah.
July 25–31, 1983
As a direct result of attacks by the Hezbollah and the PLO in June, Israeli forces launched Operation Accountability. This conflict is known as ‘The Seven Day War’ by the Lebanese. It lasted for seven days and they targeted Shi’ite towns and villages of south Lebanon in the fiercest attack since 1982. During the operation Israeli forces destroyed or damaged thousands of houses or buildings, causing as many as 300,000 Lebanese and Palestinian civilians to migrate to areas outside of the combat zone. The Israelis targeted Lebanese power stations, bridges and roadways, which is a tactic that would be repeated in future attacks on Hezbollah and Lebanon. Hezbollah responded with more rocket attacks causing the death of at least 118 Israeli civilians.
The USA negotiated a cease-fire, which ended the week-long campaign in Lebanon. An oral agreement was reached in which the Israelis agreed to refrain from attacking civilian targets in Lebanon, while the Hezbollah pledged to stop firing rockets into northern Israel. However, this agreement was only a temporary respite to the violence and in April 1996 the IDF was forced to launch another major offensive.
April 11–27, 1996
By the spring of 1996 the situation had become intolerable, and the Israeli government could not fail to react to the repeated attacks. They approved a massive bombing of south Lebanon, known as Operation Grapes of Wrath, which resulted in 1,100 air raids and the firing of over 25,000 shells at Hezbollah targets. In addition to the air raids, the South Lebanese Army (which was a mixture of Christian and Shi’ite Muslim militia under the command of Haddad), was also engaged in ground fighting. A United Nations camp at Qana was hit by Israeli shelling, killing 118 Lebanese civilians who had taken refuge there. During the 16-day period, at least 350 civilians were wounded in Lebanon, and 62 Israeli civilians were wounded in Israel.
On April 26, the US Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, was able to bring about an understanding between Israel, Lebanon, the Hezbollah and Syria, which effectively ended the operation. The Israeli government would not admit that Hezbollah were part of the agreement, as officially it would have been admitting to negotiating with terrorists.
operation true promise
The latest chapter in the ongoing saga between Israel and Lebanon took place on July 12, 2006, when the Hezbollah launched Operation True Promise. The attack started with a diversionary attack of rockets and mortar shells on Israeli settlements and military posts close to the Israel–Lebanon border. Hezbollah troops then crossed into Israel and attacked an IDF patrol, killing three Israeli soldiers and capturing two others. The guerillas returned to southern Lebanon with their prisoners, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, where the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said they had taken the men in order to set up a prisoner exchange with Israel.
An Israeli Merkava Mark II tank, which was stationed close to where the attack happened, tried to follow the captors into Lebanon, but it was hit by an explosive device that killed all four occupants. Another Israeli soldier, who attempted to rescue the soldiers from the burning tank, also died.
Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, promised retaliatory action as he considered their latest assault to be an ‘act of war’. The Israeli forces immediately launched air, naval and ground attacks at Hezbollah targets across Lebanon. The Hezbollah responded by launching hundreds of rockets into northern Israel, reaching a
s far as Haifa. An Israeli warship was damaged 16 km (10 miles) off the Lebanese coast by an Iranian-made unmanned drone, which rammed the ship and exploded on impact.
Both sides continued to attack, but the most damage, as usual, was to innocent civilians. Israel attempted to cut off any supplies that Hezbollah might receive from Syrian or Iran and, as the war entered its second full week, Israel issued three terms of condition in a hope of ending the hostilities. The first was the release of any captured soldiers, the second an immediate end to the war and the third was the return of the Lebanese national army to southern Lebanon to disarm the Hezbollah.
For the first time since 1980, US marines landed in Beirut to help evacuate citizens from Lebanon and other western nations evacuated their nationals from the war zone, including the UK, France and Italy.
WILL IT EVER END?
As the repercussions from the Israel–Lebanon conflict spread further and further, the question on everyone’s mind must be, ‘will it ever end?’ There is a long list of terror acts for which Hezbollah are suspected of being involved in, right back to the suicide truck bombings of the American embassy and marine barracks in Beirut in 1983. They are also suspected of hijacking a TWA flight in which a US navy diver was killed, and it is thought they are behind the attacks on the Israeli embassy and cultural centre in Argentina in the 1990s. The Hezbollah have also kidnapped Israeli soldiers before when, in 2000, disguised as UN soldiers, they took three IDF soldiers and a reservist. Nasrallah used them as a trade-off for militants held in Israel and, although it took three years, his strategy worked. Israel released 430 prisoners from Lebanon, Jordan and territories occupied by the Palestinians in return for three dead bodies!
DAYS LEADING UP TO THE CEASEFIRE
At the beginning of August 2006, Israeli troops deployed near the Lebanese town of Baalbeck in the Bekaa Valley, while Hezbollah increased their rocket attacks from areas north of the Litani river.
On August 2, Hezbollah fires 215 rockets on northern Israel, which was the highest number recorded in one day, killing one civilian. Ten people die in an Israeli raid on a Baalbeck hospital that the IDF believed to be a Hezbollah headquarters.
The following day a further eight civilians die when Hezbollah fires over 200 rockets at northern Israel. Israel resumed its attack of Beirut’s southern suburbs and the IDF is reported to have carried out 120 airstrikes on Lebanon during the night. Four Israeli soldiers, and four Hezbollah fighters are killed during a ground fight.
August 4, in Qaa, an Israeli air strike kills more than 20 people at a site selling fruit and vegetables. Israeli forces continue to bombard Beirut’s southern suburbs and bomb routes out of the northern part of the city. Hezbollah fires more than 200 rockets into Israel, reaching deeper than previously recorded.
The UN Security Council put together a draught agreement to end the violence and bring about a permanent cease-fire, while Hezbollah continue to hit Israel with rockets.
Sunday, August 6, Hezbollah launches over 180 rockets into northern Israel. Twelve Israeli army reservists are killed near Kfar Giladi and three civilians are killed in Haifa. The IDF report that they have captured a Hezbollah fighter who was responsible for the July 12 kidnappings of the two Israeli soldiers.
The fighting continues in this way throughout the early part of August with a UN cease-fire resolution set to take effect on Monday, August 14. Since the renewed fighting began on July 12, 2006, Lebanese security forces say that 880 people have died and the IDF reports 136 deaths.
SILENCE
For the first time in five weeks there was no sound of gunfire across southern Lebanon as the UN-planned cease-fire took effect on August 14. Fighting continued right up until the beginning of the truce, then as if by magic, both sides stopped. Lebanese civilians defied the Israeli ban on travel and started to stream back into their homes in the war-ravaged areas. For the first time in a month no Hezbollah rockets could be seen lighting the sky, even though the Israeli army said that six Hezbollah fighters had been killed in three clashes after the cease-fire took effect. Although Israel started to withdraw its troops from the area, they warned that some would stay in place until a UN peacekeeping force arrived.
NO QUICK SOLUTION
There will be no quick and easy solution to ending the Israel-Lebanon conflict and, even if the UN-imposed cease-fire holds, the road ahead will be fraught with difficulties. The disagreements continue because Israel refuses to withdraw before the UN peacekeepers and Lebanese troops arrive in the south and Hezbollah move north of the Litani river. The Lebanese army also say they won’t deploy the area while Hezbollah is still there, and the guerillas continue to refuse to give up their weapons in the south.
Hezbollah, who initially rejected all of Siniora’s ideas, is now thought to be showing signs of flexibility. Lebanon has rejected the proposed plan as it does not call for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, nor in fact an immediate cease-fire. At present, Israel still has about 10,000 troops in the Lebanon and the Lebanese people still do not have high expectations of a quick solution. One thing is for certain, the Siniora Plan will not be easily implemented, but in the meantime the world is still looking for a fair resolution so that the cease-fire of the Israeli and Lebanese conflict can be realized at the earliest possible opportunity.
Britain On ‘Red Alert’
On August 11, 2006, British police foiled the worst airline terrorist plot since the fatal September 11. Had they not uncovered the suspected plot, police fear that it would have caused mass murder on an unimaginable scale. It is believed that the suspects were just a few days from making a dummy run, and possibly only a few more days before they carried out the real terror attack. If they had succeeded in taking down multiple aeroplanes, carrying hundreds of people, it would have a catastrophic loss of innocent lives.
It is believed that al-Qaeda may have been involved in the plan to hide explosive gel or liquid in a sports drink bottle. The plan was for the terrorist to dye the explosive liquid red to match the sports drink sealed in the top half of the bottle. The bottom half would have been a false compartment to hide the explosive gel. The detonator they intended to use was possibly as simple as an innocent flash from a disposable camera. The aim was to blow up planes while in the air, rather than attack any individual city. The plot involved flights to an undetermined number of US cities, which included New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston.
England was immediately put on ‘red alert’ and security was tightened on British airports. There was mass chaos as flights were cancelled, security measures increased and all hand luggage was banned. Passengers, whose flights were permitted to leave, were told that they could only take on board the bare essentials such as passports and wallets, which had to be carried in a clear plastic bag.
British police started an immediate search of houses where suspected terrorists lived, and around 24 people were taken into custody for further questioning. The arrests were a culmination of a major covert counter-terrorist operation which had been going on for several months, and it is thought that the subsequent investigations will be very complex and lengthy. The country’s terrorist alert was immediately raised to maximum level – critical – and New Scotland Yard said that Britain was definitely facing its most serious threat of a terror attack.
Rebel Attack In Turkey
In August 2006, terrorist bombers carried out a 24-hour wave of attacks on innocent victims in Turkey. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, which is a hard-line militant group thought to be linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the latest attacks. The bombing campaign was aimed at destabilizing Turkey and trying to damage its economy by hitting at its tourist industry. Britons were attacked, not for Islamist or nationalist reasons, but simply as a way of scaring away other foreigners from Turkey. It is a well thought out plan, and one which worked with devastating effect in Egypt in 1997, when Islamic militants shot and killed 56 tourist
s in Luxor which crippled their country’s tourism industry for years.
Turkey has been the subject of 20 bomb attacks in 2006, eight of which occurred in the month of August, which was planned to coincide with the peak month when millions of British holidaymakers head for the sun. The terror group sent out a warning to tourists that their spate of bombings was not over, and told them that they should not travel to Turkey.
The worst of the attacks occurred in the resorts of Antalya. Antalya, is one of Turkey’s principal holiday resorts in the Mediterranean region of ancient Pamphylia, and is an attractive city with shady palm-lined boulevards, and a prize-winning marina. Following a blast in the old marketplace on the afternoon of August 28, three people died.
There were three more explosions in Marmaris, another one of Turkey’s biggest holiday resorts. The town of Marmaris is located at the meeting place of the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and is one of the largest natural harbours in the world. Ten Britons and 11 Turks were injured when a minibus was blown up in the early hours of the morning. The bomb was placed under one of the seats, but miraculously none of the British tourists on the bus were killed, most suffered from burns and shrapnel wounds to their legs.