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Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem

CHAPTER SIX

ISRAELI WAR CRIMES COMMITTED IN LEBANON IN 1978 AND 1982

Part 1 of 4

THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST LEBANON WAS ALREADY IN EXISTENCE IN 1951

Lebanon's national identity, indeed its national existence, has been held in utter contempt by the Zionists since Israel's inception. Israel has never hesitated to violate Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. David Ben-Gurion conceived of Nazi-style intervention in Lebanon in order to destroy that peaceful country and expand Israeli hegemony.

That David Ben-Gurion possessed a Nazi-style mentality and ambition was admitted by some of his erstwhile colleagues from the religious bloc in a proclamation issued after they left his coalition government in 1951. In this proclamation Ben-Gurion was referred to as "the dictator - may his name be wiped out - whose supporters, the family of sin, the Jewish Nazis - have declared to be the 'new Messiah' to whom they shout 'Heil Hitler.' May his new order perish from the face of the earth...."'

Ze'ev Schiff and Ehud Ya'ari confirmed Ben Gurion's plans against Lebanon:

In 1951 Israel's foreign minister, Moshe Sharett, had to fight tooth and nail to scotch a plan conceived by David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Dayan to "buy" a Maronite officer who would then "invite" Israeli intervention in Lebanese affairs and enable Israel to establish its control over Lebanon. (2)

On February 27, 1954, Ben-Gurion wrote a letter to foreign minister Moshe (Shertokj Sharett, in which he stated:

Perhaps now is the time to bring about the creation of a Christian State in our neighborhood. Without our initiative and our vigorous aid this will not be done. It seems to me that this is the central duty, or at least one of the central duties, of our foreign policy. This means that time, energy, and means ought to be invested in it and that we must act in all possible ways to bring about a radical change in Lebanon.

The goal will not be reached, of course, without a restriction of Lebanon's borders. But if we can find men in Lebanon and exiles from it who will be ready to mobilize for the creation of a Maronite state, extended borders and a large Muslim population will be of no use to them and this will not constitute a disturbing factor. (3)

Ben-Gurion was supported in his aggressive designs against Lebanon by others, like Moshe Dayan, Chief of Staff, who during a joint meeting of senior officials of the Israeli Defense and Foreign Affairs ministries, said:

The only thing that is necessary is to find an officer, even just a Major. We should either win his heart or buy him with money, to make him agree to declare himself the savior of the Maronite population. Then the Israeli army will enter Lebanon, will occupy the necessary territory, and will create a Christian regime which will ally itself with Israel. The territory from the Litani southward will be totally annexed by Israel. (4)

Even after waging wars of aggression against Lebanon in 1978 and 1982, Israel continued to hold fast to its policy of destroying Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In 1982, Oded Yinon, a former official of Israel's Foreign Ministry, published an authoritative article, "A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties," which appeared in Kivunim (Directions), an official organ of the World Zionist Organization. In this article Yinon admitted continued Israeli designs on Lebanon:

Lebanon's total dissolution into five provinces serves as a precedent for the entire Arab world including Egypt, Syria, Iraq and the Arabian peninsula and is already following that track. The dissolution of Syria and Iraq later on into ethnically or religiously unique areas such as in Lebanon, is Israel's primary target on the Eastern front in the long run, while the dissolution of the military power of those states serves as the primary short term target. (5)

Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, was given primary responsibility for interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs for the purpose of fracturing the country into puppet mini-states. This was admitted by Uri Dan, press attache to Defense Minister Ariel Sharon: "The Mossad was in charge of Israel's relationship with the leaders of the Christians of Lebanon." (6)

After preparations by Col. Benyamin Ben-Eliezer, a highranking Israeli intelligence officer, Premier Yitshak Rabin personally directed massive covert Israeli interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon starting in August 1976.

The Maronites soon began to receive American M-16 rifles, LOW antitank rockets, and Sherman tanks. Within a few months, responsibility for funding the venture was transferred from the Mossad, a branch of Israeli intelligence, to the Defense Ministry, and under Shimon Peres' tutelage the aid package burgeoned. It was later estimated that during the three-year term of Yitzhak Rabin's government, close to $150 million was invested in building up the Maronite militias in Lebanon. (7)

The Lebanese people were not the only victims of Israel's aggression against Lebanon. Those Christian and Muslim Palestinians who had found refuge in Lebanon after their exile were to be the victims of bombardment and massacres perpetrated by the Israeli forces and their Lebanese puppets.

That the Israelis and their Phalangist quislings envisaged a "final solution" for the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon through the implementation of Nazi-style atrocities was admitted in sworn testimony in an American court by David Halevy, a lieutenant colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces who had been a paratrooper, intelligence officer and tank battalion commander:

Relating to the Phalangists' plans, I am using a word which 1 am very hesitant to use, but "final solution" for the Palestinian problem in Lebanon. (8)

The inhuman barbarism planned against Palestinian civilians was admitted by journalists Ze'ev Schiff and Ehud Ya'ari:

With ghoulish delight the Phalangists bragged of the slaughter they would visit upon the Palestinians. For instance, one of the authors was invited by Jesse Sokar, the Phalangist liaison officer attached to the IDF's paratroop division, to join him when his men entered West Beirut. "It's time you learned how to use a knife properly!" he teased, his eyes shining. "But note, no rape of girls under the age of twelve is allowed!" (9)

To implement its plans for the dismemberment of Lebanon in 1978 and 1982 Israel pursued the following specific objectives:

1. To extend its de facto boundaries to the Litani River in order to divert the Litani's waters for its own use in occupied Palestine;

2. To support those Maronite Christians who would be willing to serve as puppets for the Zionists and to establish a quisling regime in Lebanon;

3. To control Lebanon and thereby divide the Arab countries as pan of a plan to fracture all Arab countries into minute sectors warring against each other;

4. To destroy the Palestinian resistance movement and national spirit and to wreak "vengeance" against all Palestinians in general, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) specifically;

5. To destroy the lives of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and to totally eradicate their existence there by means of mass slaughter and the demolishing of homes, and by so humiliating and debasing them that they would disperse into other countries.

The first Israeli war of aggression against Lebanon in 1978 was preceded by numerous acts of aggression from 1948 on. These are itemized below: (10)

ISRAELI WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY COMMITTED AGAINST LEBANON 1948-1978

On October 30,1948, Israeli forces occupied the Lebanese villages of Meis al-Jabal, Bleeda, Muhaybeb, Markaba, Taybeh, Deir Seriyan, Kfarkala, Tall Nhass, Hamames and Yaroun. On February 15, 1949, the Israeli forces finally withdrew from Tall Nhass and Hamames, and from the other villages on April 2,1949.

During October of 1948, several dozen Arab civilians under guard in an undefended Lebanese village were murdered. Haganah officer Shmuel Lahis was convicted for the murders and received a seven-year prison sentence, but was immediately amnestied. Later he was granted a second amnesty which "denies the punishment and the charge as well" and was granted a lawyer's license by the Israeli Legal Council on the grounds that his act carried "no stigma." From 1978 to 1981, Shmuel Lahis was General Director of the Jewish Agency. (11)

On July 24, 1950 an Israeli fighter plane fired at a Lebanese civilian DC-3 flying over Lebanese territory and two of its 27 passengers were killed and eight were wounded.

On May 18, 1959 a Lebanese plane transporting United Nations officials was forced to land inside Israel.

On May 27, 1959 a Lebanese military aircraft was forced to land inside Israel.

On November 19,1959 a Lebanese commercial aircraft on a flight from Beirut to Cairo was forced to land inside Israel.

On August 27, 1965 Israeli forces penetrated Lebanese territory and blew up two houses and three water towers. One woman was killed.

On June 14, 1968 the Lebanese village of Meis el-Jabal was bombarded by Israeli artillery, wounding 56 persons.

On December 26, 1968 Israeli commandos carried out a lightning raid against Beirut International Airport. They destroyed 13 Lebanese aircraft, including eight belonging to Lebanon's Middle East Airlines, whose hangars were also badly damaged.

In 1969 the Israelis conducted attacks in South Lebanon on July 30, August 11 and 13, September 1 and 5, and on December 3 in the Arqoub area in which 11 persons were killed.

On January 3, 1970 the Israelis crossed the Lebanese border and seized 10 Lebanese soldiers and 11 civilians in Qoleyaa.

On March 6,1970 the Israelis destroyed five houses in Aita Shaab.

On May 12-13, 1970, Israeli forces attacked the Arqoub area, killing nine Lebanese and wounding 19.

On May 22, 1970 the Israelis shelled Lebanese border villages, killing 20 civilians and wounding 40. They destroyed 83 homes in the shelling.

On December 27-28 Israeli forces shelled the villages of Khiyam and Kfarkala in southeast Lebanon, killing 10 Palestinians and wounding many others.

On February 25-28, 1972 Israeli forces invaded the Arqoub, killing 47 and wounding 64 persons.

On June 21, 1972 the Israelis bombarded the village of Hasbaya in South Lebanon, killing 48 and wounding 5 persons.

On June 23, 1972 the Israeli forces bombarded Deir al- Acha'er in the Beqaa valley, killing 19 and wounding 10 persons.

On September 8, 1972 the Israelis launched air raids against the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp and Palestinians in Rated and Rashayya al-Wadi, killing 59 and wounding 40 persons.

On September 15-16, 1972 Israeli forces crossed the Lebanese border and captured 18 border villages. They blew up 150 houses and destroyed two bridges over the Litani river. They killed 118 and wounded 46 persons.

On February 21, 1973 Israeli commandos landed near Tripoli and raided the Nahr el-Bared and Beddawi Palestinian refugee camps, killing 30 and wounding 60 persons.

On April 10, 1973 Israeli forces raided Lebanon in the very heart of Beirut, attacking the Sabra camp, Tall el-Zaatar camp, the Ouzai slum area, and the houses of three prominent PLO figures on Verdbn Street, killing Kamal Nasser, Mohamed Yusef Najjar and Kamal Adwan, as well as Najjar's wife, along with 40 other Palestinians and 33 Lebanese killed or wounded.

On October 9, 1973 the Israeli air force bombed the Barouk radar station, killing nine Lebanese Army soldiers.

On October 22, 1973 the Israeli air force bombed the Beirut-Damascus railway and destroyed the Arida bridge on the Syrian-Lebanese border in North Lebanon.

On November 6,1973 the Israelis shelled Rashaya al-Fukhar with phosphorous bombs.

On November 7-8, 1973 the Israeli forces shelled Shebaa with phosphorous bombs.

On November 18-19, 1973 Hasbaya and Shebaa were bombarded by Israeli artillery.

On April 12-13, 1974 Israeli artillery bombarded six villages in South Lebanon, Taybeh, Muhaibab, Bleeda, Zahira, Yareen and Aitaroun, killing two persons. 12 civilians were seized as hostages.

On May 2, 4, 9 and 15, 1974 Israeli planes strafed the Lebanese border area. Four Palestinians and four Lebanese were killed and five children wounded.

On May 16,1974 the Ain el-Helweh and Nabatiyeh Palestinian refugee camps came under Israeli naval, air and land bombardment, killing 50 and wounding 170 persons.

Between June 18 and 21, 1974 Israeli planes bombed the Ain el-Helweh and Rashidiyeh Palestinian refugee camps, killing at least 100 and wounding over 200 others.

On July 8, 1974 the Israelis perpetrated naval and air attacks against Safarafand, Sidon and Tyre.

In August 1974 the Israelis commenced almost daily attacks on Lebanese border villages.

On November 11, 12,29 and 30, 1974 the Israeli air force bombed the Arqoub, killing six and wounding eight persons.

On November 14, 1974 the Israeli air forces bombed Nabatiyeh, killing six and wounding 29 persons.

On December 10, 1974 the PLO headquarters, the Palestinian Research Center and a Fateh office in Beirut came simultaneously under rocket attack from cars parked nearby in a Mossad operation. Six persons were wounded.

On December 12, 1974 the Israeli air force strafed the Sabra camp in Beirut, killing one and wounding 10 persons, and bombed the camp in Nabatiyeh, wounding 10 persons and destroying 100 homes.

In the first week of January, 1975 Israeli forces made incursions into Aitaroun and Yareen and Israeli planes bombed Taybeh and Nabatiyeh, killing seven Lebanese.

Between January 11-17, 1975 Israeli forces almost completely destroyed the village of Kfarshouba in repeated raids.

Between May 11 - 13, 1975 Israeli forces conducted incursions against Aitaroun, Aita Shaab and Yareen.

On May 25, 1975 the Israelis bombed Aita Shaab while conducting a raid into Lebanese territory, killing seven Lebanese.

On June 15, 1975 the Israelis conducted air and land attacks against Kfarshouba.

On June 16, 1975 the Israeli forces subjected Nabatiyeh, Rashaya el-Foukhar, Majdal Sleem and Khiyam to artillery bombardment.

On July 5 and 7, 1975 the Israelis attacked the Rashidiyeh Palestinian refugee camp.

On July 23, 1975 Israeli forces made an incursion into Lebanese territory at Kfarkala.

On August 5,1975 Israeli naval bombardment of the Tyre area killed 19 and wounded 28 persons.

On August 20, 1975 Israeli airplanes bombed the village of Ham in the Beqaa, killing 12 and wounding 28 persons.

On November 10,1975 Israeli forces penetrated Lebanese territory to the Marjeyoun-Adaysseh road.

On November 27, 1975 Israeli forces raided Kfarkala.

On December 2,1975 Israeli airplanes made raids against the Nahr el-Bared and Beddawi Palestinian refugee camps in North Lebanon, killing 92 and wounding 160 persons.

On December 3, 15, 17, 21, 22 and 29 the Israelis conducted a series of attacks and raids against Lebanese border villages.

On January 23, 1977 Israeli artillery supported their Lebanese puppet forces under Major Haddad to capture Adayseh.

On January 27, 1977 Israeli artillery support enabled Major Haddad's puppet forces to capture Khiyam.

On February 20, 1977 Israeli artillery support enabled Major Haddad's puppet forces to capture Ebl el-Saqi.

On September 18,1977 Israeli troops entered Lebanon and after receiving reinforcements on the 20th and 21st took up positions in the villages of Houra, Deir Mimas, Kfarkala and on a hill overlooking Khiyam. Israeli artillery bombarded Tallet Rishan in the Jezzin region and Sohmor, near the Qaraoun dam on the Litani river.

On September 22, 1977 Israeli forces occupied a new position in the Kfar Hamman sector.

On September 23, 1977 Israeli forces attacked Khiyam in fighting which spread to Ebl el-Saqi.

On November 5, 1977 the Israeli navy sank a fishing boat off Naqoura, killing three persons

On November 8, 1977 Palestinian refugee camps Rashidiyeh, Borj el-Shemali and Bass came under heavy Israeli artillery fire, following a further attack against Nahariya in which one person was killed and five wounded. Nabatiyeh, Tyre, and thirteen neighboring villages were also shelled.

On November 9, 1977 Israeli airplanes razed the village of Azzieh to the ground, killing 65 and wounding 68 persons.

On November 11, 1977 Israeli airplanes bombed Borj el-Shemali and Nabatiyeh.

On March 4, 1978 the Israeli navy shelled Sarafand and Adloun.

The aforementioned incidents, each in violation of international law, provide the background for the invasion of Lebanon begun on the night of March 14, 1978 when an Israeli army 30,000 strong crossed the Lebanese border. (12)

THE WAR OF AGGRESSION AGAINST LEBANON IN 1978

The blitzkrieg launched by Israel in its invasion of Lebanon in 1978 represented the culmination of a long-standing conspiracy constituting a crime against peace by the top Israeli leadership. This conspiracy is documented in the chapter on Israeli Crimes against Peace.

The Likud government of Menachem Begin inherited this preparation for the invasion of Lebanon from its Labor predecessors. It added flagrant violation of international law by committing an open war of aggression against its neighbor. Yet it still attempted by subterfuge to camouflage its invasion by 30,000 Israeli troops.

On the day after the invasion, March 15, 1978, Defense Minister Ezer Weizman stated that "Israel had no intention of occupying South Lebanon." (13)

The Israeli forces advanced into Lebanese territory along the following axes:

1. Western sector of the border: Naqoura-Ras al-Bayada, Yareen-Teir Harfa. A unit landed south of Tyre and headed for Azzieh.

2. Central sector of the border: Dovev (Israel)-Maroun el-Ras and Bint Jbeil.

3. Eastern sector of the border: Metulla (Israel) - Adayseh and Taybeh; Marjeyoun-Khiyam, Ebl el-Saqi and Blat; Kfarshouba-Rashaya el-Foukhar.

Chief of Staff General Mordechai Gur revealed that Israel wanted "to establish a security belt along the 100-kilometer long Lebanese border by connecting the three Christian enclaves of Marjeyoun and Qoleyaa to the east; Rmeish, Ain Ebel and Debel in the center; and Alma Shaab to the West." (14)

Although Israel's Defense Minister had claimed his forces would not penetrate beyond the 10 kilometer-deep zone occupied by the invading Israeli army, on March 17, 1978 an Israeli commando group landed at Adloun north of the Litani River, killing 23 Lebanese civilians.

On March 18 the Israel again disproved Weizman by launching a new offensive beyond the ten kilometer claimed limit. The Israeli army took Tebneen and then advanced toward Tyre.

On March 19 Israel practically completed its occupation of the entire region south of the Litani river, and its air force used illegal cluster bombs for the first time, in the Tyre area.15 Cluster bombs are among the most inhuman lethal weapons devised by man.

Cluster bombs arouse great concern because they are especially lethal weapons when used for anti-personnel purposes. The tenn "cluster bomb" refers to a special type of explosive device which spreads its contents, usually shrapnel, over a wide area. A large canister is opened by an explosive charge and releases hundreds of projectiles, essentially tiny bombs, which explode upon impact spewing forth steel shards in all directions ...

Israel's use of cluster bombs is not only a violation of agreements between Israel and the United States. The use of these weapons also is aviolation of international law. Specifically, use of cluster bombs against civilians is a violation of the Geneva Convention for the Protection of War Victims of 1949, for Article 33 of that convention prohibits the use of "terror" such as mass bombings of civilian areas. Most states, including the United States, have accepted that cluster bombs, if used as an anti-personnel weapon, are prohibited by the Hague Convention of 1907 (IV) which bars the use of weapons "calculated to cause unnecessary suffering." (16)

Thus Israel has compounded the crime of its wars of aggression against Lebanon by using weapons prohibited under international law.

DESTRUCTION CAUSED IN LEBANON IN 1978

On March 20-21, the Israeli armed forces halted their advance and began consolidating their positions while continuing to bomb the Arqoub and Tyre.

The area occupied by Israel totalled 1,100 square kilometers, including the entire administrative districts of Bint Jbeil, comprising 255.6 square kilometers, and Marjeyoun, comprising 3 13.6 square kilometers as well as much of the administrative districts of Tyre (350 square kilometers out of 415.1 square kilometers), and Hasbaya (150 square kilometers out of 218.8 square kilometers).

The Lebanese authorities estimated the total number of Lebanese and Palestinians killed by Israel as 1,168, almost half of them civilians.

Some 285,000 people were made homeless in South Lebanon. An investigation by the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated that 80% of the villages and towns in the South were damaged. (17)

The Washington Post reported on March 25, 1978 that "the scope and sweep of the damage here makes a mockery of Israeli claims to have staged surgical strikes against Palestinian bases and camps. The Israelis concentrated heavy firepower and air strikes to blow away all before them - be they enemies or civilians - in order to hold down their own casualties." (18)

The withdrawal of the Israeli armed forces from Lebanon was not completed until June 13, 1978, when the lands occupied by Israel were handed over to the Lebanese quisling forces of Major Haddad.

In three towns - overrun thanks to the Israelis during the Litani invasion - Haddad's forces massacred more than a hundred Shia Moslem men, women, and children. The worst outrage took place in Khiyam, near the Israeli border, once the most prosperous and populated town of Southern Israeli War Crimes Committed in Lebanon in 1978 and 1982 793 Lebanon. The Shia victims were herded into a mosque. "We sank to Haddad's level," an Israeli military specialist said, ashamed. "I watched his men shoot seventy people in cold blood in Khiyam." (19)

UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTIONS CONDEMNING ISRAEL'S WAR OF AGGRESSION AGAINST LEBANON IN 1978

The United Nations Security Council met on March 17, 1978 to examine complaints submitted on March 15th. The Lebanese delegate called for the immediate cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Israeli troops. On March 19th, the Security Council adopted Resolution 425, which called for "strict respect for territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized boundaries," and for "Israel immediately to cease its military action against Lebanese territorial integrity and withdraw forthwith its forces from all Lebanese territory." It decided "in the light of the request of the government of Lebanon, to establish immediately under its authority a United Nations interim force for southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) for the purpose of confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces, restoring international peace and security and assisting the government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area."

Welcomed by the Lebanese, Resolution 425 was supplemented by UN Security Council Resolution 426 defining UNIFIL's role, which was adopted on March 20, 1978. UNIFIL forces were thereupon deployed in southern Lebanon.

Resolution 425 (1978), as proposed by the United States/S/12610, adopted by the Security Council on 19 March 1978, meeting 2074, by 12 votes to 0, with 2 abstentions (Czechoslovakia and USSR) (China did not participate in voting), was as follows:

The Security Council,

Taking note of the letters from the Permanent Representative of Lebanon and from the Permanent Representative of Israel,

Having heard the statements of the Permanent Representatives of Lebanon and Israel,

Gravely concerned at the deterioration of the situation in the Middle East and its consequences to the maintenance of international peace.

Convinced that the present situation impedes the achievement of a just peace in the Middle East,

1. Calls for strict respect for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within its internationally recognized boundaries;

2. Calls upon Israel immediately to cease its military action against Lebanese territorial integrity and withdraw forthwith its forces from all Lebanese territory;

3. Decides, in the light of the request of the Government of Lebanon, to establish immediately under its authority a United Nations interim force for southern Lebanon for the purpose of confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces, restoring international peace and security and assisting the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area, the force to be composed of personnel drawn from Member States;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council within twenty-four hours on theimplementationof the present resolution. (20)

Resolution 426 (1978), as proposed by the United Kingdom, SII26 12, adopted by the Security Council on 19 March 1978, in meeting 2075, by 12 votes to 0, with 2 abstentions (Czechoslovakia and USSR) (China did not participate in voting), was as follows:

The Security Council

1. Approves the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolution 425 (19781, contained in document S/12611 of 19 March 1978;

2. Decides that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon shall be established in accordance with the abovementioned report for an initial period of six months, and that it shall continue in operation thereafter, if required, provided the Security Council so decides. (21)

ISRAELI WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY COMMITTED IN LEBANON BETWEEN 1978-1982

After 1978, Israel reverted to its previous tactics of warfare by proxy, wanton bombings and raids, and covert operations.

The following is an itemization of Israeli acts of aggression against Lebanon committed between 1978 and the invasion of 1982, which was to eclipse the first war of aggression in the size of the invasion force, the amount of Lebanese territory occupied, the duration of the war, and in the number and ferocity of atrocities committed by the Israeli forces and their Lebanese puppets: (22)

On July 8, 1978 Major Haddad's quisling forces shelled Nabatiyeh.

On August 13, 1978 the Mossad blew up an eight story apartment building in the Fakhani area of West Beirut, killing over 120 persons.

On August 19, 1978 forces under Major Haddad shelled Hasbaya.

On August 21, 1978 Israeli airplanes attacked the Burj al-Brajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, killing 5 and wounding 25 persons.

On August 22, 1978 Major Haddad's forces shelled Hasbaya.

Between September 7-12, 1978 Major Haddad's forces shelled Nabatiyeh.

Between September 21-23, 1978 Major Haddad's forces shelled Nabatiyeh.

On November 1, 1978 Major Haddad's forces again shelled Nabatiyeh.

On December 20, 1978 Israeli airplanes attacked Palestinian refugee camps in Tyre and Sidon, killing 2 and wounding 11 persons.

On December 21, 1978 Major Haddad's forces again shelled Nabatiyeh.

On December 31, 1978 Israeli naval vessels shelled Tyre.

On January 19, 1979 Israeli forces attacked Arnoun and Aishiyeh, and the Rashidiyeh and Burj al-Shemali Palestinian refugee camps, killing 23 and wounding 36 persons.

On April 10, 1979 Israeli airplanes attacked Damour, killing 4 and wounding 20 persons, and Rashidiyeh, killing 7 and wounding 50 persons.

On April 11, 1979 Israeli airplanes attacked the Burj al-Brajneh Palestinian refugee camp.

On April 12, 1979 the Israelis shelled Nabatiyeh and Rashidiyeh, killing 9 and wounding 33 persons.

On April 22, 1979 Israeli naval vessels shelled Nahr el-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli, killing 3 and wounding 10 persons.

Between April 22-25, 1979 Israeli forces launched air, land and sea attacks on Tyre and Nabatiyeh, killing 60 and wounding 120 persons.

On May 18, 1979 Israeli naval vessels shelled Adloun.

On June 8, 1979 Israeli airplanes bombed targets near Nabatiyeh, killing one person and wounding ten others.

Between June 18-20, 1979, Israeli airplanes attacked Tyre while Major Haddad's quisling forces attacked Nabatiyeh.

On June 25,28 and 30, 1979, Israeli airplanes struck the Sidon-Tyre road and shelled Nabatiyeh and Hasbaya.

On June 27, 1979 Israeli airplanes attacked Damour.

On July 12, 1979 Israeli naval vessels shelled Tyre.

On July 17, 1979 Israeli naval vessels shelled Adloun.

On July 22, 1979 Israeli airplanes bombed Damour and Naameh, killing 15 persons.

On July 27, 1979 Israeli artillery shelled Tyre, Nabatiyeh and Hasbaya.

On August 15, 1979 Israeli commandos made an amphibious landing at Adloun and ambushed a car containing Palestinians.

On April 9, 1980 a Israeli force of 350 soldiers, with 33 tanks, entered the Adayseh area, occupying it until April 13.

On April 18, 1980 Israeli naval vessels shelled Sarafand, killing 18 and wounding 10 persons.

On May 7, 1980 Israeli commandos staged amphibious landings at Damour, Sarafand and Saksakiyeh, killing 7 persons and wounding one.

On May 8, 1980 Israeli airplanes attacked Tyre.

On June 4, 1980 Israeli naval vessels shelled Sidon, killing 1 1 and wounding 3 persons.

On June 30, 1980 Israeli commandos staged an amphibious landing at Kasmiyeh, killing 13 and wounding 29 persons.

On August 1,1980 Israeli forces landed at Saadiyat, killing 5 and wounding 18 persons.

On August 15, 1980 Israeli forces bombed and shelled Tyre and staged an amphibious landing at Sidon, killing 15 and wounding 6 persons.

On August 19, 1980 Israeli commandos staged a helicopter raid on Beaufort Castle and the village or Arnoun, killing 40 persons.

Between August 20-23, 1980 Israeli forces bombarded targets throughout southern Lebanon, concentrated in Arqoub.

Between August 23-25, 1980 the Israeli forces fired 950 shells against Lebanese targets.

Between September 17-23, 1980 the Israeli forces shelled Tyre, destroying or damaging more than 600 houses.

On October 17, 1980 Israeli commandos staged a helicopter raid on Nabatiyeh.

On October 22, 1980 Israeli airplanes attacked Naameh, Damour and Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut's southern suburbs.

On November 7, 1980 Israeli airplanes attacked Tyre and Nabatiyeh, killing 3 and wounding 22 persons.

On November 11, 1980 Israeli artillery shelled Tyre.

On November 17.1980 Israeli artillery again shelled Tyre.

On November 20, 1980 Israeli commandos staged operations in the Tyre region.

On December 18, 1980 Israeli forces attacked the villages of Baraasheet, Majdal Sleem, Majdal Bun, Shaqra and Yater, killing 13 and wounding 5 persons.

On December 31,1980 Israeli airplanes bombed Tyre and Nabatiyeh.

On January 29, 1981 Israeli airplanes bombed Tyre, Sidon and Nabatiyeh, killing 10 and wounding 30 persons.

On February 3, 1981 Israeli commandos staged an amphibious raid near Sidon, killing 1 and wounding 4 persons.

On February 11, 1981 Israeli forces staged an air and sea attack against Tyre.

On February 23, 1981 Israeli paratroopers attacked the village of Kfour, killing 7 persons.

On March 2,1981 Israeli airplanes attacked the villages of Abu Aswad and Adloun, killing 15 and wounding 40 persons.

On April 1, 1981 Israeli commandos attacked the village of Toulin and dynamited three houses.

On April 9, 1981 Israeli forces bombarded targets along the Sidon-Tyre road, killing 9 and wounding 12 persons.

On April 10, 1981 Israeli airplanes attacked Arab Salim and Damour, killing 16 and wounding 32 persons.

On April 21 ,1981 Israeli forces shelled Tyre, killing 3 and wounding 50 persons.

On April 26, 1981 Israeli airplanes bombed Sidon and Nabatiyeh, killing 22 and wounding 689 persons.

On May 28, 1981 Israeli airplanes attacked Damour, killing 32 and wounding 110 persons.

On June 2, 1981 Israeli airplanes attacked Tyre, killing 6 and wounding 10 persons.

On July 10, 1981 Israeli airplanes attacked Nabatiyeh and Zahrani, killing 1 and wounding 6 persons.

Between July 11 - 19, 1981 Israeli forces conducted a nine day artillery bombardment of Nabatiyeh.

On July 12, 1981 Israeli forces raided Damour and Naameh, killing 5 and wounding 25 persons.

On July 14, 1981 Israeli forces attacked Nabatiyeh and the Shouf, killing 10 and wounding 30 persons.

On July 16, 1981 Israeli forces bombarded Sidon, the Tapline Refinery and six bridges in southern Lebanon, killing 35 and wounding 114 persons.

On April 21, 1982 Israeli airplanes bombed Damour, Naameh, Aramoun, Saadiyat and Doha, killing 20 and wounding 60 persons.

On May 9, 1982 Israeli airplanes bombed Damour and Zahrani, killing 11 and wounding 22 persons.

On June 4, 1982 Israeli airplanes bombed Beirut, Nabatiyeh, Arab Selim and Wadi al-Akhadar, killing 60 and wounding 270 persons.

On June 5, 1982 Israeli airplanes bombed Damour, Beaufort Castle and bridges in southern Lebanon, killing 130 and wounding 250 persons.

Each of the aforementioned crimes remains unpunished. When war criminals can commit such acts with impunity, the principles of national sovereignty, the comity of nations being bound in their behavior by the principles of international law, and the safety of human beings to live other than by the most primitive law of the jungle, remain without foundation. But the crimes perpetrated by Israel against Lebanon from the founding of the State in 1948 until June 6,1982 were dwarfed in magnitude by the invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

THE INVASION OF LEBANON IN 1982

On June 6, 1982 the long-planned Israeli invasion of Lebanon began. To it the Zionist war criminals committed 90,000 troops, a force, considering the size of Lebanon, proportionally equivalent to the size of the German army which invaded Russia in June, 1941.

The objectives of the Israelis in 1982 were essentially the same as in 1978. The differences were in how much barbarism they were prepared to commit to achieve their objectives. Abba Eban, former Foreign Minister of Israel, summarized the objectives of General Ariel Sharon and General Rafael Eitan in his introduction to the complete Kahan Commission Report:

What is certain is that a local operation was never any part of Mr. Sharon's thinking, nor did it figure in the calculations of the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Rafael Eitan. They saw the move into Lebanon on June 6 as the first phase in a great design that would radically change the Middle Eastern scene and Israel's place within it. They envisioned a wide range of repercussions resulting from the war, and the Israeli people and the world would hear a great deal of them in the ensuing months:

"The PLO would be physically destroyed in Lebanon and would cease to be an influential actor in regional politics;

Free of the intimidation of PLO terror the Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza would come forward and negotiate agreements on the basis of the Camp David agreement as interpreted by Mr. Begin (autonomy as a prelude to permanent incorporation into Israel);

A stable, strong government would arise in Lebanon capable of extending its authority over the whole country;

A Lebanese president would be elected with a commitment to conclude a peace treaty with Israel by the end of 1982;

There would be free movement of people and goods from Egypt across Israel to Lebanon, creating a "triangle of peace" as a basis of a new regional order;

The United States would rejoice in Israel's defeat of the pro-Soviet PLO and Syria, and a better relationship would develop between Israel and America;

Security arrangements would be agreed in Southern Lebanon enabling close Israeli participation in the policing of the area to insure absolutely that no mortar bomb or grenade could ever come within range of an Israeli life or home;

There would be a sharp reduction of Soviet involvement and influence in the Middle East." (23)

The Israelis also desired to de facto annex the Litani River basin in order to divert its water resources for their colonization schemes in Occupied Palestine. They desired to establish a puppet regime in Lebanon, to destroy the PLO and above all to dispossess the Palestinian refugees of their haven in Lebanon and to commit barbaric acts of "revenge" against ihe Palestinian civilian refugee population in order to deter them from pursuing their just cause.

 

ISRAELI MILITARY OPERATIONS IN 1982

The three war criminals most responsible for the 1982 war were Ariel Sharon, Menahem Begin and Rafael Eitan. As the first wave of Israeli airplanes flew overhead towards their invasion targets in Lebanon, a member of the Israeli cabinet was overheard making the comment: "'The country is being led by two maniacs.' His companions understood that he had referred to Sharon and Eitan." (24) By the summer of 1982, Zionism had reached the stage where it might easily have brought about nuclear catastrophe. As Benjamin B. ~ereniz, Chief Prosecutor at the Trial of the Nazi Einsatzgruppen in Nuremberg in 1947, said in his opening statement: "Death was their tool and life was their toy. If these men be immune, then law has lost its meaning and man must live in fear." (25)

The first wave of Israeli ground forces, some 20,000 strong, crossed the Lebanese border in an operation ironically named "Operation Peace for Galilee." Jesus Christ was often referred to as the "Man of Galilee" in his time. That the "Prince of Peace" should have the name of his province given to the criminal invasion of a neighboring land is a travesty. It would have been more appropriate to have named it "Operation Habakkuk" after the Old Testament prophet who said "Fur the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee." (26)

The invasion of Lebanon in 1982, from beginning to end, was marked by lies and deception on the part of the highest levels of the Zionist leadership. On the very day of the invasion arch-terrorist Menachem Begin said: "We do not covet one inch of Lebanese territory." (27)

The falsity of this statement by Begin was to be proved by the Israeli actions themselves.

Even arch-war criminal Ariel Sharon, the architect of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon and the atrocities committed therein said "the government offices in Jerusalem" are characterized "only by cynicism, deception and lies." (28)

The facts of the war crimes committed in the 1982 war of aggression against Lebanon could not be hidden. Following is an itemization of these crimes: (29)

On June 6, 1982 massive concentrations of Israeli troops moving along three axes crossed the Lebanese border, violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon.

On June 7, 1982 Israeli troops occupied Tyre, Nabatiyeh, Hasbaya and many other Lebanese localities. Israeli airplanes attacked Damour, Naame, and West Beirut.

On June 8, 1982 Israeli forces occupied Sidon and the Shouf province of Lebanon.

On June 9,1982 Israeli tanks reached ten kilometers south of Beirut and Israeli airplanes bombed the Beka'a valley.

On June 10, 1982 Israeli airplanes bombed southern Beirut.

On June 11, 1982 Israeli forces attacked south Beirut and Beirut airport by air, land and sea. They established a bridgehead at Khalde.

On June 12,1982 Israeli forces and their Lebanese puppets attacked in the southern outskirts of Beirut.

On June 13, 1982 Israeli forces joined up with their Lebanese puppet forces in Baabda, the locale of the Lebanese Presidential Palace, and began a blockade of West Beirut. Many atrocities were committed in so-called "mopping up" operations in southern Lebanon.

On June 14, 1982 Israeli forces reached the Beirut-Damascus Highway and lined up with the Christian militia in East Beirut.

On June 15, 1982 Israeli forces overran the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh.

On June 16, 1982 Israeli forces advanced near Beirut airport.

On June 17,1982 Israeli forces bombarded the airport and southern suburbs of West Beirut by air, land and sea.

Also on June 17, Israeli forces bombarded the town of Aley in the Shouf province of Lebanon.

On June 18. 1982 Israeli forces moved into the "Green Line" dividing East and West Beirut. Israeli airplanes bombed the southern suburbs of Beirut.

On June 19, 1982 Israeli forces shelled residential areas and southern suburbs of West Beirut.

On the night of June 20, 1982 Israeli forces shelled residential areas and southern suburbs of West Beirut.

On June 21, 1982 Israeli forces continued heavy shelling and bombing of West Beirut.

On June 22, 1982 Israeli forces continued heavy shelling of West Beirut.

On June 23, 1982 Israeli forces advanced into the mountains and shelled dozens of Lebanese villages.

On June 24, 1982 Israeli forces shelled West Beirut with intense fire. Israeli forces occupied Bhamdoun, controlling the Beirut-Damascus highway.

On June 26, 1982 Israeli airplanes dropped leaflets on West Beirut urging civilians to flee.

On June 30, 1982 Israeli troops partially cut off water and electricity in west Beirut.

On July 2, 1982 Israeli artillery shelled the southern suburbs of West Beirut.

On July 3, 1982 Israeli forces completed a total blockade of West Beirut.

On July 4,1982 Israeli forces totally cut off electricity and partially cut off water supplies of West Beirut.

On July 5, 1982 Israeli forces heavily bombarded West Beirut.

On July 6, 1982 the Israeli heavy bombardment of West Beirut continued.

On July 7,1982 heavy Israeli bombardment of West Beirut continued.

On July 8, 1982 Israeli artillery shelled the southern suburbs of West Beirut.

On July 9,1982 the Israelis did the worst shelling of West Beirut since the invasion began-/ep

On July 11,1982 the Israeli shelled West Beirut intensively.

On July 21, 1982 Israeli airplanes attacked West Beirut and the Beka'a valley.

On July 22,1982 Israeli airplanes and artillery bombarded West Beirut.

On July 23,1982 Israeli airplanes and artillery bombarded West Beirut.

On July 24,1982 Israeli airplanes and artillery bombarded West Beirut.

On July 25, 1982 Israeli forces attacked Beirut and the Beka'a valley by air, land and sea.

On July 26,1982 Israeli forces bombarded West Beirut by air, land and sea.

On July 27, 1982 there were intensified raids and shelling of West Beirut by the Israeli forces.

On the night of July 29, 1982 Israeli forces shelled West Beirut, during its fifth day without any water or electricity.

On July 3 1,1982 Israeli forces bombarded West Beirut by air, land and sea.

On August 1, 1982 Israeli forces fired 185, West Beirut and occupied the airport.

On August 2, 1982 there was sporadic Israeli shelling of West Beirut and Israeli tanks moved into central Beirut close to the "Green Line."

On August 3, 1982 Israeli forces shelled the southern suburbs of West Beirut.

On August 4,1982 Israeli forces intensified artillery shelling and bombing of West Beirut by air. Israeli forces advanced on three axes.

On August 5, 1982 Israeli artillery shelled southern suburbs of West Beirut.

On August 6,1982 Israeli planes bombed residential areas of Beirut and there was heavy fighting around the museum crossing point.

On August 8, 1982 Israeli artillery shelled the Palestinian refugee camps in West Beirut.

Israeli War Crimes Committed in Lebanon in 1978 and 1982 797 On August 9, 1982 Israeli airplanes and artillery bombarded West Beirut until well into the night.

On August 10, 1982 Israeli forces bombarded West Beirut by air, sea and land.

On August 11,1982 Israeliforcescontinued bombardment of West Beirut by air, land and sea, and Israeli troops were deployed in Phalangist-controlled areas.

On August 12, 1982 Israeli forces, in the heaviest shelling of West Beirut since the invasion began, bombarded for eleven straight hours.

On August 14, 1982 there was sporadic Israeli shelling of the southern suburbs of West Beirut.

On September 13, 1982 Israeli airplanes bombed the Beka'a valley.

On September 15, 1982 the day after President-elect Bashir Gemayel was killed in a bomb blast, Israeli troops entered West Beirut.

On September 16, 1982 there was nearly total Israeli occupation of West Beirut and encirclement of the West Beirut Palestinian refugee camps.

On the night of September 16, 1982 until the 18th of September, 1982 Phalangist militia puppets of the Israelis committed the worst massacres of the 1982 war of aggression against Lebanon, in collusion with the Israeli forces, in the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps.

On September 26, 1982 Israeli forces pulled out of West Beirut.

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Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem
By Issa Nakhleh

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