Map – War In Lebanon (1982 – 1985)

TIME PERIOD: 1982 – 1985

“Israel invaded Lebanon in June [6,] 1982. The invasion culminated in a long siege of the western part of Beirut, mainly inhabited by Muslims and dominated by the PLO. The siege ended with an agreement, negotiated through the U.S. government, by which the PLO would evacuate west Beirut.”

Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples p. 431, Warner Books Edition, 1991

“The PLO military infrastructure in southern Lebanon was destroyed, and the organization was driven out of Beirut [September 2, 1982]. Many PLO fighters were killed, and it lost most of its heavy equipment and ammunition stockpiles. Its headquarters was reestablished in faraway Tunisia, and its military units were dispersed in camps around the Middle East and North Africa, no longer posing a threat along or near Israel’s borders. The PLO and Arafat emerged from the fray considerably weakened.”

Benny Morris, Righteous Victims p. 558, Vintage Books, 2001

“On 17 May 1983 Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement that formally terminated the state of war and recognized the international border between them as inviolable. The parties undertook to prevent the use of one country’s territory for terrorist activity against the other country. Israel was to withdraw its forces to a distance of forty to forty-five kilometers from the international border to an area defined as a ‘security zone.’ The area north of the security zone was to be under the control of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon [UNIFIL].”

Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall p. 427, W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2001

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