South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)

South Lebanon conflict
Part of the Arab–Israeli conflict, Lebanese Civil War and Israeli–Lebanese conflict
Israeli troops in South Lebanon, June, 1982
Date 1982–2000 Location Southern Lebanon Result PLO withdrawal from Lebanon Unilateral withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon as a part of a greater peace plan Consolidation of Resistance under Hezbollah leadership The dissolvement of the Lebanese National Resistance Front The collapse and surrender of the South Lebanon Army (SLA) Reduced significance of other militant forces, including PLO
Belligerents
Israel File:South Lebanon Army Patch.png South Lebanon Army	PLO Hezbollah Amal LNRF Syria
Commanders and leaders
Shimon Peres Ariel Sharon Ehud Barak File:South Lebanon Army Patch.png Saad Haddad File:South Lebanon Army Patch.png Antoine Lahad	Yasser Arafat Abbas al-Musawi  † Hassan Nasrallah George Hawi Nabih Berri Hafez al-Assad
Strength
IDF: 1,000-1,200 troops (1997) SLA: ~2,000 (1997)
Casualties and losses
IDF: 546 killed SLA: Several hundred killed	Hezbollah: 1,283 killed Syria: 1 killed 7 wounded LNRF: Unknown number of casualties
172-189 Lebanese civilians killed 90 Israeli civilians killed

The Blue Line covers the Lebanese-Israeli border; an extension covers the Lebanese-Golan Heights border

The South Lebanon conflict refers to nearly 20 years of warfare between the Israel Defense Force and its Lebanese proxy militias with Lebanese muslim guerilla, led by Iranian-backed Hizbollah within what was defined by Israelis as the "Security Zone" in South Lebanon. It can also refer to the longer history of conflict in this region, beginning with PLO operations transfer to South Lebanon, following the civil war events of Black September in the Kingdom of Jordan. Historical tension between Palestinian refugee and Lebanese factions fomented the violent Lebanese internal political struggle between many different factions. In light of this, the South Lebanon conflict can be seen as a part of the Lebanese Civil War. The flare-up of conflict in the 1980s was a direct continuation of the Lebanese Civil War, and in particular the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. A key difference is that the while the Civil War set Lebanese against other Lebanese, the majority of fighting in South Lebanon primarily pitted Lebanese Hizbollah fighting against the Israeli army. The conflict's historical roots stem from the early political trouble surrounding the creation of the State of Israel and the Israeli conflict with PLO. Earlier conflicts prior to 1982 Israeli invasion, including operation Lithani attempted to eradicate the PLO bases from Lebanon and support Christian Maronite militias, following PLO's constant attacks on civilian population of Galilee (Northern Israel). The 1982 invasion resulted in the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) departure from Lebanon. The subsequent Israeli occupation of South Lebanon, starting in 1982, actually increased the severity of the conflict and resulted in the consolidation of several local muslim resistance movements in Lebanon, including Hezbollah and Amal, from a previously unorganized resistance movement in the south. The creation of Security Zone is South Lebanon has benefited with civilian Israeli population as Galilee suffered less violent attacks by Hizbollah (44 Israeli civilian casulaties), than previously by PLO in the 1970s (hundreds of Israeli civilian casualties). However, military casualties of both sides grew higher, as both parties used more modern weaponry, and Hizbollah progressed in its tactics. In 2000, the Israeli military completed their withdrawal from Lebanon, after 18 years; the completeness of this withdrawal is still debated.

Until the late 1980s, Israel and its ally, the South Lebanon Army (SLA), faced resistance from many unorganized Lebanese factions. Among the early resistance organizations were the Lebanese National Resistance Front, led by the Amal Movement, and the Lebanese Communist Party. Israeli occupation starting in 1982, however, encouraged many new resistance groups to emerge and eventually consolidate. By the early 1990s, the well-organized Hezbollah Islamic Resistance, with support from Syria and Iran, emerged as the leading group and military power, monopolizing the directorship of the resistance. Following his campaign promise, newly elected Prime Minister Ehud Barak withdrew Israeli forces from Southern Lebanon within the year. in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 425, passed in 1978; the withdrawal consequently resulted in the immediate total collapse of the SLA. However, the Lebanese government and the Resistance consider the withdrawal incomplete until Israel withdraws from Shebaa Farms. As a result of the withdrawal, Hezbollah had military and civil control of the southern part of Lebanon.

Background

See also: Partition of the Ottoman Empire

Following the 1948 Arab Israeli War, the 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed with United Nations mediation. The Lebanese-Israeli agreement created the armistice line, which coincided exactly with the existing international boundary between Lebanon and Palestine from the Mediterranean to the Syrian tri-point on the Hasbani River. From this tri-point on the Hasbani the boundary follows the river northward to the village of Ghajar, then northeast, forming the Lebanese-Syrian border. (The southern line from the tri-point represents the Palestine-Syria border of 1923). Israeli forces captured and occupied 13 villages in Lebanese territory during the conflict, including parts of Marjayun, Bint Jubayl, and areas near the Litani River, but withdrew following international pressure and the armistice agreement.

Although the Israel-Lebanon border remained relatively quiet, entries in the diary of Moshe Sharett point to a continued territorial interest in the area. On May 16, 1954, during a joint meeting of senior officials of the defense and foreign affairs ministries, Ben Gurion raised the issue of Lebanon due to renewed tensions between Syria and Iraq, and internal trouble in Syria. Dayan expressed his enthusiastic support for entering Lebanon, occupying the necessary territory and creating a Christian regime that would ally itself with Israel. The issue was raised again in discussions at the Protocol of Sèvres.

The Israeli victory in the 1967 Six Day War vastly expanded their area occupied in all neighboring countries, with the exception of Lebanon, but this extended the length of the effective Lebanon-Israel border, with the occupation of the Golan Heights. Although with a stated requirement for defense, later Israeli expansion into Lebanon under very similar terms followed the 1977 elections, which for the first time, brought the more militant, expansionist and Revisionist Likud to power.

Chronology

Emerging Conflict

Main articles: Lebanese Civil War and 1978 South Lebanon conflict

In the late 1960s and 1970s and following Black September in Jordan, displaced Palestinians, including militants affiliated with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, began to settle in south Lebanon. The unrestrained buildup of Palestinian militia, and the large autonomy they exercised, led to the popular term "Fatahland" for south Lebanon. The new Israeli government, desiring to break up and destroy this PLO stronghold, briefly invaded Lebanon in 1978, but the results of the invasion were mixed. The PLO was pushed north of the Litani River and a buffer zone was created to keep them from returning, with the placement of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). In addition and despite earlier covert support, Israel established a second buffer with renegade Saad Haddad’s Christian Free Lebanon Army enclave (initially based only in the towns of Marjayoun and Qlayaa); the now-public Israeli military commitment to the Christian forces was strengthened. For the first time however, Israel received substantive adverse publicity in the world press for its heavy-handed treatment of southern Lebanon, in which some 200,000 mostly Shia Lebanese fled the area and ended up in the southern suburbs of Beirut; this indirectly resulted in the Syrian forces in Lebanon turning against the Christians in late June and complicated the dynamics of the on-going Lebanese Civil War. After 1978, Israel retained some territory and continued to occupy a "buffer zone" within Lebanese territory.

Israeli Invasion

Main article: 1982 Lebanon War

In 1982, the Israeli military began "Operation Peace for Galilee", a full scale invasion of Lebanese territory. The invasion followed the 1978 Litani Operation, which gave Israel possession of the territory near the Israeli-Lebanese border. This follow-up invasion attempted to weaken the PLO as a unified political and military force and it led to the withdrawal of PLO and Syrian forces from Lebanon. Israel then controlled Lebanon from Beirut southward, and attempted to install a pro-Israeli government in Beirut and sign a peace accord with it. This goal was never realized, partly because of the assassination of President Bashir Gemayel in September 1982, and the refusal of the Lebanese Parliament to endorse the accord.

The withdrawal of the PLO forces in 1982 forced some Lebanese nationalists to start a resistance against the Israeli army led by the Lebanese Communist Party and Amal movement. During this time, some Amal members started the formation of an Islamic group supported by Iran that was the nucleus of the future Islamic Resistance.

Beginning of the Israeli occupation

Anger at the US support for the Israeli occupation resulted in the April 1983 United States Embassy bombing. In response, the US brokered the May 17 Agreement, in an attempt to stall hostilities between Israel and Lebanon. However, this agreement permitted the continued Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon, and was considered unacceptable. Resistance to the occupation continued, and in October, the United States Marines barracks in Beirut was bombed (usually attributed to the Islamic resistance). Following this incident, the United States withdrew its military forces from Lebanon. For all practical purposes, the May 17 accord was rendered moot; and as Israel showed no signs of withdrawing from Southern Lebanon, Islamic Jihad began to attract large numbers of radicalized Shia followers. Suicide bombings became increasingly popular at this time, and were a major concern of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) both near Beirut and in the South. Among the most serious were the two suicide bombings against the Israeli heaquarters in Tyre, which killed 103 soldiers, border policemen, and Shin Bet agents, and also killed 49-56 Lebanese. Israel withdrew from the Shouf Mountains but continued to occupy Lebanon south of the Awali River. An increased number of militas began operating in South Lebanon, and Israeli casualties continued to mount. Israeli forces often responded with increased security measures and airstrikes on PLO positions, though they lost a plane in the aerial attacks.

Consolidating resistance and Israeli "Iron Fist" Occupation

Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1983: Green - controlled by Syria, purple - controlled by Christian groups, yellow - controlled by Israel, blue - controlled by the United Nations

With the conflict escalating, the disorganized resistance in South Lebanon began to consolidate. The emerging Hezbollah, soon to become the preeminent Islamic Resistance militia, evolved during this period. However, scholars disagree as to when Hezbollah came to be regarded as a distinct entity. A number of Shi’a group members were slowly assimilated into the organization, such as Islamic Jihad members, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, and the Revolutionary Justice Organization.

On June 27, 1984, Israeli Shayetet 13 naval commandos backed by the Israeli Air Force raided a militant base on Jazirat a Nahal (Rabbit Island), about nine kilometers north of Tripoli, killing 15 Lebanese guerillas.

Israel's response to the consolidating Islamic resistance was harsh. The IDF redeployed in January 1985, and Israel declared South Lebanon a new "security zone." The IDF's brutal retaliatory tactics were branded the "Iron Fist" policy. Among the victims of the new Israeli rules of engagement were a CBS news crew, killed by an Israeli tank raiding party. As a consequence, this occupied area or security zone became a breeding-ground for increased resistance attacks. Noam Chomsky described the Israeli occupation policy as "savagery" and accuse the Israeli occupiers of "brutal degradation, repression, exploitation of cheap (including child) labor", and describes conditions of constant shelling and sniper fire. In February 1985 Hezbollah released an open letter to "The Downtrodden in Lebanon and in the World", which stated that the world was divided between the oppressed and the oppressors. The oppressors were named to be mainly the United States and Israel. This letter legitimized and praised the use of violence against the enemies of Islam, mainly the West. The newfound unity among these Shi'a resistance groups in 1985 has been credited to the disappearance of Musa al-Sadr. Retaliation for the Israeli occupation included hit-and-run guerilla attacks, suicide bombings, and the beginning of Katyusha rocket attacks on Israeli cities, including Kiryat Shmona. The Katyusha proved to be an effective weapon and became a mainstay of the Islamic resistance in South Lebanon. In February 1985, Israel withdrew from Sidon and turned it over to the Lebanese Army, but faced attacks: 15 Israelis were killed and 105 wounded during the withdrawal. Dozens of SLA members were also assassinated. In the weeks that followed, clashes increased as Israel stuck to its Iron Fist policy. From mid-February to mid-March, the Israelis lost 18 dead and 35 wounded. On March 11, Israeli forces raided the town of Zrariyah, killing 40 Amal fighters and capturing a large stock of arms. On April 9, a Shiite girl drove a car bomb into an IDF convoy, and the following day, a soldier was killed by a land mine. During that same period, Israeli forces killed 80 Lebanese guerillas in five weeks. Another 1,800 Shiites were being held prisoner. Israel withdrew from the Bekaa valley on April 24, and from Tyre on the 29th, but continued to occupy a security zone in Southern Lebanon.

After Israel destroyed Hezbollah's headquarters in the town of Marrakeh, a Hezbollah suicide bomber destroyed an Israeli transport truck carrying soldiers on the Israel-Lebanon border. In response, Israeli forces ambushed two Hezbollah vehicles, killing eight Hezbollah fighters.

In the late 1980s, the elite Israeli Shayetet 13 naval commandos began staging raids on Hezbollah. Typical missions were interdiction of Hezbollah's vessels, blowing up enemy headquarters and key facilities, conducting ambushes, and planting explosives on Hezbollah routes. Dozens of successful missions were carried out each year. Large numbers of Hezbollah fighters were killed in the raids, and the organization also suffered heavy material losses.

On July 28, 1989, Israeli commandos kidnapped Sheikh Abdul Karim Obeid, the leader of Hezbollah. This action led to the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 638, which condemned all hostage takings by all sides.

Taif Accord

The Lebanese Civil War officially came to an end with the 1989 Ta'if Accord, but the armed combat continued at least until October 1990, and in South Lebanon until at least 1991. In fact, the continued Israeli presence in the south of Lebanon resulted in continued low-intensity warfare and sporadic major combat until the Israeli withdrawal in 2000.

Post-Civil-War Conflict

Though the majority of the Lebanese civil war conflicts ended in the months following the Ta'if Accord, Israel maintained a military presence in South Lebanon. Consequently, the Islamic Resistance, by now dominated by Hezbollah, continued operations in the South. On February 16, 1992, Hezbollah leader Abbas al-Musawi was killed along with his wife and son and four others when Israeli AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships fired three missiles at his motorcade. The attack was in retaliation for the killings of three Israeli soldiers two days earlier when their camp was infiltrated. Hezbollah responded with rocket fire onto the Israeli security zone, and Israel then fired back at about 20 Lebanese villages, and sent two armored columns past the security zone to hit Hezbollah strongholds in Kafra and Yater. Musawi was succeeded by Hassan Nasrallah. One of Nasrallah's first public declarations was the "retribution" policy: If Israel hit Lebanese civilian targets, then Hezbollah would retaliate with attacks on Israeli territory. Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued attacks against IDF targets within occupied Lebanese territory.

In 1993, hostilities flared again. After a month of Hezbollah shelling on Israeli towns and attacks on its soldiers, Israel conducted a seven-day operation called Operation Accountability in order to destroy Hezbollah. One Israeli soldier and 8-50 Hezbollah fighters were killed in the operation, along with 2 Israeli and 118 Lebanese civilians. After one week of fighting in Southern Lebanon, a mutual agreement mediated by the United States prohibits attacks on civilian targets by both parts. However, Hezbollah soon broke the cease-fire, and sporadically attacked Israeli positions and its proxy, the SLA.

In May 1994, Israeli commandos kidnapped Hezbollah leader Mustafa Dirani. In June, an Israeli airstrike against a training camp killed 30-45 Hezbollah cadets. The shiite organization retaliated firing four barrages of Katyusha rockets into northern Israel.

Continued hostility

The fighting culminated during Operation Grapes of Wrath in April 1996 when Israel launched an assault and air-campaign against Hezbollah. The campaign resulted in the deaths of more than 150 civilians and refugees, most of them in the shelling of a United Nations base at Qana. Within a few days, a ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Hezbollah, committing to avoid civilian casualties; however, combat continued for at least two months. A total of 14 Hezbollah fighters and 1 Syrian soldier, and 3 Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting.

On 4 February 1997, two Israeli transport helicopters collided over She'ar Yashuv in Northern Israel while waiting for clearance to fly into Lebanon. A total of 73 IDF soldiers were killed in the disaster. On 28 February one Israeli soldier and four Hezbollah guerrillas were killed in a bloody clash. On 4 August 1997, Israeli soldiers killed five Hezbollah gunmen, including two area commanders, in a clash north of the security zone. On September 5 1997, a raid by 16 Israeli Shayetet 13 naval commandos failed after the troops stumbled into an IED ambush, killing 12. Shortly afterward, Hezbollah fighter Hadi Nasrallah was killed in a clash with Israeli soldiers. Hadi was the son of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

On 30 May, two staggered road-side bombs killed four Israeli soldiers and injured several others at Marjayoun, where the IDF had their headquarters in southern Lebanon. On 10 June, all 13 members of an Israeli patrol north of the Litani river were killed or wounded in an ambush by Hezbollah. In retaliatory fire after the 10 June incident, Israeli artillery killed one Lebanese Army soldier and wounded one civilian.

In 1999, several dozen Hezbollah and Amal fighters were killed. Twelve Israeli soldiers and one civilian were also killed, one of them in accident. Hezbollah also successfully captured an Israeli M113 armored personnel carrier.

2000: Israeli withdrawal

A captured SLA Army tank, featuring a wooden portrait of the late Ayatollah Khomeini now on display in southern Lebanon

In July 1999, Ehud Barak became Israel's Prime Minister. He promised that Israel would unilaterally withdraw to the international border by July 2000. Many believed that Israel would only withdraw from Southern Lebanon upon reaching an agreement with Syria.

In January 2000, Hezbollah assassinated the commander of the South Lebanon Army's Western Brigade, Colonel Aql Hashem, at his home in the security zone. Hashem had been responsible for day to day operations of the SLA. After this assassination there were doubts about the leadership of the South Lebanon Army (SLA).

During the spring of 2000, Hezbollah operations stepped up considerably, with persistent harassment of Israeli military outposts in occupied Lebanese territory. Israeli forces began abandoning forward positions within Lebanon.

On 24 May, Israel announced that it would withdraw all troops from southern Lebanon. All Israeli forces had withdrawn from Lebanon by the end of the next day, more than six weeks before its stated deadline of 7 July." This resulted in the collapse of the SLA and the rapid advance of Hezbollah forces into the free area. As the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew, thousands of Lebanese rushed back to the South to reclaim their villages and properties. This withdrawal was widely considered a victory for Hezbollah and boosted its popularity hugely in Lebanon. However, Israel continued to occupy Shebaa farms, a small piece of territory on the Lebanon-Israel-Syria border, with disputed sovereignty.

Israel considered this move as tactical withdrawal since it always regarded the Security Zone as a buffer zone only to defend Israel's citizens. With an end to the occupation, Israel could assume it would improve its worldwide image.

As a Syrian-backed Lebanese government refused to demarcate its border with Israel, Israel worked with UN cartographers led by regional coordinator Terje Rød-Larsen to certify Israel has withdrawn from all occupied Lebanese territory. On June 16, 2000, UN Security Council concluded that Israel had indeed withdrawn its forces from all of Lebanon, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 (1978).

Ehud Barak has argued that "Hezbollah would have enjoyed international legitimacy in their struggle against a foreign occupier" if the Israelis had not unilaterally withdrew without a peace agreement.

Aftermath

Main articles: 2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict and 2006 Lebanon War

An Israeli Army outpost, in 2007, as seen from the Lebanese side of the border

Upon Israel's withdrawal, there was increasing fear among the Christian people of the South that Hezbollah would seek vengeance against those thought to have supported Israel. Hezbollah met with Christian clerics to reassure them that the Israeli withdrawal was a victory for Lebanon as a nation, not just one sect or militia.

The tentative peace, resulting from the withdrawal, did not last, as Hezbollah rejected UNSC 425, and a weak Lebanese government did not deploy its forces along the Israeli border as required by UNSC 425.

On October 7, 2000 Hezbollah attacked Israel. In a cross-border raid, three Israeli soldiers who were patrolling the Lebanese border were attacked and abducted. Their bodies were returned to Israel in a 2004 prisoner exchange. During this exchange, it was also agreed that the price for the release of Lebanon's longest-held prisoner Samir Kuntar would be solid information on the fate of captured Israeli pilot Ron Arad. As Hezbollah failed to unearth any solid evidence as to Arad's fate, Kuntar remained incarcerated for his crimes.

In July 2006, in response to Israel's failure to release the Lebanese prisoners in Israel, Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others. In retaliation Israel began the 2006 Lebanon War to rescue the abducted soldiers and destroy Hezbollah.

See also

• Lebanese Civil War
• 1978 South Lebanon conflict
• Operation Accountability
• Operation Grapes of Wrath
• 2000-2006 Shebaa Farms conflict
• 2006 Lebanon War
• Hezbollah
• List of modern conflicts in the Middle East