The Lebanon War and the Intifadas, 1974-2008

 

IDF soldiers in the Lebanon War

IDF soldiers in the Lebanon War

By the time 1980 rolled around, Israel, had endured four wars and had just signed its first peace agreement with one of its Arab neighbors, in a deal with Egypt in 1979.

But the 1980s were anything but peaceful for the State of Israel.

War with Lebanon

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), formed in 1964 and based in Lebanon after being ousted from Jordan, was routinely making guerilla attacks into northern Israel. In response, in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon, getting as far as Beirut, and eventually driving the PLO out of Lebanon, forcing them to Tunisia.

Israel scored an initial victory, but many came to see Israel’s actions as an overall failure. First and foremost, Israel (and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, especially) suffered international condemnation for allowing a massacre in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila by the hands of some Lebanese Christians. Also, while the PLO was severely weakened, the war left a power vacuum in Lebanon that was filled by Syria, which quickly stepped in to control its neighbor.

The Intifada

In 1987, riots broke out in the Gaza Strip after a civilian Israeli truck driver accidentally crashed into the Jabaliya refugee camp, killing four. Supported and funded by the PLO in Tunisia, rioting spread to the West Bank. The Israeli army tried to stop the rioting but to no avail. Known as First Intifada, the rioting and protests spread throughout Israel and the Palestinian territories, with some of the heaviest violence occurring in Jerusalem. The Intifida did not officially end until 1993.

In the aftermath of the Intifada, the Palestinians appeared ready to soften their views toward Israel and the Israelis started looking towards the PLO as a potential partner in peace. After a devastating uprising, both sides looked ready to come to the negotiation table, even with very little trust of the other side.

In 1988, Yasser Arafat, chairman of the PLO and the organizer of past terrorist attacks on Israelis, announced he would accept an Israeli state next to a Palestinian one. He hoped that his renunciation of terror and his acceptance of Israel would legitimize the PLO in the eyes of the United States and the world community, leading to an eventual establishment of a Palestinian state.

Excerpted from History of Israel: 1980-2000, MyJewishLearning.com

Primary Sources

    1. United Nations Security Council Resolution 346, Apr. 8, 1974.
    2. United Nations Security Council Resolution 347, Apr. 24, 1974.
    3. Separation of Forces Agreement Between Israel and Syria, May 31, 1974.
    4. Israel and Middle East Affairs- Issues and Comments, Anti-Zionist Campaign at the U.N., Nov. 1975.
    5. President Anwar Sadat’s Speech to the Israeli Knesset, Nov. 20, 1977.
    6. Study Papers for the Camp David Talks, Memorandum from Secretary of State Cryus R. Vance to President Jimmy Carter, Aug. 1978.
    7. America’s United Nations Urges Repeal of UN Resolution 3379, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, Washington Jewish Week, Jan. 10, 1991.
    8. America’s United Nations Urges Repeal of UN Resolution 3379, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, Nov. 12, 1991.
    9. “We Are Outraged”- Statement of Concern for the People of Israel, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, Feb. 1, 1991.
    10. We Have a Stake in Israel – America’s Black Mayors, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, Sep. 5, 1991.
    11. Thank You, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, Dec. 22, 1991.
    12. We’ve Listed All the Democracies in the Middle East, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, June 21, 1992.
    13. 1948. An Age-Old Hope Reborn, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, Apr. 25, 1993.
    14. No One is Born Hating, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, May 6, 1993.
    15. We Stand with Israel, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, Mar. 17, 1996.
    16. Chairman Arafat, Which Will It Be? Peace or Jihad? Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, March 20, 1997.
    17. The Verdict on Iran- Guilty, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, Apr. 30, 1997.
    18. Guess Which One Receives a War Victims Pension from the German Government, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, May 7, 1997.
    19. Countries Not Eligible to Sit on the United Nations Security Council, Advertisement by the American Jewish Committee, NY Times, Sep. 23, 1997.
    20. Camp David 25th Anniversary Forum, The Carter Center and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C. Sep. 17, 2003.
    21. President Bush Addresses Members of the Knesset, Jerusalem, May 15, 2008.

Newspaper Articles

  1. January 1982
  2. February 1982
  3. Israel and PLO Sign Peace Pact, The Washington Post, Sep. 14, 1993. Click here for more on The Mufti of Jerusalem and Yasser Arafat.
  4. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak Greets Palestinian Authority President Yassir Arafat (photograph), Financial Times, Mar. 9, 2000.
  5. Terror in the Middle East, Time Magazine, Oct. 23, 2000.
  6. British top the list in Iran’s search for scapegoats, Financial Times, May 7, 2002.
  7. Excerpt from Naught for your comfort, The Economist, Aug. 8, 2002.
  8. Iraqi cliffhanger, Financial Times, Oct. 17, 2002.
  9. US urged to look at the lessons of history, Financial Times, Mar. 3, 2003.
  10. Middle East after the Iraq War- France presses Syria to aid peace process, Financial Times, May 1, 2003.
  11. Dublin anger as Blair delays Ulster poll, Financial Times, May 2, 2003.
  12. Summit Ends with Upbeat Vows from All, Haaretz, June 5, 2003.
  13. Right slams plan, center remains quiet, The Forward, June 6, 2003.
  14. UK moots ‘zones of protection’ for refugees, Financial Times, June 17, 2003.
  15. It was all wrong on the night,The Economist, Oct. 25, 2003.
  16. Militant Islam on the rise in secular Syria, Financial Times, May 11, 2004.
  17. Gambit in Gaza, Financial Times, Feb. 4, 2004.
  18. The lesson the world can learn from Ireland, Financial Times, Apr. 12, 2004.
  19. Pushing for peace, Financial Times, Apr. 11, 2004.
  20. No mention of Palestinian policy of terrorism (letter to the editor), Financial Times, Aug. 31, 2004.
  21. Opponents united in their desire for power, Financial Times, Aug. 31, 2004.
  22. Syria’s own goal, Financial Times, Sep. 2, 2004.
  23. Mideast ceasefire offers chance of freedom for Palestinian prisoners, Financial Times, Feb. 10, 2005.
  24. A less certain pessimism about the Middle East, Financial Times, Mar. 4, 2005.
  25. Amnesia and self-interest cloud the debate on Africa, Financial Times, Mar. 13, 2005.
  26. Blair leads attack on anti-Israel remarks, Financial Times, Oct. 28, 2005.
  27. Summers attacks boycott of Israeli academics, Financial Times, May 31, 2006.
  28. Revealed- How MI5 let 7/7 bombers slip through their fingers, Daily Mail, May 1, 2007.
  29. The road to peace runs through Jerusalem, Financial Times, Aug. 6, 2007.

Secondary Sources

    1. Christian Zionism, Hadassah Levy, COJS.
    2. Yigael Yadin 1917–1984, Hershel Shanks, Biblical Archaeology Review, Sep./Oct. 1984.
    3. Scholar Claims Bible Scholars Suppress Palestinian History in Favor of Israelites, BAR Mar-Apr 1996.
    4. A Return to Defensible Borders, Dan Diker, Azure, Summer 2005.
    5. The France 2 Al-Durrah Report, its Consequences and Implications

Images

  1. Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter and Anwar Sadat at Camp David, Sep. 7, 1978.
  2. Anwar Sadat Greets Ezer Weizman, Sep. 7, 1978.
  3. Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat with Jimmy Carter, Sep. 7, 1978.
  4. Original Copy of the Peace Agreement between Israel and Egypt, Mar. 26, 1979.
  5. Ethiopian Immigrants on the Way from Addis Ababa to Israel, 1991.
  6. Brigham Young University, Jerusalem. Photograph by Ardon Bar-Hama.
  7. Western Wall. Photograph by Ardon Bar-Hama.
  8. Tel-Aviv, 2006. Courtesy of Bibleplaces.com. Click here to view the Founding of Tel-Aviv, 1909.

Videos

  1. Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount

Websites

  1. Institute for the Study of Modern Israel of Emory University
  2. Iranian TV Series Based on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the Jewish Control of Hollywood
  3. ISRAEL21C
  4. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
  5. The Middle East Forum
  6. MEMRI- The Middle East Media Research Institute
  7. Myths and Facts Online- Jerusalem
  8. U.S. State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs

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