Arab-Israeli Conflict - 1978 Operation Litani

Operation Litani was the official name of the Israel Defense Forces 1978 invasion of Lebanon up to the Litani river. It was a military success, as PLO forces were pushed north of the river. However international concern led to the creation of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force and a partial Israeli retreat.

Background

Operation Litani occurred after many years of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. From 1968 on, the PLO, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other Palestinian groups established a quasi-state in southern Lebanon, using it as a base for raids on northern Israel. This was exacerbated by a massive influx of PLO militants fleeing a defeat in the Jordanian civil war and regrouping in southern Lebanon. Israel responded with damaging attacks against Lebanese villages and PLO bases and an escalating cycle of violence began, eventually culminating in the Lebanon War of 1982 and the ejection of the PLO from the country. Several notable events preceded the 1978 Operation Litani:

* On 26 December 1968 two Palestinian gunmen travelled from Beirut to Athens, and attacked an El Al jet there killing 1 person. In response, on 28 December 1968, Israel Defense Force (IDF) troops destroyed 13 civilian aircraft at Beirut International Airport.
* On 8 May 1970 three Palestinian gunmen crossed the Lebanese border into the agricultural community of Avivim and ambushed the local schoolbus, killing nine children and three adults, and crippling 19 other children in the Avivim school bus massacre.
* On 10 April 1973 Israeli commandos killed three PLO leaders (Yusef Al Najjar, Kamal Adwan and Kamal Nasserin) in Beirut (Operation Spring of Youth).
* On 11 April 1974 three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine infiltrated Kiryat Shmona from Lebanon, killing eighteen residents of an apartment building, including nine children in the Kiryat Shmona massacre; they were eventually killed during an exchange of fire with a failed IDF rescue mission.
* On 15 May 1974 members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine infiltrated the Israeli border town of Ma'alot from Lebanon, killing five adults and taking grade 11 children in a local school hostage. They eventually shot 21 of the children, before being killed by IDF soldiers, in the Ma'alot massacre.
* On 5 March 1975 eight PLO gunmen travelled from Lebanon to Tel Aviv by sea in a rubber dinghy, entered the Savoy Hotel and took dozens of hostages. During the rescue mission three IDF soldiers were killed and eight hostages wounded; the PLO gunmen retreated to a room and attempted to blow themselves up, killing eight hostages and wounding 11, as well as killing seven of the PLO gunmen. See Savoy Operation.
* On 11 March 1978, eight Fatah seaborne commandos led by the 18-year old female Dalal Mughrabi travelled from Lebanon and killed an American tourist on the beach. They then hijacked a full bus on the coastal road near Haifa to take them to Tel Aviv and after a lengthy chase and shootout, six of the commandos and 35 of the passengers were killed, 71 wounded. This, the Coastal Road Massacre was the proximate cause of the Israeli invasion three days later. (Cobban, p.94, Shlaim p.369)

According to Robert Fisk, the PLO-Israeli conflict increased political tensions between Maronite Christians and the Muslims and Druze, adding to the factors behind the 1975-76 Lebanese Civil War.


Course of fighting

On March 14, 1978, Israel launched Operation Litani, occupying the area south of the Litani River, excepting Tyre, with over 25,000 soldiers. Its stated goals were to push Palestinian militant groups, particularly the PLO, away from the border with Israel, and to bolster Israel's ally at the time, the South Lebanon Army. The Israeli Defence Forces first captured a belt of land approximately 10 kilometres deep, but later expanded north to the Litani River. The Lebanese government estimated 285,000 refugees were created (Fisk, p. 130). It is estimated that 1,100-2,000 Lebanese were killed, almost all civilians (Fisk, p. 124). Israeli soldiers were court-martialled after several Lebanese peasants were strangled and prisoners were executed (Fisk, p. 131) 20 Israelis were killed. 50 Shia Muslims were massacred in Khiyam by Christian militiamen (Fisk, p. 137) [1]. The PLO retreated north of the Litani River, continuing to fire at the Israelis.


Outcome of the war

In response to the invasion, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 425 and Resolution 426 calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) [2] was created to enforce this mandate, and restore peace and sovereignty to Lebanon. UNIFIL forces arrived in Lebanon on 23 March 1978, setting up headquarters in Naqoura.

Israeli forces withdrew later in 1978, turning over positions inside Lebanon along the border to their ally, the South Lebanon Army (SLA) under the leadership of Maj. Saad Haddad. With Israeli aid, the SLA continually harassed UNIFIL. On 19 April 1978, the SLA shelled UNIFIL headquarters, killing 8 UN soldiers. (Fisk, 138). In April, 1980, two Irish UN soldiers were kidnapped and murdered by Christian gunmen in SLA territory and another Irish soldier was shot by Haddad's men. The Israeli press at the time, particularly the Jerusalem Post, accused the Irish of pro-PLO bias. (Fisk, pp. 152-154). However, the PLO also attacked UNIFIL, killing an Irish UN soldier in 1981 and continuing to occupy areas in southern Lebanon.


Resolution 425

In 2000, the UN Security Council concluded that, as of 16 June 2000, Israel had withdrawn its forces from Lebanon in accordance with resolution 425 after an 18 year military presence.

Lebanon has not extended control over south Lebanon, though it was called on to do so by UN Resolution 1391 of 2002 (3 page PDF document:) [3] and urged by UN Resolution 1496. Israel has lodged multiple complaints regarding Lebanon's conduct.

Lebanon's claim that Israel has not fully withdrawn (see Shebaa Farms) was explicitly rejected by the UN's Secretary-General's report which led to UN Security Council Resolution 1583. The Syrian presence in Lebanon led to UN Security Council Resolution 1559 demanding the remaining 14,000 (of 50,000 originally) Syrian troop withdrawal and the dismantling of Hezbollah and Palestinian militias. On April 26, 2005, after 29 years of Syrian military presence in Lebanon, the last of the Syrian troops withdrew in accordance with the resolution.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Litani

Back to Arab-Israeli Conflict