The Withdrawal of Palestinian Forces from Beirut (1982)

Abstract

When Israel invaded Lebanon in June 1982 her forces swept to the very outskirts of Beirut. There they stopped, and laid siege to the western, Muslim, part of the city, where large numbers (thought to be 6,000–8,000) of Palestinian fighters had established positions amidst about half a million civilians. The object of the Israeli invasion had been to drive the Palestinians from Lebanon. But Israel’s extremely heavy bombardment of West Beirut over the next two months failed to have this effect, and she was not disposed to take the heavy losses which would almost surely ensue if she sent her troops into the streets of the city. The political costs of her bombardment, which was brought to a wide international audience through television, were also mounting (see Map 56).