The Palestinian Resistance Movement In Lebanon 1967–82: Survival, Challenges, and Opportunities

Rami Siklawi

doi:10.13169/arabstudquar.39.3.0923

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of the Palestinian resistance movement and its evolution and survival in the deeply divided state of Lebanon between 1967 and 1982. The Arab defeat in the 1967 war allowed the Palestinian resistance to present itself as the main resistance movement in the Arab World, and this automatically gave the Palestinians wider support in the Arab World. However, clashes between the Palestinian resistance and the right-wing Lebanese factions (who opposed the Palestinians and their military presence in Lebanon) eroded support for the Palestinian resistance, especially as the divisions and frictions spread during the Lebanese Civil War. This created seemingly endless clashes between the Palestinians and the Lebanese. These developments led to the fragmentation of the Palestinian resistance, which had always been an Israeli objective. Finally, the Israeli invasion of 1982 led to the ouster of the Palestinian Liberation Organization from Lebanon.

Highlights

The Palestinian National Movement (PNM) enjoyed wide support among the Arab masses, who regarded the Palestinian issue as central to their national struggle
“the concept of armed struggle was itself developed with an urgency that had been lacking before June 1967.”1 It is important to note that “... after 1967, the Palestine resistance movement had taken on the form of a nationalist uprising and not a social revolution.”[2] the evolution of the Palestinian resistance movements was a destabilizing factor for the Arab regimes
Until the Israeli invasion of 1982, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), who enjoyed the Lebanese sanctuary, turned the Fakhani area in West Beirut into its main headquarters and the PLO had become more than a state-within-a-state in Lebanon, it was a statein-exile, with an autonomy born out of the combination it enjoyed of territorial control in Lebanon, non-extractive financial resources (Arab aid), and international recognition

Summary

Introduction

The Palestinian National Movement (PNM) enjoyed wide support among the Arab masses, who regarded the Palestinian issue as central to their national struggle. Israel promptly demonstrated its reaction to the Cairo Agreement by intensifying its brutal aggression against Southern Lebanon in an attempt to break the Palestinian popularity with the local people.[20] Until the Israeli invasion of 1982, the PLO, who enjoyed the Lebanese sanctuary, turned the Fakhani area in West Beirut into its main headquarters and the PLO had become more than a state-within-a-state in Lebanon, it was a statein-exile, with an autonomy born out of the combination it enjoyed of territorial control in Lebanon, non-extractive financial resources (Arab aid), and international recognition. Israeli air raids against Southern Lebanon and Beirut escalated from previous levels during the first two days of the invasion and led to a massive number of civilian casualties: 190 dead and 450 wounded.[42] It was clear that Israel’s main objective during the 1982 invasion was to destroy the Palestinian military presence and to target directly the leadership of the PNM and the soul of the resistance. It was an attempt to establish the base of a new world order through the elimination of the resistance movement in the Arab World and the termination of the Palestinian right of return

The Decline of the Palestinian Military Role in Lebanon

Conclusion