Editing Yitzhak Rabin (section)

==Minister of Defense (1984–1990)==
From 1984 until 1990, Labor was in government as part of the coalitions which formed the [[Twenty-first government of Israel|21st]] and [[Twenty-first government of Israel|22nd]] governments during the [[List of members of the eleventh Knesset|11th Knesset]] and the [[Twenty-third government of Israel|23rd government]] during the first portion of the [[List of members of the tenth Knesset|10th Knesset]].

From 1984 to 1990, Rabin served as [[Ministry of Defense (Israel)|Minister of Defense]] in several [[national unity government]]s led by prime ministers [[Yitzhak Shamir]] and [[Shimon Peres]]. When Rabin came to office, Israeli troops were still deep in Lebanon. Rabin ordered their withdrawal to a "Security Zone" on the Lebanese side of the border. The [[South Lebanon Army]] was active in this zone, along with the [[Israeli Defence Forces]].

On 4 August 1985 Minister of Defence Rabin introduced an Iron Fist policy in the West Bank, reviving the use of British Mandate era [[Defence (Emergency) Regulations|legislation]] to detain people without trial, demolish houses, close newspapers and institutions as well as deporting activists. The change in policy came after a sustained public campaign demanding a tougher policy following the [[Jibril Agreement|May 1985]] prisoner exchange in which 1,150 Palestinians had been released.<ref>[[Joost Hiltermann|Hiltermann, Joost R.]] (1991). ''Behind the Intifada. Labor and Women’s Movements in the Occupied Territories''. Princeton University Press. {{isbn|0-691-07869-6}}. p. 114.</ref>

When the [[first Intifada]] broke out, Rabin adopted harsh measures to stop the violent [[riots]], even authorizing the use of "Force, might and beatings," on the rioters.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/26/world/us-jews-torn-over-arab-beatings.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print|newspaper=The New York Times|date=26 January 1988|title=U.S. Jews Torn Over Arab Beatings|first=David K.|last=Shipler}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/12/world/israel-declines-to-study-rabin-tie-to-beatings.html?pagewanted=print|newspaper=The New York Times|date=12 July 1990|title=Israel Declines to Study Rabin Tie to Beatings}}</ref> The derogative term the "bone breaker" was used as a critical International [[slogan]].<ref name=Shlaim/> The combination of the failure of the "Iron Fist" policy, Israel's deteriorating international image, and Jordan cutting legal and administrative ties to the [[West Bank]] with the U.S.'s recognition of the [[PLO]] as the representative of the [[Palestinian people]] forced Rabin to seek an end to the violence through negotiation and dialogue with the PLO.<ref name=Shlaim>{{cite book|last=Shlaim|first=Avi|year=2000|title=The Iron Wall; Israel and the Arab World|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-028870-4|pages=453–57}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fpri.org/peacefacts/023.199511.sicherman.rabinappreciation.html|work=Foreign Policy Research Institute|title=Yitzhak Rabin: An Appreciation|first=Harvey|last=Sicherman|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080909204606/http://www.fpri.org/peacefacts/023.199511.sicherman.rabinappreciation.html|archive-date=9 September 2008}}</ref>

In 1988 Rabin was responsible for the assassination of [[Abu Jihad]] in Tunis and two weeks later he personally supervised the destruction of the [[Hizbullah]] stronghold in [[Meidoun]] during [[Operation Law and Order]], in which the IDF claimed 40–50 Hizbullah fighters were killed. Three Israeli soldiers were killed and seventeen wounded.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mw4uSoHJvIwC&dq=maidoun&pg=PT310|title=Fortress Israel: The inside story of the military elite who run the country – and why they can't make peace|isbn=978-1-84627-446-6|last1=Tyler|first1=Patrick|year= 2012|publisher=Granta Publications }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1988/5/16/israels-48-hour-invasion|title=Israel's 48-hour invasion &#124; Maclean's &#124; May 16, 1988|access-date=4 February 2022|archive-date=4 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204202958/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1988/5/16/israels-48-hour-invasion|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Minister of Defence Rabin planned and executed the 27 July 1989 abduction of the [[Hizbullah]] leader Sheikh [[Abdel Karim Obeid]] and two of his aides from [[Jibchit]] in [[Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon|South Lebanon]]. Hizbullah responded by announcing the execution of [[William R. Higgins|Colonel Higgins]], a senior American officer working with [[UNIFIL]] who had been kidnapped in February 1988.<ref>[[Middle East International]] No 356, 4 August 1989, Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; [[Jim Muir]] pp. 3–4</ref><ref>Middle East International No. 356, 4 August 1989, Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; [[Peretz Kidron]] p. 5</ref>