Editing Menachem Begin (section)

====Sabra and Shatila massacre====
Public dissatisfaction reached a peak in September 1982, after the [[Sabra and Shatila Massacre]]. Hundreds of thousands gathered in [[Tel Aviv]] in what was one of the biggest public demonstrations in Israeli history. The [[Kahan Commission]], appointed to investigate the events, issued its report on 9 February 1983, found the government indirectly responsible for the massacre but that Defense Minister [[Ariel Sharon]] "bears personal responsibility." The commission recommended that Sharon be removed from office and never serve in any future Israeli government. Initially, Sharon attempted to remain in office and Begin refused to fire him. But Sharon resigned as Defense Minister after the death of [[Emil Grunzweig]], who was killed by a grenade tossed into a crowd of demonstrators leaving a [[Peace Now]] organized march, which also injured ten others, including the son of an Israeli cabinet minister. Sharon remained in the cabinet as a minister without portfolio. Public pressure on Begin to resign increased.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Schiff |first1= Ze'ev |author-link= Ze'ev Schiff |last2= Ehud |first2= Yaari |author-link2= Ehud Yaari |title= Israel's Lebanon War |publisher= [[Simon & Schuster]] |year= 1984 |isbn= 978-0-671-47991-6 |url= https://archive.org/details/israelslebanonwa0000schi }}</ref>

Begin's disoriented appearance on national television while visiting the [[Battle of the Beaufort (1982)|Beaufort battle]] site raised concerns that he was being misinformed about the war's progress. Asking Sharon whether PLO fighters had ‘machine guns’, Begin seemed out of touch with the nature and scale of the military campaign he had authorized. Almost a decade later, ''[[Haaretz]]'' reporter [[Uzi Benziman]] published a series of articles accusing Sharon of intentionally deceiving Begin about the operation's initial objectives, and continuously misleading him as the war progressed. Sharon sued both the newspaper and Benziman for [[libel]] in 1991. The trial lasted 11 years, with one of the highlights being the deposition of Begin's son, [[Benny Begin|Benny]], in favor of the defendants. Sharon lost the case.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/breaking-the-silence-of-cowards-1.36149 Breaking the silence of cowards] Haaretz, 23 August 2002. Retrieved 26 April 2007</ref>