Editing Lebanon (section)

=== Civil War and occupation ===
{{Main|Lebanese Civil War|Syrian occupation of Lebanon|Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon}}With the 1970 [[Black September in Jordan|defeat]] of the [[PLO]] in Jordan, many Palestinian militants relocated to Lebanon, increasing their [[Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon|armed campaign]] against Israel. The relocation of Palestinian bases also led to increasing sectarian tensions between Palestinians versus the Maronites and other Lebanese factions.[[File:Green Line, Beirut 1982.jpg|thumb|The [[Green Line (Lebanon)|Green Line]] that separated west and east Beirut, 1982|left]]
In 1975, following increasing sectarian tensions, largely boosted by [[Fatahland|Palestinian militant relocation]] into South Lebanon, a full-scale civil war broke out in Lebanon. The [[Lebanese Civil War]] pitted a coalition of Christian groups against the joint forces of the [[Palestinian Liberation Organization|PLO]], left-wing Druze and Muslim militias. In June 1976, Lebanese President [[Élias Sarkis]] asked for the Syrian Army to intervene on the side of the Christians and help restore peace.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Toaldo|first1=Mattia|title=The Origins of the US War on Terror: Lebanon, Libya and American intervention in the Middle East|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415685016|page=45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c_gePvKuC_YC&q=elias+sarkis+syrian+intervention&pg=PA45|year=2013}}</ref> In October 1976 the [[Arab League]] agreed to establish a predominantly Syrian [[Arab Deterrent Force]], which was charged with restoring calm.<ref name="fco-cpl">{{cite web|title=Country Profile: Lebanon |url=http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/middle-east-north-africa/lebanon/?profile=all |publisher=British Foreign & Commonwealth Office |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000044/http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/middle-east-north-africa/lebanon/?profile=all |archive-date=17 January 2013}}</ref> PLO attacks from Lebanon into Israel in 1977 and 1978 escalated tensions between the countries. On 11 March 1978, 11 Fatah fighters landed on a beach in northern Israel and hijacked two buses full of passengers on the Haifa – Tel-Aviv road, shooting at passing vehicles in what became known as the [[Coastal Road massacre]]. They killed 37 and wounded 76 Israelis before being killed in a firefight with Israeli forces.<ref>{{Citation|title=133. Statement to the press by Prime Minister Begin on the massacre of Israelis on the Haifa – Tel Aviv Road|date=12 March 1978|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign%20Relations/Israels%20Foreign%20Relations%20since%201947/1977-1979/133%20Statement%20to%20the%20press%20by%20Prime%20Minister%20Begin|access-date=14 March 2023|publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs|archive-date=15 August 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040815085643/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign%20Relations/Israels%20Foreign%20Relations%20since%201947/1977-1979/133%20Statement%20to%20the%20press%20by%20Prime%20Minister%20Begin|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> Israel invaded Lebanon four days later in [[Operation Litani]]. The [[Israeli Army]] occupied most of the area south of the [[Litani River]]. The [[UN Security Council]] passed [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 425|Resolution 425]] calling for immediate Israeli withdrawal and creating the [[United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon]] (UNIFIL), charged with attempting to establish peace.[[File:BlueLine.jpg|thumb|Map showing the [[Blue Line (border)|Blue Line]] demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, established by the UN after the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 1978|left]]

Israeli forces withdrew later in 1978, but retained control of the southern region by managing a {{convert|12|mi|km|0|adj=mid|-wide|order=flip}} security zone along the border. These positions were held by the [[South Lebanon Army]] (SLA), a Christian militia under the leadership of Major [[Saad Haddad]] backed by Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister, [[Likud]]'s [[Menachem Begin]], compared the plight of the Christian minority in southern Lebanon (then about 5% of the population in SLA territory) to that of European Jews during World War II.<ref>Smith, op. cit., 355.</ref> The PLO routinely [[Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon|attacked]] Israel during the period of the cease-fire, with over 270 documented attacks.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Ze'ev Schiff |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1035902227 |title=Israel's Lebanon War |date=1985 |publisher=Touchstone |isbn=9780671602161 |author2=Ehud Yaʼari|author3=Ina Friedman |oclc=1035902227}}</ref> People in Galilee regularly had to leave their homes during these shellings. Documents captured in PLO headquarters after the invasion showed they had come from Lebanon.<ref>Jillian Becker, ''The PLO'', (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1984), pp. 202, 279.</ref> PLO leader [[Yasser Arafat]] refused to condemn these attacks on the grounds that the cease-fire was only relevant to Lebanon.<ref>Smith, op. cit., p. 376.</ref>
In April 1980 the killing of two UNIFIL soldiers and the injuring of a third by the South Lebanon Army, near [[At Tiri]], in the buffer zone led to the [[At Tiri incident]]. On 17 July 1981, Israeli aircraft bombed multi-story apartment buildings in Beirut that contained offices of PLO associated groups. The Lebanese delegate to the United Nations Security Council claimed that 300 civilians had been killed and 800 wounded. The bombing led to worldwide condemnation, and a temporary embargo on the export of U.S. aircraft to Israel.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Bombing of Beirut|journal=Journal of Palestine Studies|volume=11|issue=1|year=1981|pages=218–225|doi=10.1525/jps.1981.11.1.00p0366x}}</ref> In August 1981, defense minister [[Ariel Sharon]] began to draw up plans to attack PLO military infrastructure in West Beirut, where PLO headquarters and command bunkers were located.<ref>Smith, op. cit., p. 377.</ref>[[File:Civil war Lebanon map 1983a.gif|thumb|Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1983: {{legend|#008000|controlled by [[Syria]]}}{{legend|#ff00ff|controlled by Christian groups}}{{legend|#ffff00|controlled by Israel}}{{legend|#0080ff|controlled by the UN}}]]
In 1982, [[PLO in Lebanon|PLO]] attacks from Lebanon on Israel led to [[1982 Lebanon War|an Israeli invasion]], aiming to support Lebanese forces in driving out the PLO. A [[Multinational Force in Lebanon|multinational force]] of American, French and Italian contingents (joined in 1983 by a British contingent) were deployed in Beirut after [[Siege of Beirut|the Israeli siege of the city]], to supervise the evacuation of the PLO. The civil war re-emerged in September 1982 after the assassination of Lebanese President [[Bachir Gemayel]], an Israeli ally, and subsequent fighting. During this time a number of sectarian massacres occurred, such as in [[Sabra and Shatila massacre|Sabra and Shatila]], and in [[War of the Camps|several refugee camps]].<ref>''The War of the Camps'', Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Autumn, 1986), pp. 191–194</ref> The multinational force was withdrawn in the spring of 1984, following [[1983 Beirut barracks bombings|a devastating bombing attack]] during the previous year.

During the early 1980s, [[Hezbollah]], a Shiite Islamist militant group and political party, came into existence through the efforts of Shiite clerics who were [[Hezbollah–Iran relations|financially supported and trained by Iran]]. Arising in the aftermath of the 1982 war and drawing inspiration from the [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic Revolution in Iran]], Hezbollah actively engaged in combat against Israel as well as [[suicide attack]]s, [[car bomb]]ings and assassinations. Their objectives encompassed eliminating Israel, fighting for the Shia cause in the Lebanese civil war, ending Western presence in Lebanon, and establishing a Shiite [[Khomeinism|Khomeinist]] [[Islamic state]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=What is Hizbullah? |url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2023/10/18/what-is-hizbullah |access-date=12 January 2024 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=12 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112195506/https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2023/10/18/what-is-hizbullah |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":42" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Armajani |first=Jon |title=Shia Islam and Politics: Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon |date=2020 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-7936-2136-8 |location=Lanham (Md.) |pages=171–175}}</ref>

In the late 1980s, as [[Amine Gemayel]]'s second term as president drew to an end, the Lebanese [[Lebanese pound|pound]] collapsed. At the end of 1987 US$1 was worth £L500. This meant the legal minimum wage was worth just $17 a month. Most goods in shops were priced in dollars. A [[Save the Children]] director estimated that 200,000–300,000 children were in need of assistance and were living almost entirely on bread, which was subsidized by the government. Those who could relied on foreign assistance. Hezbollah was receiving about $3–5 million a month from [[Iran]].<ref>[[Middle East International]] No 315, 19 December 1987, Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; [[Jim Muir]] pp.6–7</ref> In September 1988, the Parliament failed to elect a successor to President Gemayel as a result of differences between the Christians, Muslims, and Syrians. The Arab League Summit of May 1989 led to the formation of a Saudi–Moroccan–Algerian committee to solve the crisis. On 16 September 1989 the committee issued a peace plan which was accepted by all. A ceasefire was established, the ports and airports were re-opened and refugees began to return.<ref name="fco-cpl" />[[File:Visit of Rafik Hariri, Libanese Prime Minister, to the EC P0009170125H (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Rafic Hariri]], prime minister of Lebanon in 1996]]In the same month, the Lebanese Parliament agreed to the [[Taif Agreement]], which included an outline timetable for Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon and a formula for the de-confessionalization of the Lebanese political system.<ref name="fco-cpl" /> The civil war ended at the end of 1990 after 16 years; it had caused massive loss of human life and property and devastated the country's economy. It is estimated that 150,000 people were killed and another 200,000 wounded.<ref>{{cite news|title=After 2 Decades, Scars of Lebanon's Civil War Block Path to Dialogue|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/world/middleeast/after-2-decades-scars-of-lebanons-civil-war-block-path-to-dialogue.html|work=The New York Times|author=Wood, Josh|date=12 July 2012|access-date=19 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218233705/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/world/middleeast/after-2-decades-scars-of-lebanons-civil-war-block-path-to-dialogue.html|archive-date=18 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Nearly a million civilians were displaced by the war, and some never returned.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72218 |title=Lebanon: Haven for foreign militants |publisher=UN IRIN news |date=17 May 2007 |access-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910195217/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72218 |archive-date=10 September 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Parts of Lebanon were left in ruins.<ref>{{cite web |last=Salem |first=Paul |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20061101faessay85602/paul-salem/the-future-of-lebanon.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108115822/http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20061101faessay85602/paul-salem/the-future-of-lebanon.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 November 2006 |title=The Future of Lebanon |publisher=Council on Foreign Relations |date=1 November 2006 |access-date=17 January 2013}}</ref> The Taif Agreement has still not been implemented in full and Lebanon's political system continues to be divided along sectarian lines. Conflict between Israel and Lebanese militants continued, leading to a series of violent events and clashes including the [[Qana massacre]].<ref>{{cite news|date=31 July 2006|title=Qana makes grim history again|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5228554.stm|access-date=4 October 2020|archive-date=3 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503221122/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5228554.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Haberman|first=Clyde|date=3 June 1994|title=Dozens Are Killed As Israelis Attack Camp in Lebanon|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/03/world/dozens-are-killed-as-israelis-attack-camp-in-lebanon.html|access-date=4 October 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414154802/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/03/world/dozens-are-killed-as-israelis-attack-camp-in-lebanon.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=5 June 1997|title=Fighting erupts in Lebanon after rockets hit Jewish state|url=https://www.jta.org/1997/06/05/default/fighting-erupts-in-lebanon-after-rockets-hit-jewish-state|access-date=4 October 2020|website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|language=en-US|archive-date=18 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218132941/http://archive.jta.org/article/1996/12/16/2885375/fighting-erupts-in-lebanon-after-rockets-hit-jewish-state|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2000, Israeli forces fully withdrew from Lebanon.<ref>{{cite web|date=29 April 2020|title=New details surface 20 years on from Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200429-new-details-surface-20-years-on-from-israels-withdrawal-from-lebanon/|access-date=4 October 2020|website=Middle East Monitor|language=en-GB|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414052925/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200429-new-details-surface-20-years-on-from-israels-withdrawal-from-lebanon/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=لبنان.. سنوات الحرب والسلام|url=https://www.aljazeera.net/2004/10/03/%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85|access-date=4 October 2020|website=www.aljazeera.net|language=ar|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030654/http://www.aljazeera.net/specialfiles/pages/0073f487-cba7-40d5-8042-257748c8a13f|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=24 September 2019|title=Israeli regime's ample weaknesses make its collapse undeniable: Nasrallah|url=https://en.mehrnews.com/news/150402/Israeli-regime-s-ample-weaknesses-make-its-collapse-undeniable|access-date=4 October 2020|website=Mehr News Agency|language=en|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414054839/https://en.mehrnews.com/news/150402/Israeli-regime-s-ample-weaknesses-make-its-collapse-undeniable|url-status=live}}</ref> Since then, 25 May is regarded by the Lebanese as the [[Resistance and Liberation Day (Lebanon)|Liberation Day]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Resistance and Liberation Day in Lebanon in 2021|url=https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/lebanon/resistance-and-liberation-day|access-date=4 October 2020|website=Office Holidays|language=en|archive-date=25 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525074658/https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/lebanon/resistance-and-liberation-day|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=On the occasion of the Day of Resistance and Liberation, the Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun delivered the Order of the Day to the troops|url=https://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/en/content/occasion-day-resistance-and-liberation-armed-forces-commander-general-joseph-aoun-delivered|access-date=4 October 2020|website=الموقع الرسمي للجيش اللبناني|date=24 May 2019 |language=en|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414052942/https://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/en/content/occasion-day-resistance-and-liberation-armed-forces-commander-general-joseph-aoun-delivered|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The internal political situation in Lebanon significantly changed in the early 2000s. After the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the death of former president [[Hafez al-Assad]] in 2000, the Syrian military presence faced criticism and resistance from the Lebanese population.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mroue |first=Bassem |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700118094/Lebanese-mark-uprising-against-Syrian-domination.html |title=Lebanese mark uprising against Syria's domination |work=Deseret News |access-date=17 January 2013 |date=13 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120160239/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700118094/Lebanese-mark-uprising-against-Syrian-domination.html |archive-date=20 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>[[File:Cedar_Revolution_Demonstrators.jpg|thumb|left|Demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on 14 February 2005]]On 14 February 2005, former Prime Minister [[Rafic Hariri]] was assassinated in a [[car bomb]] explosion.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Oakland|title=Language of murder makes itself understood|date=9 October 2007|url=https://www.thestar.com/article/264773|work=Toronto Star|access-date=2 February 2009|quote=Like a wound that just won't heal, a large expanse patch of fresh asphalt still mottles the grey surface of Rue Minet el-Hosn, where the street veers west around St. George Bay. The patch marks the exact spot where a massive truck bomb exploded 14 February 2005, killing prime minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others and gouging a deep crater in the road.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016153757/http://www.thestar.com/article/264773|archive-date=16 October 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Leaders of the [[March 14 Alliance]] accused [[Syria]] of the attack,<ref name="Syria-assassin">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/lebanon/lebanon_syria.html |title=Recent background on Syria's presence in Lebanon |publisher=CBC News Indepth |date=30 January 2007 |access-date=17 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119123620/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/lebanon/lebanon_syria.html |archive-date=19 November 2012}}</ref> while Syria and the [[March 8 Alliance]] claimed that Israel was behind the assassination. The Hariri assassination marked the beginning of a series of assassinations that resulted in the death of many prominent Lebanese figures.<ref group="nb">2005: [[Bassel Fleihan]], Lebanese legislator and Minister of Economy and Commerce; [[Samir Kassir]], Columnist and [[Democratic Left Movement (Lebanon)|Democratic Left Movement]] leader; [[George Hawi]], former head of [[Lebanese Communist Party]]; [[Gibran Tueni]], Editor in Chief of "An Nahar" newspaper. 2006: [[Pierre Gemayel]], Minister of Industry. 2007: [[Walid Eido]], MP; [[Antoine Ghanim]], MP.</ref> The assassination triggered the [[Cedar Revolution]], a series of demonstrations which demanded the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and the establishment of an international commission to investigate the assassination. Under pressure from the West, Syria began withdrawing,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4342705.stm|title=Syria begins Lebanon withdrawal|date=12 March 2005|work=BBC News|access-date=11 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308091520/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4342705.stm|archive-date=8 March 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> and by 26 April 2005 all Syrian soldiers had returned to Syria.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/04/26/lebanon/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726023249/http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/04/26/lebanon/ |archive-date=26 July 2008 |title=Last Syrian troops leave Lebanon |access-date=17 January 2013}}</ref>

[[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1595|UNSC Resolution 1595]] called for an investigation into the assassination.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sc8353.doc.htm|title=Press Release SC/8353|date=7 April 2005|publisher=United Nations – Security Council|access-date=19 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122120851/http://un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sc8353.doc.htm|archive-date=22 January 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission]] published preliminary findings on 20 October 2005 in the [[Mehlis report]], which cited indications that the assassination was organized by Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hoge|first=Warren|title=Syria Involved in Killing Lebanon's Ex-Premier, U.N. Report Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/20/international/middleeast/20cnd-syria.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times|date=20 October 2005|access-date=19 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218220207/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/20/international/middleeast/20cnd-syria.html?_r=0|archive-date=18 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Mehlis |first=Detlev |title=Report of the International Independent Investigation Commission established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1595 |publisher=[[United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine]] |url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/fd807e46661e3689852570d00069e918/308be5d60f79289b852570a5005d0d00!OpenDocument |date=19 October 2005 |quote=It is the Commission's view that the assassination of 14 February 2005 was carried out by a group with an extensive organization and considerable resources and capabilities. [...] Building on the findings of the Commission and Lebanese investigations to date and on the basis of the material and documentary evidence collected, and the leads pursued until now, there is converging evidence pointing at both Lebanese and Syrian involvement in this terrorist act. |access-date=2 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228173759/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/fd807e46661e3689852570d00069e918/308be5d60f79289b852570a5005d0d00%21OpenDocument |archive-date=28 February 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="UN_S2005662">{{UN document |docid=S-2005-662 |type=Document |body=Security Council |document_number=662 |access-date=9 April 2008 |date=20 October 2005|title=Report of the International Independent Investigation Commission established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1595 (2005)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/News/dh/docs/mehlisreport/ |title=Report of the International Independent Investigation Commission established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1595 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=5 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414021338/http://www.un.org/news/dh/docs/mehlisreport/ |archive-date=14 April 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>