Editing Palestine (section)

=====1982 Lebanon War=====
Lebanon was ripe for a civil war to the north of Israel. This was, in part, due to religious tensions between the three main groups of Lebanon: Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, and Christians. The Lebanese political system was designed to give all three power to share, in which each group is guaranteed representation in its assigned leadership position. However, Shia Muslims felt they were getting the worst deal of the three.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization was based in Jordan before King Hussein mobilized Jordanian forces to attack and expel them to southern Lebanon and Syria (known as Black September or the Jordanian civil war). The PLO launched mortars at Israeli territory from across the borders of all three countries. Israel's motive for invading Lebanon was to stomp out the PLO entirely-- not only those who perpetrated such attacks. The problem with the PLO was (and is) their moderateness in the eyes of Israel. They have consistently advocated peace based on the 1967 borders with a right to return for all displaced Palestinians. However, Israel saw this as too reasonable-- they'd rather go to war than return to the 1967 borders.

Various groups were vying for power, but by 1975 they succumbed to infighting and a civil war erupted. The Lebanese civil war lasted until 1990.

In 1979, the Iranian monarchy was overthrown and replaced with a republic led by the Shia cleric (Ayatollah) Ruhollah Khomeini. This revolution became a regional symbol of power, and Khomeini saw the revolution as extending beyond the borders of Iran. Some even say Khomeini saw this revolution as "pan-Islamic", extending beyond the limits of Shia Islam as well. Thus, in the mayhem of the Lebanese civil war, Iran used the situation to spread its influence.

The CIA attributed the rise of Islamic fundamentalism to the discrediting of Islamic politics as it developed since 1950, up until the Islamic Revolution in 1979-- which many feel gave Islam its proper modern political expression.

The following year the PLO sent multiple factions to train in the Soviet Union together. The PLO was funded and armed by the then-destalinized Soviet Union, under Brezhnev. At this point, the Soviets had been dragged through Khrushchev giving weight to claims of a "Soviet empire" with his foreign policy, as well as Brezhnev's attempts to dictate the foreign policy of other countries. Here, though, lay an unavoidable legacy of Stalin's reversal of policy regarding Palestinian self-determination, which Breznev was acknowledging in assisting the PLO.

The PLO attempted to assassinate Israeli Ambassador to London Shlomo Argov on June 3rd, 1982. It was in August 1982 when Israel sent tanks, troops, and bombs across the border in its invasion of southern Lebanon with the solitary goal of eradicating the PLO, who were beginning to fire rockets into northern Israel again, driving Israelis from their northern settlements along the border. This invasion is known as Operation Peace for Galilee, in which Israeli forces reached Beirut. After withdrawing to southern Lebanon, Israel occupied southern Lebanese territory until 2000.

The Israeli goal of destroying the PLO was essentially completed during this operation; the PLO was sent into exile in multiple Arab countries.

It was during this time, and in response to the Israeli invasion, that the Hezbollah political and military force-- a group of Shia Muslims inspired by the Iranian Revolution who came together to oppose Israel-- was founded. Hezbollah is led by Hassan Nasrallah (1960 - ), who joined and climbed its ranks throughout the 1980s, assuming command as General-Secretary in 1992. Hezbollah remains openly supportive of Iran as a unifying power in the region today, and Iran trains, funds, and arms Hezbollah fighters since 1982 through the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), specifically its Quds (foreign ops) Force. This is overt-- both Iran and Hezbollah admit that Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy against Israel-- and Iran had only attacked Israel through this or another proxy group until Israel's direct attack on the Iranian embassy in 2024. In 1985, Hezbollah claimed "the obliteration of Israel from existence" was a top priority, alongside taking control from US and French occupying troops acting as peacekeepers. Their tactics included suicide bombings and other terrorist acts until the 1990s. A major political shift occurred in the wake of the Lebanese civil war, and Hezbollah grew from an underground resistance force into a major political hegemon. They won their first seats in parliament in 1992. Since 2005 Hezbollah has had cabinet ministers running various different parts of the Lebanese government, and they became major providers of social services such as health, education, youth programs, and sometimes food vouchers in areas they control. Unlike other groups which participated in the civil war, Hezbollah kept its weapons, which it used to continue fighting the Israeli occupation, pushing them out of southern Lebanon and gaining a positive reputation among the Lebanese and international communities for it.
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