Lebanese Civil War
Statue of Martyrs' Square in Beirut, 1982, during the Civil War
Date 13 April 1975 – 13 October 1990 (15 years and 6 months)) Site Lebanon Total Taif Agreement 55:45 Christian dominance replaced by 50 for Christians:50 for Muslims[2] Strengthening the powers of the Muslim Prime Minister Disarming all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias (except Hezbollah[3]) Removing the PLO from Lebanon Deployment of the Syrian Army on most of Lebanese territory until April 2005 Increasing Syrian Influence in Lebanon Conflict in South Lebanon Failure of the Israeli-backed Free Lebanon State Replaced by the Israeli Security Zone (referred to as the occupation) The emergence of Hezbollah
skirmishers
Lebanese Front Free Lebanon Army (until 1977) South Lebanon Army (from 1976) Israel (from 1978) Free Tigers militia (until 1980)	Lebanese National Movement (until 1982) Lebanese National Resistance Front (from 1982) Palestine Liberation Organization Hezbollah (from 1982, 1985 officially) Iran (from 1980, especially paramilitary units of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) Islamic Unification Movement (from 1982)	Syria (1976, 1983) Amal Movement Palestinian National Salvation Front Marada Movement (left the Lebanese Front in 1978; allied with Syria)	Lebanese Army United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (from 1978) Multinational Force in Lebanon (1982–1984) ˂ The menu ... Arab Deterrence Forces (1976–1982)[1] ˂ The menu ...
Leaders and leaders
Bashir Gemayel Amin Gemayel ⚔ William Hawi ⚔ Samir Geagea Etienne Saqr George Adwan Saad Haddad † Antoine Lahad Menachem Begin Ariel Sharon Danny Chamoun ⚔	Kamal Jumblatt Walid Jumblatt ⚔ Enaam Raad Abdullah Saadeh Asim Kanso George Hawi Elias Atallah Mohsen Ibrahim Ibrahim Qulaylat Ali Eid Yasser Arafat George Habash Subhi Tufayli Abbas al, Musawi Saeed Shaaban	Hafez al-Assad Mustafa Tlass Nabih Berri Tony Frangieh Suleiman Frangieh ⚔	Michel Aoun Emmanuel Erskine William O'Callahan Gustav Haglon Timothy Geraity
Strength
		25,000 troops (1976)[1]	1,200 troops[1] 1,000 troops[1] 1,000 troops[1] 700 troops[1] 700 troops[1]
120,000–150,000 killed[4]

The Lebanese Civil War is a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon, which lasted from 1975 to 1990, killing an estimated 120,5 people. ^[2012] In 000, approximately 76,6 people were still displaced within Lebanon. ^[7] There was also the displacement of nearly one million people from Lebanon as a result of the war. ^[<>]

Before the war, Lebanon was multi-sectarian, with Sunni Muslims and Christians in the majorities in coastal cities, with Shia Muslims mainly in the south and the Bekaa Valley to the east, and the majority of the mountain population being Druze and Christian. The Lebanese government was run under considerable influence among Maronite Christians. [^8][9] The link between politics and religion was strengthened under the mandate of the French colonial power from 1920 to 1943, and the parliamentary structure was supportive of a leading position for Christians. However, the country had a large Muslim population, and many pan-Arab and leftist groups opposed the pro-Western government. The establishment of the State of Israel and the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees to Lebanon during 1948 and 1967 changed the demographic balance in favor of the Muslim population. The Cold War had a strong non-integrative effect on Lebanon, which is closely linked to the polarization that preceded the 1958 political crisis, since the Maronites sided with the West, while leftist and Arab groups sided with the Arab states aligned with the Soviet Union. ^[10]

Fighting between Maronites and Palestinian forces (mostly from the PLO) began in 1975, and Lebanese leftist, Arab, and Islamist groups formed an alliance with the Palestinians. ^[11] During the period of fighting, alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. Moreover, foreign powers, such as Israel and Syria, participated in the war and fought alongside various factions. Peacekeeping forces, such as the Multinational Force in Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, are also stationed.

The Taif Agreement of 1989 marked the beginning of the end of the fighting. In January 1989, a committee appointed by the Arab League began formulating solutions to the conflict. In March 1991, Parliament enacted a law to amnesty all political crimes before it was enacted. ^[12] In May 1991, militias were disbanded, with the exception of Hezbollah, while the Lebanese Armed Forces began to slowly rebuild as Lebanon's only major non-sectarian institution. ^[13] Religious tensions between Sunnis and Shiites remained post-war. ^[14]

Causes of war[edit]

The civil war had several causes, including political and economic^[15]

Political reasons[edit]

The 1958 crisis was considered as a preparation for the civil war^[16], and then the armed clash between the Lebanese army and the Palestinian resistance began in 1973, and the emergence of a Maronite alliance in the face of the Palestinian resistance, the formation of militias, and Lebanon's rejection of the Arab summit resolutions regarding the Palestinians^[17]

Economic reasons[edit]

All economic interests are concentrated in the capital, Beirut, while the deterioration of the economic and social conditions in southern Lebanon and the Lebanese economic structure with its sectoral divisions and imbalance of geographical distributions were largely related to sectarian considerations and political power, which contributed greatly to the gravity of the losses suffered by Lebanon^[18]

A building in Beirut partially destroyed by the Lebanese civil war, still intact at the time of the 2004 photo

Beginning of the war[edit]

It varies in the date of the start of the war, but many agree that it began on April 13, 1975, when there was a failed attempt to assassinate the Maronite leader Pierre Gemayel by gunmen and led to the death of his companion Joseph Abu Assi, Antoine Michel ^{Husseini[19],} and in response to this incident occurred the Ain al-Rummaneh incident, in which a civilian bus was attacked and Palestinian and Lebanese passengers were present, killing 27 people. ^[20]

Parties to conflict[edit]

The parties were fighting within religious and political axes, these parties were represented by Maronite Christians, Shiites, Sunnis, Druze, the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Israelis, as well as the Syrian army and other scattered parties. Initially there were 3 main fronts:

1. The Lebanese Front led by Camille Chamoun. This faction was dominated by Maronite Christians. They soon received aid from Syria and later from Israel. The militia affiliated with the front called the Lebanese Forces led by Bashir Gemayel played a key role in the war.
2. Lebanese National Movement groups led by Kamal Jumblatt, a prominent Druze politician.
3. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) with all its forces and spectrums, which allied itself with the Lebanese national movement. ^[21]

Fighting was initially between the Lebanese Front and the Lebanese National Movement's alliance with the Palestine Liberation Organization. In general, the parties to the conflict in Lebanon were not fully differentiated and alliances were changing during the war, and in the midst of events, the parties to the conflict were as follows:

Lebanese Army Lebanese Forces Lebanese Phalange Party National Liberal Party

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Lebanese National Movement Progressive Socialist Party Israel

Syria United States Amal Movement Syrian Social Nationalist Party

Coptic participation[edit]

In a sermon, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat hinted that Egypt's Copts fought alongside the Kataeb Party in the Lebanese civil war,[^22][23] and said that he received this information personally from his contacts with a PLO commander and said that PLO forces had arrested three Copts. In an intelligence report published in the weekly newspaper Democratic Party in 1981, the Egyptian authorities themselves stated that they could not prove the participation of Copts in the Lebanese war. ^[24] Coptic weapons training was also frequent in Lebanese Forces camps. ^[25] Lebanese Coptic activist Edward al-Bebawi says that the Copts were not any political organizations or military faction in the civil war, and that if Copts participated in the war alongside Christian parties, they were individual acts that the sect did not encourage.

Timeline of the most important events of the war[edit]

Sunnah	today	capricorn	First Party	Second Party	Total
1975	13 Apr	Ain El Remmaneh incident	Phalange Party	Palestine Liberation Organization Lebanese National Movement	Lebanese Christian fighters assassinate nearly fifty Palestinian youths on a trip to a tourist area in Lebanon and the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war
1977		Trying to stop the war in the Arab world	National Front	The Lebanese Left and the Palestine Liberation Organization	The entry of the Arab Deterrence Forces
1977	March 16	The assassination of the leader of the National Movement, teacher Kamal Jumblatt	Syria	National Movement and Progressive Socialist Party	Lebanese, Arab, Islamic anger and massacres of Christians
1978	March 14	Israeli invasion	Palestinians, Lebanese Left and National Forces	Israel Defense Forces South Lebanon Army	Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon
1979		Battles for the unification of Venice	Battalions	Freemen, Marada, Armenians	Bashir Gemayel's control of Christian areas and the establishment of the Lebanese Forces
1981		Battle of Zahle	Lebanese Forces	Syrian Forces and Their Allies	The Syrian Army leaves Zahle
1982	June 6	Second Israeli Invasion	The Lebanese Left, the Lebanese National Forces and the Palestinians	Israel Defense Forces, South Lebanon Army, Lebanese Forces	The exit of the PLO from Lebanon after violent resistance to the Israelis and the assumption of power by the Phalange after Israel chose Bashir Gemayel to be the president of the republic
1983		Mountain War	Druze, Palestinians and the Lebanese Left	Lebanese Forces Party	Displacement of Christians from the mountain
1984	February 6	Uprising of February 6, 1984	The Hope Movement, the Lebanese Left and the Lebanese National Forces	Lebanese Forces	The emergence of a role for the Amal movement led by Nabih Berri
1985	March 12	Tripartite Agreement Uprising	Lebanese Forces	President of the Republic and Phalange	Lebanese Forces take control of Christian areas
1985	March	Crushing the Almoravids	Amal Movement, Progressive Socialist Party, Lebanese Communist Party	Almoravids	The Almoravids were crushed and their organization completely eliminated within four hours.
1985		War of the flag	The Socialist Party, the Communist Party, the Communist Action Organization and 7 Palestinian factions, including Fatah	Amal Movement	Syrian forces enter Beirut.
1985	May 9	Hobeika Intifada	Hobeika in the Lebanese Forces	Geagea in the Lebanese Forces	Tripartite Agreement
1986	January	Samir Geagea Uprising	Elie Hobeika in the Lebanese Forces	Samir Geagea in the Lebanese Forces	Cancellation of the tripartite agreement
1986		Six-Day War	Socialist Party and Lebanese Communist Party	Amal Movement	The return of the Syrian army to West Beirut and the support of Amal after the Socialist Party took control of most of Beirut and Amal left it.
1988		War of brotherhood	Amal Movement	Hezbollah	The most prominent aspects of this war are the division of Shiite areas into areas of Iran-backed Hezbollah: Baalbek-Hermel-Southern Suburbs-Nabatieh and Syrian-backed Amal Movement areas: Tyre-Zahrani-Shiite neighborhoods in Beirut-Marjayoun
1989	March 14	Liberation War	Lebanese Army Led by General Michel Aoun	Syrians, Druze, Communists and Palestinians
1990	January 31	War of Abolition	Lebanese Army	Lebanese Forces	Aoun's desire to reach the presidency, and Hafez al-Assad's condition at that time was that Aoun eliminate the Lebanese Forces party. [What are they?]
1990	October 13	Occupation of Baabda Presidential Palace by Syrians with US mandate	Lebanese Army Led by General Michel Aoun	Syrian Forces	Syria's control of Lebanon and the deportation of General Michel Aoun into exile in France.

First phase 1975–1977[edit]

Massacres and sectarian fighting[edit]

The bloody events preceded many of the problems that prepared for war. In 1969, the Lebanese army fought with Palestinian militants, which led to the recognition of the Palestinians' right to own arms on Lebanese soil through the so-called Cairo Agreement. ^[26] In 1975, various unrest erupted in Lebanon, the most serious of which was the fishermen's demonstration in Saida, which led to the death of Maarouf Saad. ^[27] There were numerous skirmishes between Christians and Palestinians in the areas of Tel al-Zaatar and Kahale. ^[28] Palestinians have also carried out numerous guerrilla actions against Israel, leading the world to consider Lebanon a hotbed for terrorists.

The real spark for the start of the Lebanese civil war was on April 13, 1975, when unknown persons attempted to assassinate Pierre Gemayel, the head of the Phalange Party, who survived the attempt and four people died in the attempt, two of them Gemayel's bodyguards. The Kataeb Party militias responded to the assassination attempt by attacking a bus carrying members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command to the Tel al-Zaatar refugee camp, passing through the Ain al-Rummaneh area. The ambush by Phalange Party fighters killed 27 Palestinians. The incident was called the Bosta incident, which served as the spark for the start of fighting throughout the country. As the word spread, clashes soon broke out between Palestinian militias and Kataebiyya across the city.

On December 6, 1975, four bodies of members of the Kataeb Party were found, and Christian militias set up checkpoints in the Beirut port area and killed hundreds of Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims based on identity cards (which at the time recorded the bearer's doctrine) in what was later known as Black Saturday. ^[29] The killings sparked widespread clashes between militias. Beirut and Lebanon were divided with it, into two regions, known as the Eastern Province, which were predominantly Christian, and the Western Region, which was mixed with an Islamic majority.

A famous picture of the Karantina massacre

East Beirut was surrounded by fortified Palestinian camps such as the Karantina area^[30] and Tel al-Zaatar camp. [^31][32] On 18 January 1976, Christian militias stormed the Muslim-majority PLO-controlled area of Karantina, which was inhabited by Kurds, Syrians, and Palestinians. Christian militias killed 1500,33 residents of the area. Palestinian militias responded two days later by storming the Christian town of Damour and killing hundreds of Christian residents. ^[<>] Thousands of residents fled by sea as roads were cut off. These two incidents led to a mass exodus of Muslims and Christians, each taking refuge in the area under the influence of his community. East Beirut and West Beirut were increasingly divided into Christian and Muslim Beirut.

Syrian intervention[edit]

In June 1976, the Maronite militias were on the verge of defeat. President Suleiman Frangieh called on Syria to intervene^[34] under the pretext that the port of Lebanon would be closed and is a major source of products imported into Syria. Christian apprehension had grown after the Damour massacre. Syria responded by ending its support for the Palestinian Rejection Front and began supporting the Maronite-majority government. This brought Syria on the same side as Israel, which began supporting Maronite militias with weapons, tanks and military advisers in May 1976. At the request of the President, Syrian forces entered Lebanon and occupied Tripoli and the Bekaa Valley, easily outperforming the Lebanese National Movement forces and Palestinian militias. ^[35] Syria imposed a curfew but failed to stop the clashes. With Syrian support, Christian militias were able to storm the defenses of the Tel al-Zaatar camp, which had been under siege and continuous shelling for months. The siege and storming of the camp have killed thousands of Palestinians, sparking the Arab world's anger against Syria. ^[36] In October 1976, Syria agreed to the proposal of the Arab League summit in Riyadh^[37] which gave Syria the right to retain 40,<> troops, the core of the Arab Deterrence Forces, whose mission was to disengage and restore security. Several countries were involved in the Arab Deterrence Forces until they quickly lost interest, withdrawing and leaving matters back in Syria's hands. The civil war officially ends and temporary calm settles Beirut and most of Lebanon except for the south, where the PLO is facing off with the Israeli-backed Christian militia.

Cautious calm[edit]

The front line separating the combatants in Beirut 1982

Lebanon was divided, with the south and west of Beirut under the control of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Muslim militias, while East Beirut and the Christian part of Mount Lebanon were under the control of Christian militias. The line separating West and East Beirut was called the Green Line. ^[38]

In 1976, right-wing Christian parties and currents were allied up, namely the Phalange Party led by Pierre Gemayel, the Marada Movement led by Suleiman Frangieh, the National Liberal Party led by Camille Chamoun, the Guardians of the Cedars led by Etienne Sakr and the organization forming the Lebanese Front. The Lebanese Forces, the military wing of the Lebanese Front, are made up of militias affiliated with these parties and are led by Pierre Gemayel's son, Bashir Gemayel^[39].

Second phase 1977–1982[edit]

Hundred Day War[edit]

A war broke out on July 1, 1978 between Syrian forces and Christian militia after Bashir Gemayel was arrested at a Syrian checkpoint.^[40] Clashes took place in East Beirut, especially in the Ashrafieh area, which was heavily bombarded by Syrian forces. Fighting stopped after a ceasefire between the two sides and the withdrawal of Syrians from East Beirut

Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon in 1978[edit]

On March 14, 1978, Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon as far as the Litani River in response to PLO operations against Israel emanating from Lebanon. ^[41] The purpose of the invasion was to create a 10-kilometer-wide buffer zone inside Lebanese territory and along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Israel found the occupation of the territories easy and soon took control of 10 percent of the south of the country. The Security Council issues a resolution demanding that Israel withdraw from Lebanon and establish UNIFIL forces tasked with maintaining security in the south. ^[42]

By May 1978, Israel was withdrawing from most of southern Lebanon except for an area Israel calls a "security zone" between 4 and 12 kilometers wide along Lebanon's southern border. Israel is stationing its proxy South Lebanon Army led by Saad Haddad along the border. Israel remained in control of the border area until 2000, when it abruptly withdrew, leaving members of the South Lebanon Army (SLA), some fleeing to Israel^[43] and Hezbollah arresting the rest and bringing them over to the Lebanese authority where they are tried.

Fighting within the Lebanese Forces[edit]

In June 1978, following the killing of a prominent member of the Kataeb Party by the Marada forces, Bashir Gemayel sent his forces led by Samir Geagea to the city of Ehden to kidnap Tony Frangieh, the leader of the Marada militias and the son of President Suleiman Frangieh, to force him to hand over those responsible for the killing of the Phalange member. However, the operation ended with the death of Tony Frangieh, his family and his fighters. The incident was later called the Ehden massacre. ^[44] Suleiman Frangieh ended his Marada party's association with the Lebanese Front after his son was killed.

In 1980, Bashir sent his troops to the city of Safra to fight Dani Chamoun, the commander of the Liberal Tigers militia, the military wing of the National Liberal Party. The operation was carried out with the approval of Camille Chamoun, Dani Chamoun's father, head of the National Liberal Party and former president of the Lebanese Republic, who believed that his son's forces were out of control. The Tiger militias were completely eliminated in the so-called Safra massacre. Danny Chamoun was not killed as he went to live in West Beirut, which was predominantly Muslim. Bashir thus became the sole controller of the Lebanese Forces.

Fighting between Syria and the Lebanese Forces[edit]

Between July and October 1978, the Syrian army besieged East Beirut, the stronghold of the Lebanese Forces, in the so-called Hundred Days War. During that period, there was heavy bombardment of East Beirut and the Ashrafieh neighborhood, and the siege and shelling ended only after Arab mediation that led to a ceasefire. Bashir Gemayel came out of that war considering himself victorious. In 1981, Syria clashed with Bashir Gemayel's militia again after the Lebanese Forces took control of the city of Zahle. In that battle, Bashir appealed to Israel and sent warplanes that shot down two Syrian helicopters.

Israeli bombing of Beirut[edit]

On July 17, 1981, Israeli warplanes bombed a multi-story building that housed the offices of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The United Nations Mission in Lebanon estimated the death toll at 300 and the number of wounded at 800. The bombing led to international outrage and a temporary ban on the export of American products to Israel.

Israel plans invasion[edit]

In August 1981, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was re-elected for a second term and in September of the same year Begin and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon began planning to invade Lebanon again to expel the PLO. Sharon's plan, he said, was to "eliminate the PLO's military infrastructure and, if possible, eliminate the PLO's leadership; this may require striking West Beirut, where the PLO headquarters and command centers are." Sharon wanted to secure the arrival of Bashir Gemayel to the presidency of the Lebanese Republic. In exchange for Israel's help to Bashir, Sharon wanted Bashir to sign a peace agreement with Israel that would ensure the security of Israel's northern border forever. In January 1982, Sharon met Bashir Gemayel on a ship off the Lebanese coast and discussed a plan for Israeli forces to reach the outskirts of Beirut and besiege West Beirut while Lebanese Forces militias stormed West Beirut and eliminated the PLO.

Third phase 1982–1983[edit]

Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982[edit]

Sports City in Beirut in 1982 during the Israeli invasion

Israel had prepared the invasion plan and was waiting for the pretext to start implementing the plan. On June 3, 1982, the Abu Nidal Organization attempted to assassinate the Israeli ambassador in London. Although Abu Nidal had defected from Fatah and the PLO and even assassinated many PLO members and attempted to assassinate Yasser Arafat and Abu Mazen, Israel used the operation as a pretext to carry out its plan to invade Lebanon and eliminate the PLO. Sharon and Begin ordered to strike PLO and PFLP strongholds in West Beirut, killing 100 people. The PLO responded by firing rockets and artillery from southern Lebanon into northern Israel. This served as a direct pretext for Israel to carry out the invasion.

On June 6, 1982, Israel began invading Lebanon from its southern border. Within a few days, Israeli forces captured important southern cities such as Tyre and Sidon, and then entered East Beirut with the tacit support of Maronite commanders and militias. When the Israeli government met to approve the invasion plan, Sharon described the plan as Israeli forces reaching 40 kilometers deep inside Lebanon to eliminate PLO strongholds and create an "expanded security zone" that would bring northern Israel out of range of PLO rockets. Sharon also claimed that Beirut is out of the picture. In fact, Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan and Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon ordered Israeli forces to go directly to Beirut according to a plan drawn up by Sharon in September 1981.

Siege of Beirut[edit]

By June 15, Israeli forces were camped out of Beirut. The United States demanded that the PLO leave Lebanon. Sharon ordered raids on West Beirut targeting 16,000 Palestinian fedayeen holed up there. The siege of Beirut lasted for seven weeks, during which time Israel cut off electricity, water supplies, and food to the city. Israeli forces attacked West Beirut by land, sea and air and indiscriminate shelling killed thousands of civilians.

Meanwhile, Philip Habib, the U.S. envoy to the region, was negotiating with Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to end the blockade. On August 12, Habib reached a truce that required the PLO to leave Lebanon, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the arrival of American, French and Italian forces to supervise the exit of PLO fighters and provide protection for unarmed Palestinian civilians.

French, American and French troops arrived successively on August 21, 24 and 26. On August 30, the multinational forces oversaw the PLO's exit from Beirut by sea to Greece and from Greece to Syria, Tunisia, Jordan and Algeria. Despite the PLO's exit, Israel claimed that 2,000 guerrillas were still hiding in refugee camps on the outskirts of Beirut. The multinational forces withdrew early from Lebanon just two weeks after their arrival and before Israeli forces withdrew as required by the ceasefire agreement. The multinational forces were supposed to stay for a month.

Meanwhile, on August 23, under Israeli occupation, Bashir Gemayel was elected president by a narrow margin and Muslim deputies boycotted the session. Muslim circles were concerned about Bashir's relationship with Israel and its support for him with weapons during the war. On1-1 September, Bashir Gemayel met with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Israel and promised to take steps to start diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Israel once he assumes the presidency of the Lebanese Republic. ^[45] Bashir was assassinated on 14 September 1982 and days before he was due to assume the presidency when Habib al-Shartouni, a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, blew up the Kataeb Party building in East Beirut. ^[46]

Sabra and Shatila massacre[edit]

Sharon and Eitan sent Israeli troops to West Beirut in violation of the Habib Agreement. They transported 200 Lebanese Forces militia fighters led by Elie Hobeika to the camps under the pretext of eliminating 2,000 PLO fighters hiding in the camps. Lebanese forces stormed the Sabra and Shatila camps at 16 p.m. on September 3500 and killed nearly <>,<> Palestinians with the help of the Israeli army that was besieging the two camps and who were lighting flares in the sky so that Lebanese Forces fighters could see all night. Sharon and IDF commanders watched the massacre from the roof of the Kuwaiti embassy building overlooking the camps. According to Israeli reports, there were "none of the PLO members" among the victims.

The massacres in Sabra and Shatila led to international outrage against Israel and an international popular demand for the international community to intervene. The multinational forces returned as peacekeepers. The Lebanese parliament elected Amin Gemayel to succeed his brother as president of the Lebanese Republic. In 1999, Hobeika's former bodyguard, Robert Hatem, published a book in which he claimed that the Sabra and Shatila massacre were planned by Hobeika and Hafez al-Assad with the aim of embarrassing Israel^.[47]

Treaty of 17 May and Israeli withdrawal[edit]

On May 17, 1983, Amin Gemayel, the United States and Israel signed an agreement stipulating the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon on the condition that Syrian forces withdraw. The agreement stated that "the state of war between Lebanon and Israel has ended and no longer exists," effectively making the agreement a peace agreement. Lebanese Muslims viewed the agreement as Israel's attempt to permanently control southern Lebanon. Some considered Amin Gemayel a traitor and that the agreement was a surrender agreement. Syria refused to withdraw.

Mountain War[edit]

In August 1983, Israel withdrew from Mount Chouf, removing the separation between Druze and Christians, leading to fierce and bloody battles between the Progressive Socialist Party, supported by some Palestinian forces, on the one hand, and the Lebanese Forces and the Lebanese Army on the other. The fighting on various fronts quickly increased, with the death toll rising exponentially, with hundreds of fighters from both sides falling every few days. The Mountain War was considered one of the fiercest chapters of the Lebanese War. The battles ended with a resounding defeat of the Lebanese Forces and the withdrawal of Christian fighters to the town of Deir el-Qamar and then to East Beirut. Mutual massacres were committed on both sides and hundreds of innocent people were killed.

One of the results of the Mountain War was that it opened the way for the resistance to the south, and the Syrians were able to arm the resistance, and it led to the beginning of the fall of the May 17 agreement. The Socialist Party's control of the city of Souk al-Gharb, which was restored and controlled by the Lebanese army, did not last, and Souk al-Gharb remained a conflict zone until the Syrian army entered it and the Lebanese civil war ended.

Attacks on U.S. targets[edit]

Between 1983 and 1984, several U.S. interests were targeted. In April 1983, 63 people were killed in a suicide bombing targeting the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. In October 1983, 241 American and 58 French soldiers were killed in a suicide attack targeting the camp of American and French forces in Beirut. In January 1984 the president of the American University of Beirut was killed. In September 1984 there was another attack on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in its new, more fortified building. The bombing killed seven Lebanese and two Americans.

In those years, Hezbollah emerged as a Shiite force resisting the Israeli occupation in the south. Hezbollah emerged from the ranks of the Shiite Amal movement. Hezbollah embraced the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and from its inception has been supported by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Fourth phase 1984–1990[edit]

Camp warfare[edit]

With the withdrawal of the multinational forces from Lebanon, the Amal Movement took control of West Beirut. In April 1985, with the support of Syria, the Amal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party attacked Al-Mourabitoun. In May 1985, the Amal Movement attacked Palestinians in Sabra, Shatila and Burj al-Barajneh. The war of the camps continued between 1985 and 1986, during which the camps were besieged, aid was prevented from reaching them and the camps were almost completely destroyed.

Michel Aoun's government and the "war of liberation[edit]

Shortly before the end of Amin Gemayel's presidency in 1988 and when the Lebanese parliament met to elect a new president, the division was at its most intense that thwarted efforts to agree on a new president and plunged the country into a constitutional impasse, President Amine Gemayel handed over General Michel Aoun, the general of the Lebanese army at the time, the post of president according to his interpretation of the Lebanese constitution, while the national and Islamic blocs insisted on interpreting the constitution in a way that stipulates that the prime minister assumes the duties of president until a new president is elected. Lebanon thus had two presidents and two governments, a Christian military government in East Beirut supported by the Iraqi regime and a Muslim civilian government in West Beirut supported by Syria.

In March 1989, Michel Aoun began a war against the Syrian army that he called the "War of Liberation" and claimed to be fighting for Lebanon's independence. The battles were punctuated by internal battles between the Christians themselves, with the army fighting the Lebanese Forces led by Samir Geagea for control of the neighborhoods of Jounieh, the port area, the power station and the private airport. The significant military and intelligence support that Aoun received from Iraq, the financial and media support from the Palestine Liberation Organization, in addition to Hezbollah's non-intervention in the fighting, were positive factors that enabled General Aoun to withstand the Syrian army, the Amal Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party and the army brigades that supported Hoss, until Iraq's entry into Kuwait prompted the international community to speed up the end of the Lebanon war. This war led to the great destruction of East Beirut and a large exodus of the Christian population.

Taif Agreement[edit]

In August 1989, Lebanese deputies in Taif, brokered by Saudi Arabia, reached the Taif Agreement, which marked the beginning of ending the civil war. Upon the return of Lebanese MPs from Taif, Rene Moawad was elected president, but Michel Aoun refused to recognize Moawad and rejected the Taif Agreement, because the agreement requires a Syrian deployment on Lebanese territory. René Moawad was killed 16 days after his election and was succeeded by Elias Hrawi. Michel Aoun also refused to recognize Elias Hrawi. Michel Aoun was removed from the Baabda presidential palace and hundreds of his supporters were executed in October 1990 in a joint Lebanese-Syrian operation with American blessing, where he fled and took refuge in the French embassy and then went into exile in Paris.

Ending the war[edit]

The Lebanese civil war ended with the removal of Michel Aoun and the empowerment of the government of Elias Hrawi, and the passage by the Lebanese parliament in March 1991 of an amnesty law for all crimes committed since 1975. In May, all militias except Hezbollah were disbanded and the process of building the Lebanese army as a non-sectarian national army began.