Causes of the Lebanese Civil War, the Groups Involved, and Israeli Intervention

**aqalieh95** Fri Jul 08, 2011 12:56 pm

Lots of thanks to Faisal Chaudhry who put these flashcards together and released them so that everybody could benefit from them!

Causes of Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990)
1. French Colonialism and National Pact
  1. French put Maronites in charge because they were Christian
  2. Later felt entitled to leadership and Arabs couldn't do the job
  3. Set representation to 4:3, Christian:Muslim
    1. Confessional State (National Pact)
2. Palestinian Refugees and Demographic Changes
  1. More Muslims → Upset balance
  2. PLO brought Israel into Lebanon politics
  3. Government undermined by Israeli raids
  4. Shias forced to move north
    1. Resented Palestinians
3. Short Term
  1. Maronite political leader tried to be killed
  2. Syrian forces enter by 1976
Groups Within Lebanon
1. All groups had political party and militia
  1. Stronger than military – 2:1 ratio
2. Maronites
  1. Opposed Palestinians
  2. Favored National Pact
  3. Helped Israelis
3. Druze and Shia
  1. Opposed National Pact
  2. Favored Palestinians
  3. Opposed all foreign forces
Israelis in Lebanese Civil War
1. Operation Litani (1978)
  1. Civil War gave Israel a chance to kill PLO
  2. Attacked, then quietly retreated
  3. Formed South Lebanon Force, Christians, which let it fight-by-proxy
2. Operation Peace in Galilee (1982)
  1. Targeted Beirut and PLO headquarters
  2. Triggered bloodiest battles: 20,000 dead
  3. PLO evacuated to Tunis
  4. Israel eventually leaves in 2000
End of the Lebanese Civil War
1. Taif Agreement ends Civil War
  1. 50:50 Split
  2. More power to PM and Speaker
  3. All militias ended (ex Hezbollah)