Reasons for Israels Invasion to Lebanon in 1982 Essay

Reasons for Israels Invasion to Lebanon in 1982 - Essay Example The relations between Israel and Lebanon have a long history, and vary depending on the historical timeline. To understand the reasons behind the Israeli Invasion to Lebanon in 1982, one needs to highlight the history of the two nations. Before the emergence of First World War, the Ottoman Empire was the ruler of the land that is currently Lebanon and Israel. The empire had a division system over the land, setting up series of sub districts and districts. During this time, Palestine had no administrative or political establishment, and Lebanon was a term that referred to the area between mountains and the Sothern Syria. The boundary between Lebanon and Palestine was the district of Beirut . The Zionists, influential at the time, were silently taking notice of the Lebanon in the early 1900s, especially the southern parts. In 1916, the region’s division into zones by the Sykes-Picot agreement was the first attempt of establishing a border between Palestine and Lebanon. Britain w as controlling the southern part (Palestine), and the French had the other northern half. The Zionist began lobbying for the Liwani River to be part of Palestine, arguing that the viability of the northern side was dependent on the river’s resources.... Later, anti-Zionists Arabs became the dominating political power in the southern Lebanon, and that was the beginning of security issues in the region. After the Second World War, Britain and France were again focusing on the issue of the border between the Syria, Palestine and Lebanon. Some of the lessons the Christians in Lebanon learnt were that the southern part of Lebanon was better off a part of Palestine. This would be an effort to restore Lebanon as a truly Christian nation. The border matter was now in the hands of the UN, but still there was no solution. The result was the development of extremist anti-Zionist Arabs in the southern parts of Lebanon, and the eventual involvement of PLO forces in the border conflicts3. Israel and Lebanon had been having conflicts since the onset of the twentieth century, with Israel directing its effort to have a peaceful North. On the other hand, Lebanon was harbouring terrorists within its boundaries like the Palestinian Liberation Organizat ion (PLO), down playing Israel’s efforts. The PLO terrorists began infiltrating Israel in the late 1970s, and spread terror to the non-enthusiast civilians against them. Around March 1978, the terrorists from the organization kidnapped and killed an American tourist in one of Israel’s beach, and proceeded to hijack an Israeli civilian bus. On interception of the bus by Israeli police force, the terrorists began firing on the police. Among the passengers in the bus, 34 Israeli civilians lost their lives in the attack, leading to more severe damage of the relations between the two countries. Responding to the attacks, the Israeli force invaded Lebanon destroying terrorist bases near its borders in the southern parts of the nation. After two months