8.3 The PLO and the 1982 War in Lebanon

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From the course by Tel Aviv University

The Emergence of the Modern Middle East - Part II

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Tel Aviv University

The Emergence of the Modern Middle East - Part II

242 ratings

This course will discuss the developments in the Middle East from the early 20th century to the present. It will discuss the rise and retreat of Arab nationalism, the problems of internal cohesion of the Arab states, issues of religion and state, and the evolution of Islamist politics. It will also focus on the evolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict and its impact on the region and will conclude with an in depth analysis of the “Arab Spring” by placing these contemporary revolutionary events in their historical context. Please note that this course builds upon a previous course - The Emergence of the Modern Middle East - Part I Learn about the history of the Middle East for a deeper understanding of current regional developments!

From the lesson

WEEK 4

The escalation and de-escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict from 1973 to the present

8.1.1 The October Surprise - Part 16:16

8.1.2 The October Surprise - Part 24:33

8.2.1 The Egyptian-Israeli Peace - Part 16:43

8.2.2 The Egyptian-Israeli Peace - Part 26:23

8.3 The PLO and the 1982 War in Lebanon3:45

8.4.1 The First Palestinian Intifada - Part 15:11

8.4.2 The First Palestinian Intifada - Part 26:15

8.5.1 The Oslo Accords - Part 17:17

8.5.2 The Oslo Accords - Part 28:49

8.6 The Jordanian-Israeli Peace6:56

8.7.1 Camp David, 2000 - Part 16:46

8.7.2 Camp David, 2000 - Part 26:55

8.8 Unilateral Disengagement and Further Negotiations10:31

Meet the Instructors

Professor Asher Susser
Senior Research Fellow
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies

[BLANK_AUDIO]

In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in order to put

an end to the PLO's military presence in that country.

For the PLO there was an essential need to preserve it's Lebanese haven at all costs.

After all, it had no substitute from where

it could wage its, its confrontation with Israel.

And the PLO, as it established itself in Lebanon,

began to build a much more significant military force.

And it was against that background that Israel decided.

To go to war in Lebanon.

The objective was to expel the PLO from Lebanon and

to install Bashir al-Jumayyil, the leader of the Phalange political party as

the President of Lebanon to re-establish Maronite Christian supremacy in Lebanon.

The domestic Lebanese part of the Israeli plan ended in

failure as we have already seen in the discussion on Lebanon.

But Israel did succeed in the war in

Lebanon in evicting the PLO forces from the country.

This had great historical significance.

Losing the Lebanese haven meant, that the PLO had

lost its political independence to a very large degree.

It could not wage the armed struggle effectively against Israel,

from some distant Arab States that had not border with Israel.

Moreover,the center of gravity of Palestinian politics

after the PLO's defeat in Lebanon began to shift from the Palestinian diaspora.

That is, outside of Palestine.

Into the West Bank and Gaza.

It is the West Bank and Gaza that became the center

of gravity of Palestinian politics, after the PLO was defeated in Lebanon.

And immediately after the PLO defeat in

Lebanon, the United States, now under President Reagan.

Offered an initiative of their own in September 1982,

which was a plan for Palestinian autonomy linked to Jordan.

The American plan opposed a Palestinian

State and opposed Israeli control or annexation.

But Israel was not interested.

In a Palestinian control of any kind, of the West Bank and Gaza.

Israel's idea of pushing the PLO out of

Lebanon in 1982, was in order to give Israel

a free hand in the West Bank and Gaza, and not to enter in to a negotiation.

In which Israel would have to concede these territories.

The PLO in Jordan.

In the aftermath of the Reagan Initiative of 1982,

engaged in a negotiation of their own to see if

they could come to a common stand in reference

to the Reagan initiative and to perhaps involve themselves jointly.

In a negotiation with Israel.

But the PLO in Jordan failed to come to any kind of agreement on the Reagan plan.

These years of the mid 1980s were the Twilight Zone for the PLO.

These were years in which the PLO declined regionally and internationally.

It had become a much weaker player, having

lost its autonomous base of operations in Lebanon.

And political developments of the Palestinians.

Now shifted inwards, into the West Bank and Gaza.

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