Israel vs Lebanon: the open wound of the Eastern Mediterranean. Written by Elli Mathaiadi.
Since the October 8, 2023, attack against Israel, tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean have been consistently escalating. Fears of a regional war have emerged, as many neighboring states have joined the fighting, with Israel facing off against Hamas and Hezbollah. The fighting, however, should be no surprise, considering the long-standing hostility that characterizes the area.
If we were to look closely at the relationship between Israel and Lebanon, we would find a complex socio-political tapestry woven from centuries of conflict. The recent exchange of fire across the Israeli-Lebanese border is only another nail in the coffin of a decades-long battle that started in 1948 with the establishment of the State of Israel. Upon its establishment, neighboring countries, including Egypt, Iran, and Lebanon, declared war on the nascent state. As the other Arab nations reacted to Israel’s creation, waves of Palestinian refugees poured into Lebanon, fundamentally altering its demographic landscape, and intensifying pre-existing sectarian divides. In retaliation, Israeli forces temporarily occupied part of South Lebanon for about a year until an armistice was signed in 1949. This initial conflict would set the stage for future confrontations, further damaging the relationship between the two states.
In 1968, Israeli forces destroyed a dozen passenger planes in Beirut as a response to an attack on an Israeli airliner by Palestinian guerilla fighters. The subsequent 6-day war between Israel and many of its neighboring Arab nations resulted in even more Palestinian refugees fleeing to Lebanon. The influx caused significant tensions, with many attacks being noted against Lebanon’s Jewish population. A couple of years later, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) relocated to Lebanon under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, former leader of the Fatah movement (a Palestinian nationalist group). This followed their expulsion from Jordan, an event that became known as “Black September”. The PLO’s presence in Lebanon resulted in many small-scale attacks along the Israeli Lebanese border, which served as timber, keeping the ongoing hostility burning.
In 1973, Israel assassinated three PLO leaders, as part of Operation Wrath of God. During the ensuing Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), Israel intervened with military actions, aimed at combatting the PLO’s activities. The opposing coalitions included the Lebanese front (LF), mainly right-wing Christian parties backed by Israel and the US, and the Lebanese National Movement (LNM), composed of leftist parties, Arab Muslims, and the PLO, supported also by Syria. 1978 marks the beginning of Israel’s invasion of South Lebanon, where it set up a narrow occupation zone. At the time, Israel started funding the South Lebanese Army (SLA), composed by Lebanese Christians, against Palestinian groups that were then backed by Syria. The occupation of South Lebanon triggered an international response, with the UN Security Council issuing a resolution for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The peace agreement that followed the Camp David accords between Egypt and Israel became a catalyst for the power dynamics in the area. Without Egypt, the Arab nation’s offensive against Israel became increasingly difficult.
In a show of power, Israel re-invaded Lebanon in 1982, under the mandate of combatting PLO raids across the border and destroying PLO’s base. Despite its stated intentions, Israeli forces advanced all the way to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, laying a ten-week siege. The bloody conflict resulted in one of the most harrowing incidents of the Lebanese Civil War, the massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila camps by right-wing Lebanese militia called the Phalange, supported by Israeli forces.
“Israel’s relationship with Lebanon was ridden with blood and suffering long before Hezbollah’s emergence.”
The attack on the refugee camps followed a series of events that triggered intense reactions from both sides of the Lebanese Civil War. In 1982, following the Israeli invasion and protracted siege of Beirut, the PLO was forced to depart from Lebanon. In an effort to restore stability, a multinational peacekeeping force was stationed in the area. Despite the efforts, tensions soon erupted anew, with the assassination of the recently elected Lebanese president, Bachir Gemayel, on September 14, 1982. Gemayel was a prominent Christian leader, and his assassination further fueled the pre-existing hatred of the two sides. In retaliation, the Phalange militia, who held the PLO responsible for the assassination, entered the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The massacre of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians that followed was deemed an ‘act of genocide” by the UN General Assembly, emphasizing the brutality of the act. While the exact number of casualties remains uncertain, estimates range between 2.000 and 3.500.
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This horrific event marked a turning point in the Lebanese Civil War, sparking the creation of Hezbollah. Supported by Iran, Hezbollah was created with the mission of countering Israeli presence in Lebanon. By 1985, Israeli forces had withdrawn from Beirut and a formal occupation zone was established in Southern Lebanon. The occupation lasted 22 years, during which Israel faced relentless guerilla warfare waged by Hezbollah across the border. After years of persistent attacks, Israel fully withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.
Israel’s relationship with Lebanon was ridden with blood and suffering long before Hezbollah’s emergence. Political and religious tensions, conflicting national interests, and migratory waves have created a web of complex interconnections between the two states, further exasperated by external influences. As a result, waves of innocent civilians bear the brunt of ethnic and sectarian conflicts. State survival overlaps with independent actors’ need for recognition in regions where allegiances shift and motives overlap.
The Eastern Mediterranean will continue to be plagued by conflict as none of the players are willing to stand down. Driven by an endless cycle of retaliation, clarity is often obscured by the haze of protracted warfare. The long-standing conflicts between Israel and Lebanon highlight only part of the problem. While the world’s interest might come and go, the historic tensions in the region are a stark reminder of how enduring and pervasive these conflicts are. While the future outcome of this war and the future of the Eastern Mediterranean remain uncertain, history suggests that hopes for containment are fraught – and escalation all but inevitable.
If nothing else, the recent clashes of violence between Israel and Hezbollah, alongside the ongoing war with Hamas and Iran’s involvement, only mirror the historic back-and-forth dynamic that characterizes conflict in the area. Each clash adds upon the last, with multiple actors pulled into the fray.
Author: Έλλη Ματθαιάδη
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Sources:
Israel’s long history of incursions and invasions in Lebanon. (2024, October 1). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-lebanon-border-warfare-has-decades-long-history-2024-09-26/
Israel-Lebanon border warfare: what is the history? (2024, September 24). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/long-history-warfare-israel-lebanon-border-2024-06-07/
Staff, A. J. (2024, September 28). The history of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/18/hezbollah-and-israel-a-timeline-of-conflict
Humaid, M. (2024, October 21). ‘Died on the battlefield’: Displaced Palestinians react to Sinwar’s killing. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/10/21/died-on-the-battlefield-displaced-palestinians-react-to-sinwars-killing
Nashed, M., & Salhani, J. (2023, October 24). Israel’s war in Gaza revives Sabra and Shatila massacre memories in Lebanon. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/24/israels-war-in-gaza-revives-sabra-and-shatila-massacre-memories-in-lebanon
BBC NEWS. (2024, October 17). Israel-Lebanon in maps: Tracking the conflict with Hezbollah and Iran. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9vp7dg3ml1o
Kottasová, I. (2024, October 12). Israel’s last war against Hezbollah ended in stalemate. Fierce border clashes suggest a win won’t be easy. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/12/middleeast/israel-hezbollah-border-clashes-casualties-intl-cmd/index.html
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