History
The 1982 Israeli Invasion of
Reasons and Aims
Pierre Khazen 12/3/2006
Shlomo Argov:
On 3 June 1982 at 11 pm, Shlomo Argov, the Israeli Ambassador to
Ariel
Ariel Sharon, Minister of Defence, heard about this attempt to assassinate the ambassador while he was paying
The Government:
Menachem Begin held a meeting the next day with the government to discuss the increasing Palestinian terror against Israeli targets without the presence of Ariel Sharon as he still did not arrive in
Rafael Etan:
Despite the absence of Ariel Sharon, Begin called Lieutenant General - Chief of Staff Rafael Etan and asked him to attend the government's meeting to give ministers suggestions as to destinations in
The targets which Rafael Etan suggested including two targets in
On Ariel Sharon's return from
The Oranim plan:
Since January, the IDF was preparing a plan which Ariel Sharon inspected to carry out a ground invasion in
The aims of Oranim Plan were:
To achieve an all-out solution for
To prevent the PLO's artillery threat against settlements in the Galilee and northern boarder of
To eliminate the military and political infrastructure which the PLO established in south
To disable the sponsorship which the Syrians give the PLO-Muslim alliance and at the same time avoid direct confrontation with the Syrian army in
To help the Christian forces in the north and establish a stable government which seeks peace with
Ariel
The civil war which broke out between the PLO-Muslim alliance and the Christian militias and the general chaos as a result, would bring more power to the PLO.
Entry of the Syrians in
Any confrontation with 'Fatah state' would include the risk of confrontation with the Syrian army.
The Coastal Road Massacre:
After the Coastal Road Massacre on 11 March 1978 which the PLO was responsible for and the fact that the terror attack came through Tyre's port, Litani operation was created by Begin and minister of defence Ezer Weizmann; a ground operation in south Lebanon which took 7 days to complete which pushed the PLO from boarder of Israel to north of Litani river.
After the completion of the operation, a security zone of 10 km was set up on
Despite the operation, the PLO started launching Katyusha Rockets on the settlements in the
Philip Habib:
The American envoy Philip Habib who was sent to the Middle-East managed to achieve cease-fire in July 1981 after sharp deterioration of the situation in Lebanon-Israel boarder where battles burst-out between the Christians and the Syrians in Zahlah and the PLO launched katyushas and carried out terror attacks in
The decision not to confront the Syrians:
When Ariel Sharon became minister of defence, he stressed that when Oranim plan is carried out there will be no intention to confront the Syrians in
The secret visit to
Between the Christians and the IDF, there was continuous military and political co-operation right from 1976 when Yitzhak Rabin was still the prime minister. Ariel Sharon carried on studying his plan and on 12 January 1982 he left for his first secret meeting with Bashir Gemayel in
The phalanges' aim:
That the IDF would invade
Ariel
The IDF will uproot the PLO infrastructure in
Ariel Sharon and Bashir Gemayel's agreement:
The IDF will carry on marching till the north, near
The operations will give the Christians the opportunity to control
Pierre Gemayel and Camille Chamoun attended the meeting.
Mutual visits:
In 1982, Rafael Etan visited Bashir Gemayel in Beirut and afterwards, Bashir Gemayel visited Ariel Sharon and Begin in Jerusalem where Sharon and Rafoul came to the assumption that ground operations were necessary to terminate the PLO's infrastructure.
Amendment of Oranim operation:
Oranim operation was amended several times before it was executed as follows:
The IDF will destroy the PLO?s infrastructure and will join the Christians in north
The IDF will occupy
The IDF will be prepared to destroy the Syrian army in the valley and
The operation resembles the ordinary Oranim.
Aims of the operation will be achieved gradually.
What the ministers knew virtually:
The operation will be limited.
The nature of the operation will be policing but it will have impact on what was happening in
The target was the PLO.
There will be no confrontation with the Syrians unless they attack the IDF.
The aim of the operation is to push the artillery and Katyushas which the PLO holds to an area where they will not be able to attack the settlements in the north. That is 40 km.
According to measurement, it starts from Metulla till
There will be no occupation of
The operation will last 12 - 24 hours unless things develop differently.
The ministers heard a report that the PLO is targeting civilian territories and not military. No details were provided as to
The Official declaration:
The official declaration by the government as to Peace for the Galilee operation was phrased by Begin and did not limit the IDF to 40 km but merely declared that the IDF's mission was to prevent the PLO's attacks which their bases are on Lebanon's soil and that the IDF will not attack the Syrian army unless it attacks the IDF.
The letter which Begin sent the President of the
The letter said that the intention of this operation was to clear the area where the PLO is based around 40 km from the northern boarder between
The command given to the IDF:
The command which the IDF was given was to join the Christians in the north and be prepared to destroy the Syrian army.
The start of Peace for the Galilee operation:
On Sunday 6 June 1982, the operation for the Galilee's peace began.
Based on biography of Ariel Sharon
