Lebanon--Chronological Notes
Middle East Study Group
Grand Lake Neighborhood Center
September 10, 2006
Lebanon is the Middle East country that has clung most tightly to the Ottoman tradition of social and political divisions into sectarian communities. In the Ottoman system, each community was identified by its religion and governed by a specific authority representing its own organic institutions. Each religious hierarchy had the authority to impose its own laws and customs, within limits set by the Sunni caliphate. Over time, this tended to congeal communitarian identifications, as each religious group, including the Muslim sects, had its own form of social organization and its own type of political influence. In Lebanon, the French used this system of “political communitarianism” as the basis for the new state it formed around its client population, the Christian community of Mt. Lebanon.
In 1920, after obtaining the League of Nations Mandate for Syria, France expanded the territory it had selected for control by the Maronites, which had been under its protection since the late 19th century. The boundaries of the new state of Lebanon also included the Bekaa Valley, the Jabal Amil region south of the Litani River, and the coastal plain from Tyre to Beirut to Tripoli, which meant that Lebanon would have a large Muslim population (both Sunnis and Shiites as well as the Druze, an Ismaili Shiite splinter group). Shrewdly, the Maronites initially allied with the Shiites, to weaken Muslim power. In 1926 France permitted the Shiites to establish their own religious courts (forbidden by the Sunni Ottomans) and practice their religion freely. Under the Ottomans, they had been forced to celebrate their distinctive festivals, like Ashura, in secret. By dividing power along sectarian lines, the French helped to insure the dominance of the Maronites. To this day, the President must always be Maronite, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim, and the Shiites would alays be represented (albeit ineffectively) by the Speaker of the House. The National Pact of 1943, which officially finalized this arrangement, based it on a 1932 French census, in which the Christians had a (questionable) 54% majority. For obvious reasons, the Christian Maronites have never allowed another census. The significant growth of the Shiite population (now estimated at 35-40%) was not accompanied by any political power to address its impoverishment and lack of services. It became Hezbollah’s self-appointed task to remedy this economic and political marginalization of its people, following the example set by the founder of the Shiite movement in Lebanon, the charismatic Ayatollah Musa al-Sadr, who famously “disappeared” in 1978.
In 1992, Majid Halawi (p. 50) estimated the major groups in the population of Lebanon as follows—about 4 million total population, of which 2 ½ million are Muslim (Druze= 218,000, Sunni= 860,000, Shia= 1,325,000) and 1,640,000 are Christian (1 million Maronites, 165,000 Greek Catholics, 271,000 Greek Orthodox, and 163,000 Armenian Orthodox).
What follows is a chronological arrangement of key facts and perspectives which should help to get some of this very complicated history “out there,” at least, for reference purposes.
1950s—Shiites from poor rural areas in the south and Bekaa Valley move into Beirut’s eastern and southern suburbs, due to the demand for cheap labor as industrialization and development transform Lebanon’s economy. By the end of the 1950s, Shiites constitute about 75% of the industrial workforce. (In 1975-76, when the Maronite militias push the Shiites out of East Beirut, most resettle in the South Beirut suburbs, which becomes the power base of a densely urbanized community.)
1958 Civil War. The effort of Pres. (and Maronite leader) Camille Chamoun to seek a second term precipitates a war with Muslim, Druze and leftist forces. Chamoun turns to the U.S. for help, since the Eisenhower Doctrine provides aid to allies against communism. Nasser’s immensely popular pan-Arab socialism qualified, since the Soviets have been supplying arms to Egypt since 1955, before the Suez Crisis. The U.S. sends forces to control the situation. The crisis is resolved when Gen. Fuad Shihab (supported by both government and opposition groups) is elected president in July. Shihab’s administration brings a period of relative stability through the mid-1960s.
1959 Musa al-Sadr is invited to be the religious leader of the Lebanon Shiites. Born in Qom, Iran into a distinguished clerical family, he is educated in Najaf, as part of a new generation of activist clerics that emerge after the 1958 Iraq revolution. Challenged by the secularizing appeal of Arab Nationalism and Communism, they bring a new openness to reforming Shiism, socially and doctrinally.
1965-68 In the mid-1960s a “new left” emerges in Lebanon, first as a result of the Sino-Soviet split and later because of the 1967 war. It identifies with the liberation struggles in Vietnam, Latin America and Africa and is energized by the 1968 “revolution” in Paris, where many Lebanese and Arabs have studied. A wide range of radical groups emerges from splits in the Baath and Communist parties and from the break-up of the Arab Nationalist movement after Nasser’s defeat in the 1967 war.
1966 Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah (b. 1935) moves to Lebanon from Najaf, Iraq, where he has developed into a major Shiite scholar and writer. Since the late 1950s he has been part of the circle of activist clerics known as al-Dawa, “the Call,” whose leader and famed theoretician is Ayatollah M. Baqir al-Sadr (the same age as Fadlallah). The task of al-Dawa is to develop a more relevant Shiite doctrine, to meet the challenge of the secular leftist philosophies that are drawing Shiite youths into Westernizing (capitalist or communist) forms of materialism.
1967 Musa al-Sadr establishes the Higher Shia Council, which achieves the first official recognition of Shia political rights with a Shia spokesperson (Musa himself) since 1926. Fadlallah opposes it as a threat to the unified Muslim movement that is needed for the global struggle against Western imperialism. In general, Musa al-Sadr works pragmatically from the top down, with political leaders from all sectors of the existing Lebanese society, while Fadlallah works from the grass roots, to start a revolutionary dynamic that is Islamist in principle.
June 1967 The “Six Day War” between Israel and its neighboring Arab states (Egypt, Syria and Jordan) transforms the Middle East in Israel’s favor. Islamists see it as the defeat of Arab Nationalist (secular, elitist and “Westernized”) movements.
1968 The long conflict in Lebanon over Palestinian issues begins, as the PLO begins making raids into Israel from south Lebanon, followed by Israeli retaliatory strikes that severely impact the Shiite towns and villages. (A Palestinian refugee population had lived in Lebanon since the 1948 war. After the 1967 war, their numbers swell to about 350,000.)
Nov. 1969 After serious clashes between Palestinian guerrilla fighters and the Lebanese army, the government signs the “Cairo Accord” with the PLO, which gives the Palestinians the right to establish military bases in the southern (largely Shiite) zone. In effect, the PLO now has a “state within the state.” Israeli reprisals lead to years of warfare, both with the Palestinians and among the rival militias of Lebanon.
1969 In Libya, Col. Muammar Qaddafi leads a successful military coup and becomes a fierce defender of anti-imperialist movements. His “Green Book” embodies his own version of Sunni Islam, based on the Quran alone.
1970 In the bloody battles of “Black September,” the Jordanian army drives the PLO out of their bases in Jordan to end Israeli retaliatory attacks. Thousands of Palestinian fighters slip into Lebanon in 1970 and 1971, producing allies and foes among the various Lebanese groups. The Sunni Muslims, Druze and leftists actively support them and the Maronite militia opposes them, creating a deteriorating security environment throughout Lebanon. In the south, problems for the Shia are compounded by an economic crisis and by the political divisions that have weakened the central government.
Aug. 1970 At the close of Pres. Helou’s term, the reform-minded Interior Minister Kamal Jumblatt (Druze leader) legalizes all banned parties, including the Communist Party of Lebanon, Communist splinter groups, Baath parties (Syrian and Iraqi), the Arab National Movement, Nasserist organizations and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. The Maronites then mobilize the Christian Right to rescind the order, launching an anti-Communist and anti-Palestinian crusade. The Christian Right militias become more openly fascist as the nationalist and leftist parties become more unified. In the late 1960s, Beirut is the place of refuge for radical Arabs (individuals and groups) throughout the Middle East. But in Lebanon, a “leftist” is anyone wanting to end the sectarian political system. Kamal Jumblatt, heading the Lebanese National Movement (LNM), is unable accomplish this (Petron, 268.)
1971 Military coup in Syria. Hafiz al-Assad (an Alawite air force general) takes over the government. Musa al-Sadr helps establish his legitimacy by publicly declaring the Alawites a legitimate branch of Shiism. He works pragmatically with Assad until the 1976 Syrian intervention.
Oct. 1973 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat launches a new war against Israel (“the Yom Kippur War”), to recapture lands lost in 1967. When the U.S. starts flying arms into Israel, the Arab states begin oil cutbacks and price hikes that cause economic problems throughout the industrialized world. In Dec., Kissinger organizes a peace conference and a “separation of forces” agreement, placing a U.N. force east of the Suez Canal.
Feb. 1974 Musa’s Higher Shia Council promotes its demands. The Shia population must get the number of posts in government its numbers deserve according to the National Pact, and issues of poverty must be addressed.
March 1974 Musa al-Sadr’s famous speech before 75,000 Shia supporters in Baalbak (Bekaa Valley), calling for a mass movement to struggle until the needs of the Shia poor are met. “We want our full rights completely. We will revolt against tyranny, regardless of death.” In this speech he announces his founding of the “Movement of the Disinherited” (Harakat al-Mahrumin), a political organization fighting for the interests of the impoverished Shia population, as well as for the poor of all sects throughout Lebanon. (20% of its initial membership is Christian.) While criticizing the armed Palestinians’ impact on the Shiite population, al-Sadr nevertheless continues to support their cause. He also works politically to legalize all social justice parties in Lebanon.
Oct. 1974 Arab heads of state recognize the PLO as “the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,” in any peace negotiations with Israel.
April 1975 Civil war begins in Lebanon. The Phalangist or (in Arabic) Kataeb militia (founded in 1936 to defend conservative Maronite interests) attacks a group of Palestinians moving through an East Beirut suburb to visit a Palestinian refugee camp. Large-scale battles follow, erupting into civil war throughout Lebanon. Muslim and leftist forces opposed to the 1943 National Pact form the Lebanon National Movement (LNM), taking arms against the rightist forces. The LNM is also committed to defending the Palestinians in Lebanon. During the next 18 months of fighting, over 100,000 are killed and 600,000 displaced.
July 1975 Recognizing the need for an armed force to protect the Shia population, both in the south and in the southern Beirut slums, Musa al-Sadr organizes the Amal (“hope”) militia. Amal eventually breaks with its former allies (the LNM and Palestinians) when they ignore the Shiites’ suffering in the south, where they are severely impacted by Palestinian military operations and Israeli retaliatory raids. As the conflict in Lebanon develops, the Shia are increasingly isolated as a community, becoming the communal victims of the Palestinian-Israeli war. Spurred by the desire to protect their villages, many Shiites either join Amal or actively support it.
Jan. 1976 Syria begins “indirect” interventions to stop the civil war, leading to a failed effort at arranging a political compromise.
April 1976 Syrian forces (40,000 troops) invade Lebanon. They intervene to prevent an all-out victory by left-wing Muslims and Palestinians, which they fear will lead to endless wars with Israel. Suddenly reversing its alliances, Syria joins the Maronites in pushing the Palestinians out of Beirut into south Lebanon. By the fall, 20,000 Syrian troops occupy the Bekaa Valley. ( Juan Cole suggests that Syria felt it was “in mortal danger” if it did not occupy Lebanon.) Musa al-Sadr angrily vows to oppose his former Syrian allies. (Syria will remain in Lebanon until 2005.)
May 1976 Fadlallah is radicalized by the shelling of his Nabaa Shiite district (northeast Beirut) by the Christian Phalangist forces. He writes his famous defense of Shia militancy, Islam and the Logic of Force, by candlelight in the midst of the fighting. He leaves a few days before the fall of the enclave to combined government and Phalangist forces and resettles in the south, where he is appointed as Grand Ayatollah al-Khoie’s official representative. Keeping a low political profile, he develops a vast network of local support among the disaffected Shiites. They will provide the core constituency for Hezbollah’s development in the early 1980s.
Oct. 1976 After 18 months of fighting, a cease-fire is arranged by Saudi Arabia. An Arab peacekeeping force separates the militias, but the central government has been so weakened, effective power belongs to the Syrians. The Christian Phalangists have control over central Lebanon. The so-called South Lebanese Army, led by rightist Major Haddad, is charged with controlling the southern zone under Israeli direction, but it cannot stop Palestian guerrilla actions. Northern and eastern Lebanon is controlled by the PLO and Muslim leftists with a large Syrian force keeping order.
1977 Shiite villages blame the Palestinian fighters for bringing on Israeli attacks, as well as for exploiting and oppressing the local population. The result is clashes between Amal and the Palestinians.… Kamal Jumblatt, head of the Druze and LNM leader, is assassinated by Syrian agents…Pres. Anwar Sadat of Egypt addresses the Israeli Knesset and starts negotiations for the signing of the 1978 peace treaty with Begin at Camp David.
March 14, 1978 Israeli forces invade South Lebanon (Operation Litani) after cross-border attacks by Palestinian groups in southern Lebanon. Huge casualties among the Shiites turn them against Israel, inspiring a willingness to join the resistance movement. The U.N. Security Council passes resolutions 425 & 426, calling for withdrawal of both Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters, and establishing an international peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, known as UNIFIL (UN Interim Force in Lebanon).
Fall 1978 Israel completes a troop withdrawal, leaving southern Lebanon in control of its “proxy” force, the South Lebanon Army. Palestinian forces remain in the region in defiance of the U.N. agreement, causing more difficulties for the Shiites. At this juncture, Syria feels that it has won the power struggle with Israel for control of Lebanon.
August 31, 1978 Disappearance of Musa al-Sadr on a visit to consult with Qaddafy in Libya. To the Shiite masses, Sayyid Musa’s disappearance recalls the fate of the Twelfth Imam, whose awaited return as the Mahdi is central to Shiite doctrine. Musa al-Sadr thus acquires a legendary status among the Shia in Lebanon, and identification with its founder strengthens Amal militia recruitment.
Jan. 1979 Revolution in Iran. Khomeini’s new regime run by Shiite clerics inspires the Shiites in Lebanon, who are by now the largest sect in the country. It also promotes an Islamist ideological perspective that will challenge Amal’s secularism and produce break-away movements of anti-Western, pro-Palestinian activists.
1980 Nabih Berri assumes command of the Amal militia, promoting a Lebanese nationalist agenda (secular, reformist).
April 1981 The Lebanese National Movement issues a new political charter for a “united, democratic and secular” Lebanon based on equality and social integration, as opposed to a “fascist, sectarian Lebanon based on discrimination, partition and dependence.” However, it contains no demands for economic and social reform, even though the economy is in crisis for the poor. Between 1977 and 1982, prices have risen fourfold, taking its toll in living standards. The LNM is committed to the Arab identity of Lebanon and to the Palestinian cause, making them the inevitable targets of Israeli military and terrorist actions. The ongoing Israeli attacks intensify hostilities between groups in Beirut, and it finally turns into a full-scale Israeli invasion.
April 1982 Israel invades Lebanon (“Operation Big Pines”). At first the Shiites welcome the Israelis as a liberation from ppression by Palestinian forces in the south. But as the Israeli occupation continues, the IDF becomes even more oppressive than the Palestinians, and the Shiites develop an increasingly powerful resistance movement.
June 1982 A meeting of Lebanese Shiite clerics in Tehran leads to a contingent of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards moving to Baalbak to train Shiite fighters. This group, whose operations will continue in secret for three years under the umbrella of the LNM, will publicly emerge as Hezbollah (“Party of God”) in 1985.
June- Aug. 1982 The Israeli siege of West Beirut. Defense Minister Ariel Sharon’s goal is to destroy the remnants of the PLO. The IDF cuts off the water and electricity in West Beirut, trapping 600,000 people under continuous heavy bombardment and refusing to allow food or medical supplies in. The resistance coalition of PLO, leftist and Muslim fighters establishes a defense perimeter that holds off IDF tank columns, forcing the Israelis to fight house-to-house. The PLO is finally evacuated in August under the protection of multinational forces.
Sept. 14, 1982 Pres.-elect Bashir Gemayel (Phalangist leader) is assassinated in a bombing carried out by a Maronite youth from a pro-Syrian faction. Western peacekeeping forces have withdrawn, leaving just a few Lebanese army troops in West Beirut, together with a small number of local Muslim and leftist fighters. On Sept. 15, Israili forces enter West Beirut in violation of the ceasefire agreement of August 18. IDF units surround the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps and allow the Phalangist troops to go in and massacre Palestinian civilians (from 400 to 600 are killed). In a subsequent Israeli investigation, Defense Minister Sharon is found guilty of permitting the massacre.
Nov. 1982 First use of suicide bombing in the Middle East. Ahmad Qassir, a 17-year old Shiite youth in the Lebanese National Resistance movement, drives a car into Israeli headquarters in Tyre, killing 141. Between 1982 and 1985 there are over 30 such attacks in Lebanon. Ayatollah Khomeini legitimates them as “martyrdom” actions, in the context of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-89).
Late 1982 Hussein Musawi leads a break from Nabih Berri’s secular Amal militia, calling his splinter group Islamic Amal. Musawi blames the U.S. for allowing Israel to invade and occupy Lebanon.
April 1983 Bombing of U.S. Embassy in Beirut.
May 1983 The “May 17th Accord” between Israel and Lebanon is arranged by the U.S. Although never implemented due to Syrian objections, it would have established a security zone in the south, patrolled by Lebanese forces and a joint Israeli-Lebanese team. Fadlallah and other activist Muslims fiercely oppose it, accusing the Amin Gemayel government of selling out to the U.S. by legitimating Israel and delegitimating the anti-Israel resistance movements. Amal’s Nabih Berri criticizes the Islamic activists, demanding a more moderate position that could help stabilize Lebanon as a secular democratic state.
Sept. 1983 Israel begins a gradual withdrawal from conquered areas, which is “officially complete” by June 1985. However, Israel will still hold onto a “security zone” along the southern border. On Sept. 23, a ceasefire agreement takes effect, brokered by the Lebanese and Syrian governments. But the Maronite hard-liners stall any political settlement that could reduce its privileges.
Oct. Clashes between the Shiite fighters of Amal and the Lebanese army in West Beirut escalate, raising fears of a new outbreak of civil war. U.S. naval bombardment of Druze positions from off-shore make it clear that the U.S. and French “peacekeeping” forces have taken sides with the Maronite government.
Oct. 16 A clash between Israeli troops and Shiites celebrating the rituals of Ashura in Nabatiyeh is followed by Shiite calls for guerrilla actions and mass resistance against the Israelis.
Oct. 23, 1983 Suicide bombing attack on U.S. Marine barracks kills 241, and a simultaneous bombing of the French barracks kills 58.
Dec. 1983 Syrian forces besiege Tripoli, bombing Palestinian areas and forcing Arafat to withdraw the PLO from Lebanon under French protection, moving the PLO HQ to Tunis.
Feb. 1984 Multinational forces (American, French and Italian) withdraw from Lebanon. But cease-fire agreements fail to hold throughout the region, due to terrorist actions by rival groups.
1985 Sporadic fighting erupts between Palestinians and the Amal (Shiite) militia. Hizbollah, however, announces itself as an Islamist Shiite force that supports the Palestinian struggle. Amal wants a major Shiite role within a pluralist, non-sectarian Arab state in Lebanon, purged of foreign (including Syrian and Palestinian) influences. Hezbollah wants to turn Lebanon into an Islamic state, and is materially and ideologically aligned with Iran. The Lebanese government, meanwhile, is paralyzed by Syrian opposition to Pres. Amin Gemayel, and Lebanon is unable to reverse its anarchic momentum, especially in Beirut.
May 1985 In the “war of the camps,” the Amal militia drives out the remaining Palestinian forces in South Lebanon, blaming them for bringing Israeli reprisals against Shiites. Many Palestinian fighters have remained or returned in order to defend the camps, where impoverished Palestinian refugees have been driven to the brink of famine by the war. Hezbollah’s anger at Amal for fighting against the Palestinians will eventually (1988) lead to a period of armed conflict between the rival Shiite militias.
June 1985 Israel completes its three-stage withdrawal to a self-declared “security zone” in the largely Shiite south, which it occupies with an “Iron Fist” policy—launching raids on villages and rounding up “suspects” for indefinite imprisonment or deportation, destroying crops and orange and lemon groves, destroying the homes of “suspect” families, and denying journalists access to the area of operations.
1986 Hezbollah imposes its own order in the Baalbak region of the Bekaa Valley, after allying itself with Syria. It establishes its headquarters in Beirut, calling itself the Islamic Resistance and announcing an all-out military campaign against Israel and its proxy force, the South Lebanon Army. However, the local population in the south is tired of bearing the brunt of Israeli reprisals for Hezbollah’s military operations, and it resents the strict code of Islamic behavior Hezbollah imposes in the towns and villages it controls. In effect, the South has become a war zone entirely separated from the rest of Lebanon.
May 1988 War breaks out between Amal and Hezbollah (“The War for Supremacy of South Lebanon”). Amal opposes Hezbollah’s sectarianism and its goal of imposing an Islamic state in Lebanon. It seeks to protect Shiite villages from Hezbollah as well as Israeli operations. Syria’s Hafiz Assad backs Amal (and Musa al-Sadr’s inclusivist legacy), opposing Hezbollah’s Iranian-backed Islamist movement as a threat to the Lebanese state. The battle spreads to south Beirut, where Hezbollah forces defeat the Amal militia. But inter-Shia battles continue until Nov. 1990.
June 1988 Hezbollah, having triumphed over Amal and other secular leftist groups in densely Shiite south Beirut, establishes its social service network there while imposing Islamic rule. Women wear the hijab, men let beards grow, loudspeakers broadcast sermons and slogans, and militants patrol the area (Picard, 136). In the south, Hezbollah operations against Israel and the South Lebanon Army continue to provoke heavy Israeli reprisal attacks against helpless Shiite villagers.
Sept. 1988 Pres. Amin Gemayel’s term expires, and amid the predictable factional disagreements, Maronite army commander Michel Aoun takes control. The result is a Muslim government in West and South Beirut and a Christian government in East Beirut.
Jan. 1989 Iran brokers an agreement to end all inter-Shiite fighting in Lebanon. Signed in Syria, the Damascus Agreement represents Iran’s ceding of control over Lebanon to Syria, which has threatened a rapprochement with Iraq. Islamic groups are permitted to control West Beirut and southern Lebanon, but Hezbollah is not allowed to interfere with the secular and military order Syria imposes in Lebanon, since the political system has been shattered by the war. Hezbollah thus agrees to recognize Syria’s secular authority while being allowed to resume military operations against Israel in the south. Strategically, given the reality of Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, Syria wants to maintain its relations with Iran. However, it insists that Hezbollah abandon its goal of an Islamist state in Lebanon.
Sept. 1989 Taif Accord. The Arab League organizes a general cease-fire in Lebanon and convenes a meeting of Lebanese parliamentarians in Taif, Saudi Arabia, leading to an agreement that installs Elias Harawi (Maronite) as president. Maronite Gen. Aoun organizes resistance to the settlement by attacking Syrian and Muslim positions. Defeated, he flees to France and remains in exile there. Leftist parties and militias, including Amal, Communists and Nasserites, join in backing the Taif Accord, which calls for a unified national government under Syria’s general protection.
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1989 In Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini dies. In Lebanon, Hezbollah selects Ayatollah Araki as its chief marja (religious model to emulate), then switches to Ayatollah Khameini after he has taken power. Significantly, Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, the top Shiite authority in Lebanon, selects the more moderate Ayatollah Ali Hossein Sistani of Najaf as his faqih-- both his juridical and political model (Jaber, 71).
1990 The Lebanese government gradually reasserts its authority, backed by Syria. Hezbollah is the only group permitted to remain armed after the civil war, as it wages a continuing campaign against the Israeli occupation of the southern zone. Lebanese politicians are forced to acknowledge the legitimacy of Hezbollah as a political organization.
Feb. 1992 Israeli helicopter gunships assassinate Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Sayyid Abbas Musawi. Musawi has been promoting Hezbollah’s active involvement in Lebanese politics, and this emphasis will be continued by his protégé and replacement, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah.
Nov. 1992 Appointment of wealthy Lebanese businessman Rafiq al-Hariri as prime minister brings hope for a serious affort at reconstruction of Beirut and the entire country.
Sept. 1993—The Oslo Accord is signed between the Israelis and Palestinians. In southern Beirut, a Hezbollah-inspired demonstration against the Accord is attacked by the Lebanese army, killing 13. Throughout the 1990s, the Lebanese state grants increasing power to the military and security services, in coordination with Syrian forces in Lebanon. By the late 1990s, the army has become the most powerful institution in the country, especially after the accession of its commander in chief, Gen Emile Lahoud, to the presidency in 1998.
Aug.-Sept. 1996 Elections give strong majority to a coalition of pro-Syrian parties, especially the Hezbollah-Amal coalition. Al-Hariri is appointed prime minister for a second term, but resigns in 1998.
Jan. 1999 Fighting increases in South Lebanon, as Hezbollah stages major attacks on Israeli forces and the South Lebanon army.
Feb. 1999 Israel expands air strikes beyond the “security zone” to northern Lebanon.
June 1999 Heaviest Israeli air raids in Beirut in three years. UN Security Council renews UNIFIC mandate for 6 months and restates support for territorial integrity of Lebanon, opposing continued Syrian occupation.
May 2000 Israel finally withdraws from South Lebanon due to Hezbollah attacks. The South Lebanon army simply disintegrates.
March 2001 Lebanon diverts water from an Israeli river source to supply villages in South Lebanon, and in Sept. 2002 Ariel Sharon calls it an “act of war.” However, there has never been a formal declaration of war between Lebanon and Israel throughout their years of conflict.
Jan. 2003 Hezbollah and Israeli forces exchange fire over a small area of the former “security zone” called Shebaa Farms, which Israel claims has the same status as the Golan Heights, taken from Syria in the 1967 war. The U.N. holds that Shabda Farm belongs to Syria, not Lebanon, and unsuccessfully encourages negotiations between Israel and Syria. The two countries do not maintain any open ties and rely on third parties to be intermediaries in any disputes.
Sept. 2004 The U.N. Security Council, recalling previous resolutions, especially 425 (1978), 520 (1982) and 1553 (July 2004), approves Resolution 1559, sponsored by the U.S. and France. It proposes that “all foreign forces should withdraw from Lebanon” to allow for free elections. The object is to achieve Syria’s withdrawal, which is only accomplished after the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri.
Feb. 2005 The assassination of former PM Rafiq al-Hariri in a Feb. 14 car explosion brings huge demonstrations in Martyrs’ Square. Leaders of the March 14 Alliance blame Syria, demanding an honest investigation and a sovereign, democratic and unified Lebanon, free from Syrian occupation. On Feb. 28, pro-Syrian PM Omar Karami and his Cabinet resign, assuming a caretaker’s role until a permanent government can be elected.
March 14 Large protest (around 1 million) in Beirut against Syria’s continuing presence in Lebanon.
April 26, 2005 Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its troops from Lebanon.
May 2005 Parliamentary elections are dominated by an anti-Syrian coalition of Sunni Muslims, Druze and Christians led by Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated ex-PM, called the Future Movement Party. The election is boycotted by many Lebanese who oppose its perpetuation of sectarian identities. Once in power, Hariri’s party nominates Fouad Siniora, a former finance minister, to be Prime Minister. The growing opposition forces are led by the two Shia parties Amal and Hezbollah (both now part of the government), now joined by the Free Patriotic Movement Party of formerly exiled Gen. Michel Aoun.
July 12, 2006 The Hezbollah capture of two Israeli soldiers is called an “act of war” by Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, who holds the Lebanese government accountable and approves military strikes in Lebanon. The war continues for 33 days and leads to the death of 1,191 Lebanese and 44 Israeli civilians.
August 14 Fighting ends, three days after U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 is passed, calling for immediate cessation of hostilities. But Israel’s naval and aerial blockade of Lebanon (to prevent arms shipments to Hezbollah) continues until September 8.
References:
Majed Halawi, A Lebanon Defied: Musa al-Sadr and the Shia Community (1992).
Hala Jaber, Hezbollah: Born With a Vengeance (1997).
Catherine Mackey, Lebanon: Death of a Nation (1989).
Augustus Norton, Amal and the Shia (1987).
Elizabeth Picard, Lebanon:A Shattered Country (2002).
Grand Lake Neighborhood Center
September 10, 2006
Lebanon is the Middle East country that has clung most tightly to the Ottoman tradition of social and political divisions into sectarian communities. In the Ottoman system, each community was identified by its religion and governed by a specific authority representing its own organic institutions. Each religious hierarchy had the authority to impose its own laws and customs, within limits set by the Sunni caliphate. Over time, this tended to congeal communitarian identifications, as each religious group, including the Muslim sects, had its own form of social organization and its own type of political influence. In Lebanon, the French used this system of “political communitarianism” as the basis for the new state it formed around its client population, the Christian community of Mt. Lebanon.
In 1920, after obtaining the League of Nations Mandate for Syria, France expanded the territory it had selected for control by the Maronites, which had been under its protection since the late 19th century. The boundaries of the new state of Lebanon also included the Bekaa Valley, the Jabal Amil region south of the Litani River, and the coastal plain from Tyre to Beirut to Tripoli, which meant that Lebanon would have a large Muslim population (both Sunnis and Shiites as well as the Druze, an Ismaili Shiite splinter group). Shrewdly, the Maronites initially allied with the Shiites, to weaken Muslim power. In 1926 France permitted the Shiites to establish their own religious courts (forbidden by the Sunni Ottomans) and practice their religion freely. Under the Ottomans, they had been forced to celebrate their distinctive festivals, like Ashura, in secret. By dividing power along sectarian lines, the French helped to insure the dominance of the Maronites. To this day, the President must always be Maronite, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim, and the Shiites would alays be represented (albeit ineffectively) by the Speaker of the House. The National Pact of 1943, which officially finalized this arrangement, based it on a 1932 French census, in which the Christians had a (questionable) 54% majority. For obvious reasons, the Christian Maronites have never allowed another census. The significant growth of the Shiite population (now estimated at 35-40%) was not accompanied by any political power to address its impoverishment and lack of services. It became Hezbollah’s self-appointed task to remedy this economic and political marginalization of its people, following the example set by the founder of the Shiite movement in Lebanon, the charismatic Ayatollah Musa al-Sadr, who famously “disappeared” in 1978.
In 1992, Majid Halawi (p. 50) estimated the major groups in the population of Lebanon as follows—about 4 million total population, of which 2 ½ million are Muslim (Druze= 218,000, Sunni= 860,000, Shia= 1,325,000) and 1,640,000 are Christian (1 million Maronites, 165,000 Greek Catholics, 271,000 Greek Orthodox, and 163,000 Armenian Orthodox).
What follows is a chronological arrangement of key facts and perspectives which should help to get some of this very complicated history “out there,” at least, for reference purposes.
1950s—Shiites from poor rural areas in the south and Bekaa Valley move into Beirut’s eastern and southern suburbs, due to the demand for cheap labor as industrialization and development transform Lebanon’s economy. By the end of the 1950s, Shiites constitute about 75% of the industrial workforce. (In 1975-76, when the Maronite militias push the Shiites out of East Beirut, most resettle in the South Beirut suburbs, which becomes the power base of a densely urbanized community.)
1958 Civil War. The effort of Pres. (and Maronite leader) Camille Chamoun to seek a second term precipitates a war with Muslim, Druze and leftist forces. Chamoun turns to the U.S. for help, since the Eisenhower Doctrine provides aid to allies against communism. Nasser’s immensely popular pan-Arab socialism qualified, since the Soviets have been supplying arms to Egypt since 1955, before the Suez Crisis. The U.S. sends forces to control the situation. The crisis is resolved when Gen. Fuad Shihab (supported by both government and opposition groups) is elected president in July. Shihab’s administration brings a period of relative stability through the mid-1960s.
1959 Musa al-Sadr is invited to be the religious leader of the Lebanon Shiites. Born in Qom, Iran into a distinguished clerical family, he is educated in Najaf, as part of a new generation of activist clerics that emerge after the 1958 Iraq revolution. Challenged by the secularizing appeal of Arab Nationalism and Communism, they bring a new openness to reforming Shiism, socially and doctrinally.
1965-68 In the mid-1960s a “new left” emerges in Lebanon, first as a result of the Sino-Soviet split and later because of the 1967 war. It identifies with the liberation struggles in Vietnam, Latin America and Africa and is energized by the 1968 “revolution” in Paris, where many Lebanese and Arabs have studied. A wide range of radical groups emerges from splits in the Baath and Communist parties and from the break-up of the Arab Nationalist movement after Nasser’s defeat in the 1967 war.
1966 Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah (b. 1935) moves to Lebanon from Najaf, Iraq, where he has developed into a major Shiite scholar and writer. Since the late 1950s he has been part of the circle of activist clerics known as al-Dawa, “the Call,” whose leader and famed theoretician is Ayatollah M. Baqir al-Sadr (the same age as Fadlallah). The task of al-Dawa is to develop a more relevant Shiite doctrine, to meet the challenge of the secular leftist philosophies that are drawing Shiite youths into Westernizing (capitalist or communist) forms of materialism.
1967 Musa al-Sadr establishes the Higher Shia Council, which achieves the first official recognition of Shia political rights with a Shia spokesperson (Musa himself) since 1926. Fadlallah opposes it as a threat to the unified Muslim movement that is needed for the global struggle against Western imperialism. In general, Musa al-Sadr works pragmatically from the top down, with political leaders from all sectors of the existing Lebanese society, while Fadlallah works from the grass roots, to start a revolutionary dynamic that is Islamist in principle.
June 1967 The “Six Day War” between Israel and its neighboring Arab states (Egypt, Syria and Jordan) transforms the Middle East in Israel’s favor. Islamists see it as the defeat of Arab Nationalist (secular, elitist and “Westernized”) movements.
1968 The long conflict in Lebanon over Palestinian issues begins, as the PLO begins making raids into Israel from south Lebanon, followed by Israeli retaliatory strikes that severely impact the Shiite towns and villages. (A Palestinian refugee population had lived in Lebanon since the 1948 war. After the 1967 war, their numbers swell to about 350,000.)
Nov. 1969 After serious clashes between Palestinian guerrilla fighters and the Lebanese army, the government signs the “Cairo Accord” with the PLO, which gives the Palestinians the right to establish military bases in the southern (largely Shiite) zone. In effect, the PLO now has a “state within the state.” Israeli reprisals lead to years of warfare, both with the Palestinians and among the rival militias of Lebanon.
1969 In Libya, Col. Muammar Qaddafi leads a successful military coup and becomes a fierce defender of anti-imperialist movements. His “Green Book” embodies his own version of Sunni Islam, based on the Quran alone.
1970 In the bloody battles of “Black September,” the Jordanian army drives the PLO out of their bases in Jordan to end Israeli retaliatory attacks. Thousands of Palestinian fighters slip into Lebanon in 1970 and 1971, producing allies and foes among the various Lebanese groups. The Sunni Muslims, Druze and leftists actively support them and the Maronite militia opposes them, creating a deteriorating security environment throughout Lebanon. In the south, problems for the Shia are compounded by an economic crisis and by the political divisions that have weakened the central government.
Aug. 1970 At the close of Pres. Helou’s term, the reform-minded Interior Minister Kamal Jumblatt (Druze leader) legalizes all banned parties, including the Communist Party of Lebanon, Communist splinter groups, Baath parties (Syrian and Iraqi), the Arab National Movement, Nasserist organizations and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. The Maronites then mobilize the Christian Right to rescind the order, launching an anti-Communist and anti-Palestinian crusade. The Christian Right militias become more openly fascist as the nationalist and leftist parties become more unified. In the late 1960s, Beirut is the place of refuge for radical Arabs (individuals and groups) throughout the Middle East. But in Lebanon, a “leftist” is anyone wanting to end the sectarian political system. Kamal Jumblatt, heading the Lebanese National Movement (LNM), is unable accomplish this (Petron, 268.)
1971 Military coup in Syria. Hafiz al-Assad (an Alawite air force general) takes over the government. Musa al-Sadr helps establish his legitimacy by publicly declaring the Alawites a legitimate branch of Shiism. He works pragmatically with Assad until the 1976 Syrian intervention.
Oct. 1973 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat launches a new war against Israel (“the Yom Kippur War”), to recapture lands lost in 1967. When the U.S. starts flying arms into Israel, the Arab states begin oil cutbacks and price hikes that cause economic problems throughout the industrialized world. In Dec., Kissinger organizes a peace conference and a “separation of forces” agreement, placing a U.N. force east of the Suez Canal.
Feb. 1974 Musa’s Higher Shia Council promotes its demands. The Shia population must get the number of posts in government its numbers deserve according to the National Pact, and issues of poverty must be addressed.
March 1974 Musa al-Sadr’s famous speech before 75,000 Shia supporters in Baalbak (Bekaa Valley), calling for a mass movement to struggle until the needs of the Shia poor are met. “We want our full rights completely. We will revolt against tyranny, regardless of death.” In this speech he announces his founding of the “Movement of the Disinherited” (Harakat al-Mahrumin), a political organization fighting for the interests of the impoverished Shia population, as well as for the poor of all sects throughout Lebanon. (20% of its initial membership is Christian.) While criticizing the armed Palestinians’ impact on the Shiite population, al-Sadr nevertheless continues to support their cause. He also works politically to legalize all social justice parties in Lebanon.
Oct. 1974 Arab heads of state recognize the PLO as “the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,” in any peace negotiations with Israel.
April 1975 Civil war begins in Lebanon. The Phalangist or (in Arabic) Kataeb militia (founded in 1936 to defend conservative Maronite interests) attacks a group of Palestinians moving through an East Beirut suburb to visit a Palestinian refugee camp. Large-scale battles follow, erupting into civil war throughout Lebanon. Muslim and leftist forces opposed to the 1943 National Pact form the Lebanon National Movement (LNM), taking arms against the rightist forces. The LNM is also committed to defending the Palestinians in Lebanon. During the next 18 months of fighting, over 100,000 are killed and 600,000 displaced.
July 1975 Recognizing the need for an armed force to protect the Shia population, both in the south and in the southern Beirut slums, Musa al-Sadr organizes the Amal (“hope”) militia. Amal eventually breaks with its former allies (the LNM and Palestinians) when they ignore the Shiites’ suffering in the south, where they are severely impacted by Palestinian military operations and Israeli retaliatory raids. As the conflict in Lebanon develops, the Shia are increasingly isolated as a community, becoming the communal victims of the Palestinian-Israeli war. Spurred by the desire to protect their villages, many Shiites either join Amal or actively support it.
Jan. 1976 Syria begins “indirect” interventions to stop the civil war, leading to a failed effort at arranging a political compromise.
April 1976 Syrian forces (40,000 troops) invade Lebanon. They intervene to prevent an all-out victory by left-wing Muslims and Palestinians, which they fear will lead to endless wars with Israel. Suddenly reversing its alliances, Syria joins the Maronites in pushing the Palestinians out of Beirut into south Lebanon. By the fall, 20,000 Syrian troops occupy the Bekaa Valley. ( Juan Cole suggests that Syria felt it was “in mortal danger” if it did not occupy Lebanon.) Musa al-Sadr angrily vows to oppose his former Syrian allies. (Syria will remain in Lebanon until 2005.)
May 1976 Fadlallah is radicalized by the shelling of his Nabaa Shiite district (northeast Beirut) by the Christian Phalangist forces. He writes his famous defense of Shia militancy, Islam and the Logic of Force, by candlelight in the midst of the fighting. He leaves a few days before the fall of the enclave to combined government and Phalangist forces and resettles in the south, where he is appointed as Grand Ayatollah al-Khoie’s official representative. Keeping a low political profile, he develops a vast network of local support among the disaffected Shiites. They will provide the core constituency for Hezbollah’s development in the early 1980s.
Oct. 1976 After 18 months of fighting, a cease-fire is arranged by Saudi Arabia. An Arab peacekeeping force separates the militias, but the central government has been so weakened, effective power belongs to the Syrians. The Christian Phalangists have control over central Lebanon. The so-called South Lebanese Army, led by rightist Major Haddad, is charged with controlling the southern zone under Israeli direction, but it cannot stop Palestian guerrilla actions. Northern and eastern Lebanon is controlled by the PLO and Muslim leftists with a large Syrian force keeping order.
1977 Shiite villages blame the Palestinian fighters for bringing on Israeli attacks, as well as for exploiting and oppressing the local population. The result is clashes between Amal and the Palestinians.… Kamal Jumblatt, head of the Druze and LNM leader, is assassinated by Syrian agents…Pres. Anwar Sadat of Egypt addresses the Israeli Knesset and starts negotiations for the signing of the 1978 peace treaty with Begin at Camp David.
March 14, 1978 Israeli forces invade South Lebanon (Operation Litani) after cross-border attacks by Palestinian groups in southern Lebanon. Huge casualties among the Shiites turn them against Israel, inspiring a willingness to join the resistance movement. The U.N. Security Council passes resolutions 425 & 426, calling for withdrawal of both Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters, and establishing an international peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, known as UNIFIL (UN Interim Force in Lebanon).
Fall 1978 Israel completes a troop withdrawal, leaving southern Lebanon in control of its “proxy” force, the South Lebanon Army. Palestinian forces remain in the region in defiance of the U.N. agreement, causing more difficulties for the Shiites. At this juncture, Syria feels that it has won the power struggle with Israel for control of Lebanon.
August 31, 1978 Disappearance of Musa al-Sadr on a visit to consult with Qaddafy in Libya. To the Shiite masses, Sayyid Musa’s disappearance recalls the fate of the Twelfth Imam, whose awaited return as the Mahdi is central to Shiite doctrine. Musa al-Sadr thus acquires a legendary status among the Shia in Lebanon, and identification with its founder strengthens Amal militia recruitment.
Jan. 1979 Revolution in Iran. Khomeini’s new regime run by Shiite clerics inspires the Shiites in Lebanon, who are by now the largest sect in the country. It also promotes an Islamist ideological perspective that will challenge Amal’s secularism and produce break-away movements of anti-Western, pro-Palestinian activists.
1980 Nabih Berri assumes command of the Amal militia, promoting a Lebanese nationalist agenda (secular, reformist).
April 1981 The Lebanese National Movement issues a new political charter for a “united, democratic and secular” Lebanon based on equality and social integration, as opposed to a “fascist, sectarian Lebanon based on discrimination, partition and dependence.” However, it contains no demands for economic and social reform, even though the economy is in crisis for the poor. Between 1977 and 1982, prices have risen fourfold, taking its toll in living standards. The LNM is committed to the Arab identity of Lebanon and to the Palestinian cause, making them the inevitable targets of Israeli military and terrorist actions. The ongoing Israeli attacks intensify hostilities between groups in Beirut, and it finally turns into a full-scale Israeli invasion.
April 1982 Israel invades Lebanon (“Operation Big Pines”). At first the Shiites welcome the Israelis as a liberation from ppression by Palestinian forces in the south. But as the Israeli occupation continues, the IDF becomes even more oppressive than the Palestinians, and the Shiites develop an increasingly powerful resistance movement.
June 1982 A meeting of Lebanese Shiite clerics in Tehran leads to a contingent of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards moving to Baalbak to train Shiite fighters. This group, whose operations will continue in secret for three years under the umbrella of the LNM, will publicly emerge as Hezbollah (“Party of God”) in 1985.
June- Aug. 1982 The Israeli siege of West Beirut. Defense Minister Ariel Sharon’s goal is to destroy the remnants of the PLO. The IDF cuts off the water and electricity in West Beirut, trapping 600,000 people under continuous heavy bombardment and refusing to allow food or medical supplies in. The resistance coalition of PLO, leftist and Muslim fighters establishes a defense perimeter that holds off IDF tank columns, forcing the Israelis to fight house-to-house. The PLO is finally evacuated in August under the protection of multinational forces.
Sept. 14, 1982 Pres.-elect Bashir Gemayel (Phalangist leader) is assassinated in a bombing carried out by a Maronite youth from a pro-Syrian faction. Western peacekeeping forces have withdrawn, leaving just a few Lebanese army troops in West Beirut, together with a small number of local Muslim and leftist fighters. On Sept. 15, Israili forces enter West Beirut in violation of the ceasefire agreement of August 18. IDF units surround the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps and allow the Phalangist troops to go in and massacre Palestinian civilians (from 400 to 600 are killed). In a subsequent Israeli investigation, Defense Minister Sharon is found guilty of permitting the massacre.
Nov. 1982 First use of suicide bombing in the Middle East. Ahmad Qassir, a 17-year old Shiite youth in the Lebanese National Resistance movement, drives a car into Israeli headquarters in Tyre, killing 141. Between 1982 and 1985 there are over 30 such attacks in Lebanon. Ayatollah Khomeini legitimates them as “martyrdom” actions, in the context of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-89).
Late 1982 Hussein Musawi leads a break from Nabih Berri’s secular Amal militia, calling his splinter group Islamic Amal. Musawi blames the U.S. for allowing Israel to invade and occupy Lebanon.
April 1983 Bombing of U.S. Embassy in Beirut.
May 1983 The “May 17th Accord” between Israel and Lebanon is arranged by the U.S. Although never implemented due to Syrian objections, it would have established a security zone in the south, patrolled by Lebanese forces and a joint Israeli-Lebanese team. Fadlallah and other activist Muslims fiercely oppose it, accusing the Amin Gemayel government of selling out to the U.S. by legitimating Israel and delegitimating the anti-Israel resistance movements. Amal’s Nabih Berri criticizes the Islamic activists, demanding a more moderate position that could help stabilize Lebanon as a secular democratic state.
Sept. 1983 Israel begins a gradual withdrawal from conquered areas, which is “officially complete” by June 1985. However, Israel will still hold onto a “security zone” along the southern border. On Sept. 23, a ceasefire agreement takes effect, brokered by the Lebanese and Syrian governments. But the Maronite hard-liners stall any political settlement that could reduce its privileges.
Oct. Clashes between the Shiite fighters of Amal and the Lebanese army in West Beirut escalate, raising fears of a new outbreak of civil war. U.S. naval bombardment of Druze positions from off-shore make it clear that the U.S. and French “peacekeeping” forces have taken sides with the Maronite government.
Oct. 16 A clash between Israeli troops and Shiites celebrating the rituals of Ashura in Nabatiyeh is followed by Shiite calls for guerrilla actions and mass resistance against the Israelis.
Oct. 23, 1983 Suicide bombing attack on U.S. Marine barracks kills 241, and a simultaneous bombing of the French barracks kills 58.
Dec. 1983 Syrian forces besiege Tripoli, bombing Palestinian areas and forcing Arafat to withdraw the PLO from Lebanon under French protection, moving the PLO HQ to Tunis.
Feb. 1984 Multinational forces (American, French and Italian) withdraw from Lebanon. But cease-fire agreements fail to hold throughout the region, due to terrorist actions by rival groups.
1985 Sporadic fighting erupts between Palestinians and the Amal (Shiite) militia. Hizbollah, however, announces itself as an Islamist Shiite force that supports the Palestinian struggle. Amal wants a major Shiite role within a pluralist, non-sectarian Arab state in Lebanon, purged of foreign (including Syrian and Palestinian) influences. Hezbollah wants to turn Lebanon into an Islamic state, and is materially and ideologically aligned with Iran. The Lebanese government, meanwhile, is paralyzed by Syrian opposition to Pres. Amin Gemayel, and Lebanon is unable to reverse its anarchic momentum, especially in Beirut.
May 1985 In the “war of the camps,” the Amal militia drives out the remaining Palestinian forces in South Lebanon, blaming them for bringing Israeli reprisals against Shiites. Many Palestinian fighters have remained or returned in order to defend the camps, where impoverished Palestinian refugees have been driven to the brink of famine by the war. Hezbollah’s anger at Amal for fighting against the Palestinians will eventually (1988) lead to a period of armed conflict between the rival Shiite militias.
June 1985 Israel completes its three-stage withdrawal to a self-declared “security zone” in the largely Shiite south, which it occupies with an “Iron Fist” policy—launching raids on villages and rounding up “suspects” for indefinite imprisonment or deportation, destroying crops and orange and lemon groves, destroying the homes of “suspect” families, and denying journalists access to the area of operations.
1986 Hezbollah imposes its own order in the Baalbak region of the Bekaa Valley, after allying itself with Syria. It establishes its headquarters in Beirut, calling itself the Islamic Resistance and announcing an all-out military campaign against Israel and its proxy force, the South Lebanon Army. However, the local population in the south is tired of bearing the brunt of Israeli reprisals for Hezbollah’s military operations, and it resents the strict code of Islamic behavior Hezbollah imposes in the towns and villages it controls. In effect, the South has become a war zone entirely separated from the rest of Lebanon.
May 1988 War breaks out between Amal and Hezbollah (“The War for Supremacy of South Lebanon”). Amal opposes Hezbollah’s sectarianism and its goal of imposing an Islamic state in Lebanon. It seeks to protect Shiite villages from Hezbollah as well as Israeli operations. Syria’s Hafiz Assad backs Amal (and Musa al-Sadr’s inclusivist legacy), opposing Hezbollah’s Iranian-backed Islamist movement as a threat to the Lebanese state. The battle spreads to south Beirut, where Hezbollah forces defeat the Amal militia. But inter-Shia battles continue until Nov. 1990.
June 1988 Hezbollah, having triumphed over Amal and other secular leftist groups in densely Shiite south Beirut, establishes its social service network there while imposing Islamic rule. Women wear the hijab, men let beards grow, loudspeakers broadcast sermons and slogans, and militants patrol the area (Picard, 136). In the south, Hezbollah operations against Israel and the South Lebanon Army continue to provoke heavy Israeli reprisal attacks against helpless Shiite villagers.
Sept. 1988 Pres. Amin Gemayel’s term expires, and amid the predictable factional disagreements, Maronite army commander Michel Aoun takes control. The result is a Muslim government in West and South Beirut and a Christian government in East Beirut.
Jan. 1989 Iran brokers an agreement to end all inter-Shiite fighting in Lebanon. Signed in Syria, the Damascus Agreement represents Iran’s ceding of control over Lebanon to Syria, which has threatened a rapprochement with Iraq. Islamic groups are permitted to control West Beirut and southern Lebanon, but Hezbollah is not allowed to interfere with the secular and military order Syria imposes in Lebanon, since the political system has been shattered by the war. Hezbollah thus agrees to recognize Syria’s secular authority while being allowed to resume military operations against Israel in the south. Strategically, given the reality of Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, Syria wants to maintain its relations with Iran. However, it insists that Hezbollah abandon its goal of an Islamist state in Lebanon.
Sept. 1989 Taif Accord. The Arab League organizes a general cease-fire in Lebanon and convenes a meeting of Lebanese parliamentarians in Taif, Saudi Arabia, leading to an agreement that installs Elias Harawi (Maronite) as president. Maronite Gen. Aoun organizes resistance to the settlement by attacking Syrian and Muslim positions. Defeated, he flees to France and remains in exile there. Leftist parties and militias, including Amal, Communists and Nasserites, join in backing the Taif Accord, which calls for a unified national government under Syria’s general protection.
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1989 In Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini dies. In Lebanon, Hezbollah selects Ayatollah Araki as its chief marja (religious model to emulate), then switches to Ayatollah Khameini after he has taken power. Significantly, Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, the top Shiite authority in Lebanon, selects the more moderate Ayatollah Ali Hossein Sistani of Najaf as his faqih-- both his juridical and political model (Jaber, 71).
1990 The Lebanese government gradually reasserts its authority, backed by Syria. Hezbollah is the only group permitted to remain armed after the civil war, as it wages a continuing campaign against the Israeli occupation of the southern zone. Lebanese politicians are forced to acknowledge the legitimacy of Hezbollah as a political organization.
Feb. 1992 Israeli helicopter gunships assassinate Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Sayyid Abbas Musawi. Musawi has been promoting Hezbollah’s active involvement in Lebanese politics, and this emphasis will be continued by his protégé and replacement, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah.
Nov. 1992 Appointment of wealthy Lebanese businessman Rafiq al-Hariri as prime minister brings hope for a serious affort at reconstruction of Beirut and the entire country.
Sept. 1993—The Oslo Accord is signed between the Israelis and Palestinians. In southern Beirut, a Hezbollah-inspired demonstration against the Accord is attacked by the Lebanese army, killing 13. Throughout the 1990s, the Lebanese state grants increasing power to the military and security services, in coordination with Syrian forces in Lebanon. By the late 1990s, the army has become the most powerful institution in the country, especially after the accession of its commander in chief, Gen Emile Lahoud, to the presidency in 1998.
Aug.-Sept. 1996 Elections give strong majority to a coalition of pro-Syrian parties, especially the Hezbollah-Amal coalition. Al-Hariri is appointed prime minister for a second term, but resigns in 1998.
Jan. 1999 Fighting increases in South Lebanon, as Hezbollah stages major attacks on Israeli forces and the South Lebanon army.
Feb. 1999 Israel expands air strikes beyond the “security zone” to northern Lebanon.
June 1999 Heaviest Israeli air raids in Beirut in three years. UN Security Council renews UNIFIC mandate for 6 months and restates support for territorial integrity of Lebanon, opposing continued Syrian occupation.
May 2000 Israel finally withdraws from South Lebanon due to Hezbollah attacks. The South Lebanon army simply disintegrates.
March 2001 Lebanon diverts water from an Israeli river source to supply villages in South Lebanon, and in Sept. 2002 Ariel Sharon calls it an “act of war.” However, there has never been a formal declaration of war between Lebanon and Israel throughout their years of conflict.
Jan. 2003 Hezbollah and Israeli forces exchange fire over a small area of the former “security zone” called Shebaa Farms, which Israel claims has the same status as the Golan Heights, taken from Syria in the 1967 war. The U.N. holds that Shabda Farm belongs to Syria, not Lebanon, and unsuccessfully encourages negotiations between Israel and Syria. The two countries do not maintain any open ties and rely on third parties to be intermediaries in any disputes.
Sept. 2004 The U.N. Security Council, recalling previous resolutions, especially 425 (1978), 520 (1982) and 1553 (July 2004), approves Resolution 1559, sponsored by the U.S. and France. It proposes that “all foreign forces should withdraw from Lebanon” to allow for free elections. The object is to achieve Syria’s withdrawal, which is only accomplished after the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri.
Feb. 2005 The assassination of former PM Rafiq al-Hariri in a Feb. 14 car explosion brings huge demonstrations in Martyrs’ Square. Leaders of the March 14 Alliance blame Syria, demanding an honest investigation and a sovereign, democratic and unified Lebanon, free from Syrian occupation. On Feb. 28, pro-Syrian PM Omar Karami and his Cabinet resign, assuming a caretaker’s role until a permanent government can be elected.
March 14 Large protest (around 1 million) in Beirut against Syria’s continuing presence in Lebanon.
April 26, 2005 Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its troops from Lebanon.
May 2005 Parliamentary elections are dominated by an anti-Syrian coalition of Sunni Muslims, Druze and Christians led by Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated ex-PM, called the Future Movement Party. The election is boycotted by many Lebanese who oppose its perpetuation of sectarian identities. Once in power, Hariri’s party nominates Fouad Siniora, a former finance minister, to be Prime Minister. The growing opposition forces are led by the two Shia parties Amal and Hezbollah (both now part of the government), now joined by the Free Patriotic Movement Party of formerly exiled Gen. Michel Aoun.
July 12, 2006 The Hezbollah capture of two Israeli soldiers is called an “act of war” by Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, who holds the Lebanese government accountable and approves military strikes in Lebanon. The war continues for 33 days and leads to the death of 1,191 Lebanese and 44 Israeli civilians.
August 14 Fighting ends, three days after U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 is passed, calling for immediate cessation of hostilities. But Israel’s naval and aerial blockade of Lebanon (to prevent arms shipments to Hezbollah) continues until September 8.
References:
Majed Halawi, A Lebanon Defied: Musa al-Sadr and the Shia Community (1992).
Hala Jaber, Hezbollah: Born With a Vengeance (1997).
Catherine Mackey, Lebanon: Death of a Nation (1989).
Augustus Norton, Amal and the Shia (1987).
Elizabeth Picard, Lebanon:A Shattered Country (2002).
