Israel marks 40 years since start of First Lebanon War
Invasion was supposed to take 48 hours but turned into a long and bloody conflict that lasted for 18 years
It was a war meant to last 48 hours, but eventually dragged on for 18 years.
Monday marks the 40th anniversary of Israel's invasion of Lebanon, called the First Lebanon War.
On the morning of June 6, 1982, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched its military operation following repeated attacks and counterattacks between the IDF and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) operating in southern Lebanon.
The official reason for the invasion was an attack on the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom by a Palestinian hitman belonging to the PLO and the subsequent crossfire between Israel and Palestinian terrorists in Lebanon.
However, the invasion was actually planned for quite some time.
Since their expulsion from Jordan in 1970, Palestinian terrorist organizations made the lives of residents in northern Israel a living hell.
They took advantage of the weakness of the Lebanese government to settle in southern Lebanon, using it as a base for attacks on Israel.
The invasion enjoyed wide public support at first. It was supposed to last 48 hours but turned into a long and bloody war, which quickly lost support once it became clear the chief of staff and minister of defense were conducting it by themselves without fully consulting the cabinet.
Israel remained in the security zone in southern Lebanon, eventually unilaterally withdrawing with no security arrangements at all in May 2000.
The area where the Palestinian terrorists operated from until 1982 now became the stronghold of Iranian-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah.