Adonis Diaries

Why Israel committed this Genocide in 1982: In the Palestinian camps of Sabra and Chatila (Beirut)?

Robert Fisk, the credible British investigative reporter wrote in his book “Affliction of a Nation” something to that effect: “By June 5, Israeli forces have cordoned off the city of Saida from all sides, including the sea.  It started shelling the city and bombing from air and sea, and killed over 2,000 civilians.  As Israeli army tried to enter the Palestinian camp of Ain Helweh, 47 Israeli soldiers and officers were made prisoners. The Palestinian leader of the camp, Abu al Zaim, chained the Israeli soldiers around a residence and negotiated the safe exit of the Palestinian fighters from the camp.  As the Palestinian fighters were out of the camp, Abu al Zaim ordered the explosion of the house and the Israeli prisoners were killed.  After this feat, Israel never ventured to enter any Palestinian camp in Lebanon.”

Israel encircled the Capital Beirut and shelled it for over a month.  A deal was struck with Yasser Arafat and 15, 000 Palestinian fighters to vacate Lebanon to Tunisia.  The US and Israel guaranteed the safety of the Palestinian civilians.  Two weeks before the entrance of Israel to the Capital Beirut, the US contingent left Lebanon.  Sharon and his officers had vengeance in mind to the killing of 47 Israeli soldiers in Ain Helweh, but never dared enter the camps.

After the assassination of the elected President to Lebanon Bashir Gemayel, Sharon got the idea of facilitating the entrance of hundreds of Phalanges militias into the Sabra and Chatila camps, supposedly to vendicate the assassination of their “leader” Bashir. Israel discharged about 50 fighters of the stooge Lebanese South army of Major Saad Haddad in a helicopter on the airport.  These soldiers (militias) of the South Army were indeed Israeli/Lebanese and out of control of Saad Haddad who was dying and a smokescreen for the presence of Israel in South Lebanon.  The principal task of the “Saad Haddad” contingent was to control, supply, and initiate the genocide of the Phallenges militias.  Israel had totally cordoned off the two Palestinian camps of Sabra and Chatila and prevented the Palestinian civilians from exiting the camp.

Robert Fisk reported that on the day he arrived in Beirut, Israel was illuminating the night sky of the neighborhood of the camps.  Already, rumors that mass killing is rampant in the camps, but no firm intelligence pieces were coming out.

After three nights and two days of slaughtering civilian Palestinians (women and children) in the two Palestinian camps of Sabra and Chatila, where over 2,500 civilians were savagely exterminated, Fisk was among the first reporters to enter the camps.  The stench was preceded with legions of flies invading any orifice, mouth, nose, and ears…Fisk reported gruesome details of what he witnessed, which I might translate in a followed up article.

Robert Fisk joined an Israeli unit of fresh new recruits, which was dispatched to enter the camps where mass genocide had taken place.  The young soldiers were white of fright and constantly warned Fisk to watch out for the “terrorists”.  “I kept telling them: “What terrorists are you referring to?  In these camps there are but slaughtered women and children.  Can’t you smell decomposed bodies?  The terrorists have already done their job, and they are not the Palestinians…”

Apparently, the Israeli soldiers freshly arriving had no idea of what happened in the last three days:  The Israeli government and army officers had done a nice job propagating the menace of “terrorists in general” hiding in the camps… However, the Israeli soldiers who cordoned off the camps were very much aware of what was happening inside.

The US Ambassador Philip Habib admitted that the US and Israel had guaranteed the safety of Palestinian civilians, after the retreat of the Palestinian fighters.  Philip Habib was in San Francisco when he heard the news of the genocide and called President Ronald Reagan for the default of the US on its written guarantee.

You may read detailed accounts of the international reactions to the genocide in the link of note 2.

Note 1: Sharon had detailed the goal of that invasion ten months prior to the invasion.  Sharon told the Israeli military reporter that Israel had in mind to kick the Palestinian fighters out of Beirut, and force them to settle in Jordan so that they establish a Palestinian State in Jordan…The State of Lebanon will be ruled by Christian stooge government…

Note 2:  https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/reactions-to-a-genocide/