[Challenging: Success] — In June of 1982, the Israeli Defense Forces marched into Lebanon in the hopes of forcing Palestine Liberation Organization members out of the area. The Lebanese Forces, an umbrella party made up of all of the right-wing militias in Lebanon, were engaging in a civil war with the Lebanese government, and agreed to partner up with the IDF. On September 16th of that same year, the Lebanese Forces armed themselves and walked into the neighborhood of Sabra, and then into the adjacent Shatila refugee camp. The IDF encircled the area, preventing the Palestinian and Shiite Lebanese civilians from escaping.
— Don’t ignore that feeling in the bottom of your stomach. Hearing this is going to hurt you. Make sure you’re ready.
[Endurance 12] Listen to the rest of the story.
— An estimated 3,500 civilians were killed in the ensuing massacre. Janet Lee Stevens, an American journalist present in the area, wrote that she saw “…dead women in their houses with their skirts up to their waists and their legs spread apart; dozens of young men shot after being lined up against an alley wall; children with their throats slit, a pregnant woman with her stomach chopped open, her eyes still wide open, her blackened face silently screaming in horror; countless babies and toddlers who had been stabbed or ripped apart and who had been thrown into garbage piles.”
— What happened after the massacre?
— Nothing. The UN held a vote to condemn it, which passed. Representatives and speakers for the United States, Canada, Singapore, and Ireland complained that it was unfair to call the actions of the IDF and Lebanese Forces a “genocide”. Elie Hobeika, the Lebanese Forces leader accused of ordering the civilians to be killed, was later assassinated by an Israeli car bomb before he could testify as to who was responsible for what.
— There’s nothing Israel can accuse Hamas of that they haven’t already done themselves.
Elie Hobeika, the Lebanese Forces leader accused of ordering the civilians to be killed, was later assassinated by an Israeli car bomb before he could testify as to who was responsible for what.
— Israel’s own Kahan Commission also found that their Defense Minister, Ariel Sharon, was directly responsible for a failure to ensure the safety of civilians in Beirut. He refused to resign, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin similarly refused to fire him. After someone threw a grenade into a peace protest and blew up eleven people, Sharon then decided to remain within the cabinet, but step down as Defense Minister. 51.7% of Israelis polled thought that the Kahan Commission was unfair to Sharon.
— What was he doing in the cabinet without a title?
— Biding his time. Sharon was made Prime Minister of Israel in March of 2001.
[Endurance 12] Listen to the rest of the story.