Changes

== Operation Litani ==

== Operation Litani ==

The 1975 outbreak of the [[Lebanese civil war]] put a damper on [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] raids into Israel from southern Lebanon, but in 1978 the PLO reorganized and infiltrated eleven [[terrorists]] into Israel on March 11, led by an 18-year-old woman, who managed to kill one [[American]] as he sunbathed on a beach, followed by thirty-seven Israelis in a [[hijacking]] of two buses which became known as the [[Coastal Road Massacre]].  Three days later, Prime Minster [[Menachem Begin]] of Israel ordered 25,000 soldiers of the [[Israeli Defense Forces]] to expel all PLO elements from Lebanon south of the Litani River, hence the name of the operation.  The IDF, which at that point had never lost a war, was able to accomplish this mission with the loss of only 20 men, with the [[kill ratio]] estimated at anywhere from 50-100 to 1.  285,000 civilians fled north of the river.  It remains unclear what portions were Lebanese and Palestinian since Lebanon had become a popular destination for [[Palestinian refugees]] following the defeat of their attempt to overthrow the government of [[Jordan]] in 1970; 300,000 Palestinians were estimated to live there already in 1975.

The 1975 outbreak of the [[Lebanese civil war]] put a damper on [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] raids into Israel from southern Lebanon, but in 1978 the PLO reorganized and infiltrated eleven [[terrorists]] into Israel on March 11. The terrorists, led by an 18-year-old woman, managed to kill one [[American]] as he sunbathed on a beach, followed by thirty-seven Israelis in the [[hijacking]] of two buses, an event which became known as the [[Coastal Road Massacre]].  Three days later, Israeli Prime Minster [[Menachem Begin]] ordered 25,000 soldiers of the [[Israeli Defense Forces]] to expel all PLO elements from Lebanon south of the Litani River, hence the name of the operation.  The IDF, which at that point had never lost a war, was able to accomplish this mission with the loss of only 20 men, with the [[kill ratio]] estimated at anywhere from 50-100 to 1.  While 285,000 civilians fled north of the river, it remains unclear what portions were Lebanese and Palestinian since Lebanon had become a popular destination for [[Palestinian refugees]] following the defeat of their attempt to overthrow the government of [[Jordan]] in 1970; 300,000 Palestinians were estimated to live there already in 1975.

Following their passage of Security Council Resolution 425, the United Nations deployed an interim force comprised largely of [[Irish]] troops to keep the peace as the Israelis withdrew.  The SLA, as a Lebanese force, had nowhere to withdraw to; accordingly, a three-way low-intensity war began between it, the PLO, and the UN troops.

Following their passage of Security Council Resolution 425, the United Nations deployed an interim force comprised largely of [[Irish]] troops to keep the peace as the Israelis withdrew.  The SLA, as a Lebanese force, had nowhere to withdraw to; accordingly, a three-way low-intensity war began between it, the PLO, and the UN troops.