|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Emile LahoudMichel Aoun
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Fouad Siniora Najib Mikati
|pm-raw =
|area =4,015 sq mi
|pop =36,874850,050 000 (2020)|pop-basis =2006
|gdp =$21.5 billion
|gdp-year =2006
|gdp-pc =$5,500
|currency =Lebanese pound lira
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of Lebanon''', also called the '''Lebanese Republic''' or simply '''Lebanon''', is a country in the Middle East which borders [[Syria]], [[Israel]], and the eastern shore of the [[Mediteranean Mediterranean Sea]]. Once known as the "Pearl of the Middle East" with historical ties to the [[Bible]], Lebanon has seen a period of civil war and partial invasion/occupation by its two immediate neighbors; Hamas[[PLO]] and [[Al Saaka]] which exacerbated Christian-Muslim divide in the 1970s, [[Hezbollah]] since the early 1980s, and other terrorist organizations , such as [[Palestinian]] groups hamper efforts at rebuilding.
==Etymology==
The name dates to the Akkadian invasion of the 23rd century BC, The [[Akkadians]] referred to the Snow Capped mountians mountains as "Lobnan" (meaning White), the name was exclusive to the biblical mountain region until the 20th century when the French created "Greater Lebanon" to include the Phoenicia, Mount Lebanon and the Western Beqa'a. ==In the Bible==Lebanon appears seventy times in the Bible, starting with the wanderings of the Israelites during the forty years in the wilderness as recorded in [[Deuteronomy]], through their conquer in [[Joshua]]. One of the most famous references is to the "cedars of Lebanon", which were used to build the First Temple of Solomon, as written:
<blockquote>
And, behold, I purpose The Oxford Companion to build an house unto the name Bible reports that Lebanon denotes a range of the LORD my Godcoastal mountains, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my namestretching from Sidon to [[Syria]]. Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of [http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.html]<br /blockquote>
And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. <br /> And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.<ref>I Kings 5:5-11</ref></blockquote>
==Geography==
[[File:Lebanon tourism.jpg|right]]*Area: 10,400 sq. km<sup>2</sup>. (4,015 sq. km<sup>2</sup>.) about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut. *Cities: Capital--Beirut Capital—Beirut (pop. 1.5 million). Other cities--Tripolicities—Tripoli/Trablus (210,000), Zahle (60,000),
Sidon/Sayda (50,000), Tyre/Sur (20,000), Byblos/Jbail (10,000).
*Terrain: Narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains.
*Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows.
==People==
[[ImageFile:Restaurants BeirutLebanese girl.gifjpg|340px180px|rightleft]]
The population of Lebanon comprises various Christian and Muslim sects as well as Druze. No official census has been taken since 1932, reflecting the political sensitivity in Lebanon over confessional (religious) balance. While there is no consensus over the confessional breakdown of the population for this reason, it is safe to say that the Muslim sects as a whole make up a majority, and that Shi'ites, Sunnis, and Maronites are the three largest groups.
About 400,000 Palestinian refugees, some in Lebanon since 1948, are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). They are not accorded the legal rights enjoyed by the rest of the population.
With no official figures available, it is estimated that 600,000-900,000 persons fled the country during the initial years of civil war (1975-761975–76). Although some returned, continuing conflict through 1990 as well as after the 2006 war sparked further waves of emigration, casting even more doubt on population figures. As much as 7% of the population was killed during the civil war between 1975 and 1990. Approximately 17,000-20,000 people are still "missing" or unaccounted for from the civil war period.
Many Lebanese still derive their living from agriculture. The urban population, concentrated mainly in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, is noted for its commercial enterprise. A century and a half of migration and return have produced Lebanese commercial networks around the globe--from globe—from North and South America to Europe, the Gulf, and Africa. Lebanon has a high proportion of skilled labor compared with many other Arab countries.
*Population (2006 est.): 3,874,050.
*Growth rate (2006 est.): 1.23%.
*Religions: Muslim 60% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ili, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1%.
*Languages: Arabic (official), English, French, Armenian.
*Education: Years compulsory--8compulsory—8. Attendance--99Attendance—99%. Literacy (2005 est.)--87.4%; 93.1% male, 82.2% female. *Health (2006 est.): Infant mortality rate--23rate—23.7/1,000. Life expectancy--70expectancy—70.41 male, 75.48 female.
*Work force (2001 est.): 2.6 million.
==Politics==
The coalition that has struggled to govern Lebanon since 2005 scored a surprising win in June 2009, winning a parliamentary majority. It is a coalition of Sunni Muslim, Druze and Christian parties, calling itself the "March 14th alliance" after the date of a popular uprising in 2005 against Syrian meddling in the country. The alliance is led by Saad Hariri, the son of Rafik Hariri, a murdered former prime minister, and is supported by the United States.
The opposition is a coalition of Shia Muslim and disgruntled Christian parties, backed by Iran and Syria. It had loudly and sometimes violently disputed March 14's legitimacy, but it now has acknowledged its defeat.
==Government==
Lebanon is a parliamentary democracy in which the people constitutionally have the right to change their government. However, from the mid-1970s until the parliamentary elections in 1992, civil war precluded the effective exercise of political rights. According to the constitution, direct elections must be held for the parliament every 4 years. Parliament, in turn, is tasked to elect a new president every 6 years. A presidential election scheduled for the autumn of 2004 was pre-empted by a parliamentary vote to extend the sitting President's term in office by 3 years. The president and parliament choose the prime minister. Political parties may be formed. However, the political parties that do exist are weak and mostly based on sectarian interests.
[[File:Lebanon Emile Lahoud.jpg|thumb|200px|President Émile Lahoud.]]
Since the emergence of the post-1943 state, national policy has been determined largely by a relatively restricted group of traditional regional and sectarian leaders. The 1943 national pact, an unwritten agreement that established the political foundations of modern Lebanon, allocated political power on an essentially confessional system based on the 1932 census. Until 1990, seats in parliament were divided on a 6-to-5 ratio of Christians to Muslims (with Druze counted as Muslims). With the Ta'if Agreement, the ratio changed to half and half. Positions in the government bureaucracy are allocated on a similar basis. Indeed, gaining political office is virtually impossible without the firm backing of a particular religious or confessional group. The pact also allocated public offices along religious lines, with the top three positions in the ruling "troika" distributed as follows:
*The presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian;
The parliament traditionally has played a significant role in financial affairs, since it has the responsibility for levying taxes and passing the budget. It also exercises political control over the cabinet through formal questioning of ministers on policy issues and by requesting a confidence debate.
Lebanon's judicial system is based on the Napoleonic Code. Juries are not used in trials. The Lebanese court system has three levels--courts levels—courts of first instance, courts of appeal, and the court of cassation. There also is a system of religious courts having jurisdiction over personal status matters within particular religious communities, e.g., rules on such matters as marriage, divorce, and inheritance.
===Principal Government Officials===
*President--Emile LahoudPresident—Michel Aoun*Prime Minister--Fouad Siniora Minister—Saad Hariri*Speaker of Parliament--Nabih Parliament—Nabih Berri*Minister of Foreign Affairs--Fawzi Salloukh (resigned--resignation not accepted)Affairs—Gebran Bassil*Finance Minister--Jihad Minister—Jihad Azour*Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister--Elias Minister—Elias Murr
*Ambassador to the U.S.--Antoine Chedid
*Ambassador to the UN--Nawaf UN—Nawaf Salam
===Political Conditions===
Lebanese political institutions often play a secondary role to highly confessionalized confessionalist personality-based politics. Powerful families also still play an independent role in mobilizing votes for both local and parliamentary elections. Nonetheless, a lively panoply of domestic political parties, some even predating independence, still exists. The largest are all confessional based. The Phalange, National Bloc, National Liberal Party, Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) are overwhelmingly Christian parties. Amal and Hezbollah are the main rivals for the organized Shi'a vote, and the PSP (Progressive Socialist Party) is the leading Druze party. In the recent parliamentary elections, an anti-Syrian opposition coalition ("March 14") emerged, led by Sa'ad Hariri's predominantly Sunni Future Movement and allied with Druze leader Jumblatt, the Qornet Shehwan coalition of center-right Christian politicians, Samir Geagea's mostly Maronite Lebanese Forces, and Elias Attallah's Democratic Left secular movement. In addition to domestic parties, there are branches of pan-Arab secular parties (Ba'ath, socialist and communist parties) that were active in the 1960s and throughout the period of civil war.
There are differences both between and among Muslim and Christian parties regarding the role of religion in state affairs. There is a very high degree of political activism among religious leaders across the sectarian spectrum. The interplay for position and power among the religious, political, and party leaders and groups produces a political tapestry of extraordinary complexity.
Palestinian refugees, predominantly Sunni Muslims, who numbered 405,525 in 2006 according to UNWRA, are not active on the domestic political scene. Nonetheless, they constitute an important minority whose naturalization/settlement in Lebanon is vigorously opposed by most Lebanese, who see them as a threat to Lebanon's delicate confessional balance. During 2002, parliament enacted legislation banning Palestinians from owning property in Lebanon. The Labor Ministry opened up professions previously closed to Palestinians in June 2005. The number of recent Iraqi refugees numbers in the tens of thousands and is believed to be growing.
===Foreign Relations===
Lebanon concluded negotiations on an association agreement with the European Union in late 2001, and both sides initialed the accord in January 2002. Lebanon also has bilateral trade agreements with several Arab states and is working toward accession to the World Trade Organization. Aside from Syria, Lebanon enjoys good relations with virtually all of the other Arab countries (despite historic tensions with Libya, the Palestinians, and Iraq), and hosted an Arab League Summit in March 2002 for the first time in more than 35 years. Lebanon also is a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference and maintains a close relationship with Iran, largely centered on Shi'a Muslim links. Lebanon is a member of the Francophone countries and hosted the Francophone Summit in October 2002.
==Racism==
Racism is very prevalent in Lebanon.<ref>
Franklin Lamb, "Apartheid on the Beach: Racism in Lebanon," FP Journal, May 25, 2012.
<blockquote>
...Racism.
Discrimination and endemic racist practices are mainly directed against foreign female domestic workers from the Philippines, East Africa and Ethiopia who work as maids and nannies for Lebanese families, and against dark skinned men. At the same time, Palestinian refugees are even denied rights the others who are targeted receive, the most elementary civil rights to work and to own a home outside their cramped, fetid camps.
According to Human Rights Watch, some resorts do not even allow African and Asian domestic workers to wear bathing suits or sun themselves. In 2005, filmmaker Carol Mansour produced a documentary on the conditions that foreign workers encounter in Lebanon titled “Maid in Lebanon.”
Each spring and summer, reports surface in the media, of the many beaches and private swimming pools that are segregated and off limits to people of color and those judged to be of lesser socio-economic worth. Among those cited regularly for blatant discrimination are several hotels whose swimming pools off limits to, as one sign at the Sporting Beach Club warned: “Maids are not allowed.” Among the more egregious violators, according to Beirut’s Daily Star, are Villamar in Khalde, Beirut’s Coral Beach, Beirut’s Les Creneaux and Beirut’s Sporting Club but there are more than a dozen others.
Human Rights Watch has claimed that more than 50 per cent of Lebanon’s beach clubs do not allow migrant guest workers from Asia and Africa in their swimming pools, and some even physically block their entrance at the door.
Race-based discrimination is practiced not just at private beaches but also has been attempted at Beirut’s only free public beach, the nearly mile long Ramlet al Baida shore, located within walking distance of Hamra and three Palestinian refugee camps, Mar Elias, Shatila, and Burj al Barajeneh as well as the Hezbollah area of Dahiyeh. With its wide beach, excellent sand, generally sparse flotsam and jetsam from Saida’s hugh garbage mountain that Lebanon’s south to north current deposits during storms at all beaches to its north, and no entrance fee, Ramlet al Baida is popular with foreign workers and low income and refugee families from several countries in the region forced recently into Lebanon by western invasions of their country.
For years, some residents from the more than 150 high-rise apartments buildings, across from Rafik Hariri Boulevard from RAB beach, many owned by wealthy foreigners from the Gulf, have been trying to get this beach closed down in order to privatize it for their exclusive personal use. Hezbollah and some progressive civic organizations have to date blocked the theft of this priceless public space and following a series of beach cleanups, some by Palestinian ‘camp kids’ and environmental groups, the Beirut municipality, to its credit, has started regular trash collections from RAB beach and to educate beach goers to deposit their picnic waste in the recently placed trash bins.
But this has not stopped certain publicly paid lifeguards from trying to segregate this public beach and shunt certain targeted beach users including foreign domestic workers, Middle Eastern refugees from Iraq, Kurdistan, Africa and Palestine to the north end of RAB very close to where the black brook of untreated sewage from the apartment buildings across the road enters the Mediterranean.
An investigation conducted recently by the Washington DC-Beirut based Palestine Civil Rights Campaign is instructive. One particular lifeguard at RAM justified his attempts at segregation at this public facility by claiming authoritatively that “It’s better for them (those of color and refugee status).” When asked in what ways “it is better for them” his ideas became vaguer but he did offer his clear view that “Palestinians should leave Lebanon and that they do not work and anyhow they often don’t know how to read or write—most are illiterate.” The gentleman is from Tripoli and may have been unaware that Palestinians in Lebanon are barred by law from working in nearly every possible job, more than 70 professions at latest count. But he may know something about illiteracy up north where he hails from, including the recent United Nations Development Programs survey of Tripoli which reveals a 21 per cent illiteracy rate for 15-29 year olds, by far the highest in Lebanon and one of the highest in the world, due to high drop-out rates, especially among boys in the area.
By contrast, Palestinians, even while barred generally from Lebanese public schools and with school dropout and illiteracy rates higher in Lebanon’s 12 camps than in any of the 58 UNWRA organized Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan or Syria, still somehow managed in 2011 to keep illiteracy among their countrymen at 4.7 for those aged 15 years and above, including 2.1 per cent among males and 7.4 per cent among females. These figures are contained in the recent report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics’ Special Statistical Bulletin on the 64th Anniversary of the Palestinian "Nakba" [sic].
Clearly Lebanon’s Parliament needs to do much more to help their disadvantaged communities such as north Lebanon with its high unemployment rates (men more than 52 per cent, women at 97 per cent according to the UNDP study) and to allow Palestinians the same right to work as other foreigners are allowed.
Racism-driven attempts at segregation at Ramlet al Baida public beach as well as private beaches are reminiscent of South Africa’s apartheid era...
</blockquote>/</ref> Lebanon has a system known as "Kefala" in which migrant workers from East Africa, Ethiopia and the Philippines are abused and humiliated. <ref>https://timep.org/commentary/analysis/lebanons-multiple-crises-also-expose-the-racist-kafala-system/</ref><ref>Jonathan Schanzer (@JSchanzer) Tweeted ([https://twitter.com/JSchanzer/status/1500807322981093385 Mar 7, 2022]):
<blockquote>
Amazing how this piece tiptoes around the fact that Lebanon is literally an apartheid state. Laws keep the Palestinians there downtrodden.</blockquote>https://t.co/QnybpBlkze</ref><ref>
אנדי (@Shiraanani) Tweeted
[https://twitter.com/Shiraanani/status/1499620614373584897 Mar 4, 2022]):<blockquote>
@RBoydBarrett Garbage. Israel is the only country in ME that actually gives its Palestinian citizens civil and democratic rights. Their own leaders don't, and Lebanon is truly apartheid denying them citizenship, banning them from numerous professions and even the health service.</blockquote>https://t.co/4Jp3obUmsO</ref><ref>Lilac Sigan (@lilacsigan) Tweeted ([https://twitter.com/lilacsigan/status/1499466409356804106 Mar 3, 2022]):<blockquote>
Palestinian rights are crushed also by Syria and Lebanon. Pals that were born there are 2nd class citizens, no rights. These are formal Apartheid states whereas Israel, which has Arab MKs and judges, is falsely blamed for Apartheid (by raving antisemites)</blockquote>https://t.co/Nj9d55MC9b </ref> Many private beaches in Lebanon are segregated and practice racial discrimination against colored people as well as those of a lower socio-economic status. It is common for there to be signs reading: "Maids are not allowed".
==Economy==
[[Image:Restaurants Beirut.gif|340px|right]]
Lebanon has a free-market economy and a strong laissez-faire commercial tradition. The Lebanese economy is service-oriented; main growth sectors include banking and tourism. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade, Lebanon posted 5% real growth in 2004, with inflation running at 3%. There are no restrictions on foreign exchange or capital movement, and bank secrecy is strictly enforced. Lebanon has adopted a law to combat money laundering. There are practically no restrictions on foreign investment; however, the investment climate suffers from red tape, corruption, arbitrary licensing decisions, high taxes, tariffs, and fees, archaic legislation, and a lack of adequate protection of intellectual property. There are no country-specific U.S. trade sanctions against Lebanon.
*GDP (2006 est.): $21.5 billion.
*Per capita GDP (2006 est.): $5,500.
*Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt.
*Agriculture: Products--citrusProducts—citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats. Arable land--18land—18%. *Industry: Types--bankingTypes—banking, tourism, food processing, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating. *Trade: Exports--$1.88 billion (2005 est., f.o.b.): authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper. Major markets--Syriamarkets—Syria, U.A.E., Switzerland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia. Imports--$9.34 billion (2005 est., f.o.b.): petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco. Major suppliers--Italysuppliers—Italy, Syria, France, Germany, China, U.S., U.K., Saudi Arabia. [[File:Lebanon Economy banking sector.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Banking sector.]]Lebanon embarked on a massive reconstruction program in 1992 to rebuild the country's physical and social infrastructure devastated by both the long civil war (1975-901975–90) and the Israeli occupation of the south (1978-2000). In addition, the delicate social balance and the near-dissolution of central government institutions during the civil war handicapped the state as it sought to capture revenues to fund the recovery effort. Monetary stabilization coupled with high interest rate policies aggravated the debt service burden, leading to a substantial rise in budget deficits. Thus, the government accumulated significant debt, which by 2005 had reached $36 billion, or 185% of GDP. Unemployment is estimated at 18% officially, but in the absence of reliable statistics, some estimate it could be as high as 20-25%.
The government also has maintained a firm commitment to the Lebanese pound, which has been pegged to the dollar since September 1999. The government passed an Investment Development Law as well as laws for the privatization of the telecom and the electricity sector, signed the Euro-Med Partnership Agreement with the European Union (EU) in March 2003, and is working toward accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In order to increase revenues, the government introduced a 10% value added tax (VAT) that became applicable in February 2002 and a 5% tax that became applicable in February 2003.
Plagued by mounting indebtedness, Lebanon submitted a comprehensive program on its financing needs at the Paris II donors conference in November 2002 and succeeded in attracting pledges totaling $4.4 billion, including $3.1 billion to support fiscal adjustment and $1.2 billion to support economic development projects. Despite the substantial aid it had received, the government made little progress on its reform program, and by 2006, even before the war, the debt problem had grown worse. After the war, $940 million in relief and early reconstruction aid was pledged to Lebanon August 31, 2006 at a donors conference in Stockholm, and an additional $7.6 billion in assistance for reconstruction and economic stabilization was pledged January 25, 2007 at the International Conference for Support to Lebanon, "Paris III". Unlike the Paris II aid, much of the Paris III aid was to be contingent on Lebanon's meeting agreed benchmarks in implementing its proposed five-year economic and social reform program. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to initiate a Post-Conflict Program and to assign a team to Lebanon to provide technical assistance, to monitor the progress of reforms, and to advise donors on the timing of aid delivery.
The U.S. enjoys a strong exporter position with Lebanon, generally ranking as Lebanon's fifth-largest source of imported goods. More than 160 offices representing U.S. businesses currently operate in Lebanon. Since the lifting of the passport restriction in 1997 (see below), a number of large U.S. companies have opened branch or regional offices, including Microsoft, American Airlines, Coca-Cola, FedEx, UPS, General Electric, Parsons Brinkerhoff, Cisco, Eli Lilly, and Pepsi Cola.
==History==
[[Image:Boats on Waterfront Byblos.jpg|thumb|230px|Boats on Waterfront Byblos.]]Lebanon is the historic home of the Phoenicians, Semitic traders whose maritime culture flourished there for more than 2,000 years (c.2700-450 B.C.). In later centuries, Lebanon's mountains were a refuge for Christians, and Crusaders established several strongholds there. The [[Maronite]]-[[Druze]] conflict in Lebanon, 1840-60 was an outgrowth of the Maronite Christian independence movement directed against the Druze and Ottoman-Turks. The civil war was not therefore a religious war, except in Damascus where it spread and where the population was anti-Christian. The movement culminated with the 1859-60 massacre and defeat of the Christians by the Druzes, who were aided by the Turks. French intervention on behalf of the Maronites did not help the Maronite national movement since France was restricted in 1860 by Britain which did not want the [[Ottoman Empire]] dismembered. But European intervention pressured the Turks to treat the Maronites more justly.<ref>Antoine Abraham, "Lebanese Communal Relations," ''Muslim World'' 1977 67(2): 91-105</ref>{{Clear}} ===20th century===[[File:Lebanon.jpg|thumbnail|right|280px|Picture taken from a rooftop in the village of Fanar in Lebanon. [[Israel]] is about a two-hour drive beyond the mountain pictured in the background.]] Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the League of Nations mandated the five provinces that comprise present-day Lebanon to France. Modern Lebanon's constitution, drawn up in 1926, specified a balance of political power among the various religious groups. The country gained independence in 1943, and French troops withdrew in 1946. Lebanon participated in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and signed an armistice with Israel on March 23, 1949.
Lebanon's history since independence has been marked by periods of political turmoil interspersed with prosperity built on Beirut's position as a regional center for finance and trade. In 1958, during the last months of President Camille Chamoun's term, an insurrection broke out, and U.S. forces were briefly dispatched to Lebanon in response to an appeal by the government. During the 1960s, Lebanon enjoyed a period of relative calm and Beirut-focused tourism and banking sector-driven prosperity. Other areas of the country, however, notably the South, North, and Bekaa Valley, remained poor in comparison.
In the early 1970's1970s, difficulties arose over the presence of Palestinian refugees, many of whom arrived after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the secret 1969 Cairo Agreement permitting the establishment of Palestinian camps in Lebanon, and 1970 "Black September" hostilities in Jordan. Among the 1970 arrivals were Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Coupled with the Palestinian problem, Muslim and Christian differences grew more intense.
====Beginning of the Civil War, 1975-81====
=====Palestinians=====
The [[Palestinian]] actions' effect was great in triggering the civil war (exacerbating the already existing tension between Muslims & Christians).<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/palestinian-refugees-may-yield-weapons Palestinian refugees may yield weapons], Jerusalem Post Staff. JPost, Oct 17, 2005.
''Lebanon has long viewed the armed Palestinians with suspicion, largely due to the guerrillas' role in the 1975-90 civil war.''</ref>
<ref>[https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3678223,00.html Fatah] Ynetnews, Feb 26, 2009.
''In Lebanon, Fatah and Arafat soon became pivotal players in the Civil War which enveloped the country in 1975. Pressured by the PFLP, the DFLP and the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), Fatah eventually aligned itself with the Left's Lebanese National Movement, but lost its Syrian ally – President Hafez Assad, who feared loosing control over Lebanon – in the process. Assad eventually sent his forces to fight alongside Beirut's hardliner Right against the Lebanese Left, Fatah and PLO operatives. The subsequent clashes between the sides, which went on until the early 1990's, left thousands of Palestinians dead.''</ref><ref>[https://www.israelhayom.co.il/article/309331 Is Lebanon on the verge of a civil war?]. Lebanon does not face collapse, but any match could ignite a huge fire. Interpretation. Ulpan Israel Hayom, Aug 26, 2015.
"I still remember April 13, 1975, when PLO terrorists shot at a Christian bus, opening the Lebanese Civil War, which ended in 1990.</ref><ref>Robert L. Pollock, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB994634677434596979 Arafat Always Goes Too Far], WSJ, July 9, 2001.
<blockquote>
PLO-affiliated conglomerates, including one controlled by Ahmed Qurei, who would later negotiate the Oslo Accords, monopolized everything from shoes to baby food. Billions of dollars flowed through the PLO, the only thorough record of which seemed to be a small notebook Mr. Arafat carried on his person. His underlings levied arbitrary taxes on the Lebanese, and practiced other forms of extortion, car theft and racketeering.
That year -- 1975 -- Christian rage boiled over, and Lebanon's long civil war began. By early 1976, the PLO and its allies controlled most of the country. But that summer Palestinian assassins murdered the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, and the U.S., Israel and the Arab states tacitly supported a Syrian-led invasion of the country, which reversed many PLO gains. An October ceasefire stabilized the situation. But 40,000 had been killed. And in subsequent years, PLO attacks into Israel continued, provoking more Israeli retaliation.</blockquote></ref>
Full-scale civil war broke out in April 1975. After shots were fired at a church, gunmen in Christian East Beirut ambushed a busload of Palestinians. Palestinian forces joined predominantly leftist-Muslim factions as the fighting persisted, eventually spreading to most parts of the country and precipitating the Lebanese President's call for support from Syrian troops in June 1976. In fall of 1976, Arab summits in Riyadh and Cairo set out a plan to end the war. The resulting Arab Deterrent Force, which included Syrian troops already present, moved in to help separate the combatants. As an uneasy quiet settled over Beirut, security conditions in the south began to deteriorate.
The "[[Palestinian]]" militias sparked the beginning of a long and destructive civil war. Led by Yasir [[Arafat]] they ''aimed to cleanse the south from its inhabitants whom were opposing the oppressive Palestinian military presence and Arab nationalism.'' Arafat once stated that “the road to Jerusalem goes through Jounieh.”<ref name=forgotten>[https://medium.com/@AsAbove_SoBelow/lebanons-long-forgotten-massacre-e3909e4bf13e Lebanon's long forgotten massacre | by XXVII.IV | Medium. Jan 20, 2019].''Back then the Palestinian militias sparked the beginning of a long destructive civil war. The Palestinian armed militants led by Yaser Arafat aimed to cleanse the south from its inhabitants whom were opposing the oppressive Palestinian military presence and Arab nationalism... Palestinian militiamen taking celebratory pictures after taking over The Damour. Arafat once stated that “the road to Jerusalem goes through Jounieh.”''</ref><ref>Charbel Hage (@CharbelHage12) Tweeted: #Israel in 2021 is the victim of #Palestinian terrorism... #Lebanon was in the 70’s and 80’s.We still remember Palestinian #massacres of innocent #Maronite #civilians in Damour, Lebanon. #PalestinianTerrorism #IranTerrorism #wewillneverforget [https://t.co/6S1upNYS5Q] [https://twitter.com/CharbelHage12/status/1391135956846080004?s=20 May 8, 2021]</ref> Testimony on overall "Palestinian" crime:<ref>[https://canadafreepress.com/article/arafats-massacre-of-damour Arafat’s Massacre of Damour], Joseph Hobeika, Canada Free Press, Jan 2, 2009.</ref><blockquote>Do you not remember Damour Lebanon. Let me remind you. Arafat and the PLO plunged Lebanon into "massacres, rape, mutilation, rampages of looting and killings. Out of a population of 3.2 million, some 40,000 or more people had been killed, 100,000 wounded, 5,000 permanently maimed."</blockquote> Author elaborates on anti-Christian motivation:<ref>Alan M. Tigay (1980). "Myths and Facts 1980: A Concise Record of the Arab-Israeli Conflict." [https://books.google.com/books?id=5SK7AAAAIAAJ&q=damour+jihad p. 153].</ref><blockquote>Prior to the 1967 war, an ominous phrase about Jews and Christians was heard in the Arab world: "First the Saturday people , then the Sunday people." Historian Bernard Lewis writes: "The Saturday people have proved unexpectedly recalcitrant, and recent events in Lebanon indicate that the priorities may have been reversed." (Commentary , January 1976). On Oct. 2, 1977, Patrick Seale wrote in the London Observer, "Secular nationalism throughout the Arab world has lost ground to a militant revival of Islamic orthodoxy , making all minorities tremble." Recently, anti-Christian sentiment erupted in Lebanon where ideological and class warfare also split along Moslem-Christian lines. '''Cries for a jihad (Moslem holy war) were frequent. Christians in the town of Damour were driven from their homes. An estimated 20,000 Christians died in the two-year civil war'''.</blockquote> In one example: ''Palestinian emissaries came on January 15, 1976, roused the Mohammedans of Kab - Elias against the "disbelievers" with whom they have coexisted for several generations''. <ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=KcBVAAAAYAAJ&q=%22En+d%C3%A9pit+de+cet+accord+,+des+%C3%A9missaires%22]</ref> Among the atrocities committed by [[Palestinian]] and [[Syrian]] forces during this short period alone: [[File:Christian Lebanese victims.gif]]*[[Damour massacre]]*[[Bait Mallat massacre]]*[[Tal Abass massacre]]*[[Deir Ashash killing]]*[[Hosh Barada massacre]]*[[Naameh massacre]]*[[Kab Elias massacre]]*[[Aishiyeh massacre]]*[[Shekka massacre]] =====Syria's invasion=====Syria who had always regarded [[Lebanon]] as part of "Greater Syria," moved in during 1976 on the pretext of being a "peacekeeping" force. It proceeded to occupy large areas of the country. Any hopes that the Lebanese government might have had of regaining control of its own country were finally dashed and were not resuscitated until the Israeli operation "Peace for Gallilee."<ref>Yitschak Ben Gad, ''Politics, Lies, and Videotape. 3,000 Questions and Answers on the Mideast Crisis,'' (1991),[https://books.google.com/books?id=zRyAT5qNtjQC&pg=PA38 p. 38]</ref>It conducted a prolonged war on Lebanon.<ref>M. Deeb (2003). "[https://books.google.com/books?id=nTHIAAAAQBAJ Syria’s Terrorist War on Lebanon and the Peace Process]".''This study demonstrates that Syria's role in the Middle East has been, since 1974, an unabated terrorist war against all attempts to resolve peacefully the Arab-Israeli conflict.''</ref> Lebanese Journalist Tony Abi Najem: The Syrian Occupation of Lebanon Was Worse than Israel's.<ref>MEMRI @MEMRIReports Tweeted ([https://twitter.com/MEMRIReports/status/1533557019554238464 June 5, 2022]):<blockquote>ICYMI: Lebanese Journalist Tony Abi Najem: The Syrian Occupation of Lebanon Was Worse than Israel’s [#Lebanon #Syria #Israel @tonyabinajem].</blockquote></ref> =====PLO attack=====After a [[PLO ]] attack <ref>[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/background-and-overview-of-first-lebanon-war First Lebanon War: Background & Overview (1982 - 1985)] JVL</ref> on a bus in northern Israel and Israeli retaliation that caused heavy casualties, , Israel invaded entered Lebanon in March 1978, occupying most of the area south of the Litani River. In response, the The UN Security Council passed Resolution 425 calling for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and creating the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), charged with maintaining "peace". Israeli forces withdrew later in 1978, turning over positions inside Lebanon along the border to their Lebanese ally, the South Lebanon Army (SLA) under the leadership of Maj. Sa'ad Haddad, thus informally setting up a 12-mile wide "security zone" to protect Israeli territory from cross border attack.
====U.S. Intervention, 1982-84====
It also saw the rise of radicalism among a small number of Lebanese Muslim factions who believed that the successive Israeli and U.S. interventions in Lebanon were serving primarily Christian interests. It was from these factions that Hezbollah emerged from a loose coalition of Shi'a groups. Hezbollah employed terrorist tactics and was supported by Syria and Iran.
====Worsening violence minutes after Israel's exit 1983====
Immediately after the IDF evacuated the Chouf Mountains region Lebanon in Sept. 4, 1983, an explosion of violence erupted, minutes after.
Especially troubling was the "shelling of units of the multinational force, charged with supporting the embattled government of Lebanon, marked a new escalation."<ref>[https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1983/9/19/slaughter-in-lebanon "Slaughter in Lebanon"], Linda Diebel, Macleans, Sep 19, 1983.
''The fighting had erupted Sept. 4, minutes after the Israeli army evacuated the Chouf Mountains overlooking Beirut.''</ref> Secterian clashes resumed. Such was the case in the Chouf region.
As explained in the ''Christian Science Monitor'':<ref>"[https://www.csmonitor.com/1995/1020/20071.html A Lebanon Village Welcomes Christians Once Driven Away]Edward Yeranian, Special to The Christian Science Monitor Oct 22, 1995.
Houses spruced up in an effort to woo residents who fled 1980's civil.</ref><blockquote>Everything began in 1983, after Israel started withdrawing from the Chouf, following its 1982 invasion to dislodge the Palestinian guerrillas from Lebanon.
Druze and Christian militias, which suddenly found themselves on opposing sides - the Druze militia supported Palestinian fighters and the Christian militia supported Israel - battled for control of the Chouf.
In Maaser al-Chouf, a massacre left 63 Christian villagers dead and forced the entire Christian population to flee the region. Residents accused the Druze militia of committing the crime.
In the nearby villages of Kfar Matta and Kfar Nabrakh, the Christian militia also massacred several dozen Druze civilians.</blockquote>
====Worsening Conflict and Political Crisis, 1985-89====
====Postwar Reconstruction, 1992 to 2005====
[[Image:Makmal mountains Lebanon.jpg|thumb|280px|Cedars in the Makmal mountains]]
Postwar social and political instability, fueled by economic uncertainty and the collapse of the Lebanese currency, led to the resignation of Prime Minister Omar Karami in May 1992, after less than 2 years in office. Former Prime Minister Rashid al Sulh, who was widely viewed as a caretaker to oversee Lebanon's first parliamentary elections in 20 years, replaced him.
Hezbollah forces continued to launch sporadic military strikes on Israeli forces, drawing responses that produced casualties on both sides and, on two occasions in 2001, Israeli air strikes on Syrian radar sites in Lebanon. Israel continues to violate Lebanese sovereignty by conducting overflights of Lebanese territory north of the Blue Line. UNIFIL has recorded numerous violations of the Blue Line by both sides since the Israeli withdrawal. In general, however, the level of violence along the Israeli-Lebanon front decreased dramatically from May 2000 until mid-2006.
====War Hezbollah's assassination of PM Rafic Hariri==== In Mar 2022:<ref>@AFP Tweeted ([https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1501943462568071168 Mar 10, 2022]): <blockquote>UPDATE A UN-backed tribunal has found two Hezbollah members guilty on appeal for the 2005 death of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri, saying both were involved in the bombing that killed him.</blockquote></ref><blockquote>A UN-backed tribunal has found two [[Hezbollah]] members guilty on appeal for the 2005 death of former [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] prime minister [[Rafic Hariri]], saying both were involved in the bombing that killed him.</blockquote>Naturally:<ref>[https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/03/10/Two-guilty-of-2005-Hariri-slaying-on-appeal-UN-tribunal- Two guilty of 2005 Hariri slaying on appeal: UN tribunal] Al Arabiya, Mar 10, 2022.</ref><blockquote>Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Hezbollah movement, refused to hand over any of the suspects or to recognize the UN-backed court, which has issued an international warrant for the arrest of Ayyash.</blockquote> ====Hezbollah war with Israel, 2006====On July 12, 2006, Hezbollah guerillas guerrillas crossed into Israel, killed three Israeli soldiers, and kidnapped two others, precipitating a war with Israel. Israeli air strikes airstrikes hit Hezbollah positions in the south and strategic targets throughout Lebanon, and Israeli ground forces ground forces moved against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah resisted the ground attack and fired thousands of rockets at civilian targets in Israel. By the time the war ended, on Aug. 14, an estimated 1200 Lebanese civilians and hundreds of Hezbollah fighters had died, along with 119 Israeli military and 43 Israeli civilians. UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the war, provided for a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal and lifting of blockades, disarming of Hezbollah and other militias, and a ban on unauthorized weapons transfers into Lebanon. UNSCR 1701 also significantly strengthened UNIFIL's mandate and authorized its enlargement from about 2,000 initially up to a maximum of 15,000. Bolstered by UNIFIL, which by the beginning of 2007 had more than 11,000 personnel, the Lebanese Armed Forces deployed to southern Lebanon and the border with Israel for the first time in almost four decades.
The war temporarily or permanently displaced roughly one-fourth of Lebanon's population, and caused enormous damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure. The country, which was already seriously indebted, suffered roughly $5 billion in damages and financial losses. The international community provided massive humanitarian relief, plus substantial aid for economic reconstruction and reform, with $940 million in aid pledged at an August 31, 2006 donors conference in Stockholm and $7.6 billion in pledges announced at a Paris conference January 25, 2007. Aid pledged in Paris was to be coordinated with the Lebanese Government's program for fiscal and economic reform.
Although Syria withdrew its military forces from Lebanon, intelligence assets remained, and Syria continues to have a strong influence in Lebanese politics. In November 2006, as Siniora's cabinet neared approval of the Hariri tribunal, pro-Syrian ministers, including all the Shi'ite ministers, withdrew from the cabinet. Led by Hezbollah, pro-Syrian forces began months of massive demonstrations, sit-ins, and occasional violence with the aim of either paralyzing or bringing down the cabinet. Minister of Industry Pierre Gemayel, son of ex-president Amin Gemayel, was assassinated November 21.
==== Unity Government Collapses ==== On January 12, 2011, while Prime Minister Hariri was meeting with President Barack Obama, Hizballah and its March 8 allies withdrew their ministers from Hariri's national unity cabinet, thereby forcing its collapse. On January 24, President Sleiman named former Prime Minister and member of parliament Najib Mikati as Prime Minister-designate, leaving Hariri and his cabinet in caretaker status. Since late January, Mikati has been attempting to form a government. There is no deadline by which Mikati must present his cabinet to parliament for a vote of confidence. ====2020 explosion & Hezbollah==== After the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, caused by a stockpile of ammonium nitrate stored there for years, [[Hezbollah]] faced a strong backlash.<ref>[https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/lebanons-powerhouse-hezbollah-hit-backlash-after-blast Lebanon’s Powerhouse Hezbollah Hit by Backlash After Blast] By Associated Press, VOA, August 30, 2020.</ref><ref>Sune Engel Rasmussen and Nazih Osseiran, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/beirut-explosion-unleashes-public-anger-at-hezbollah-lebanons-most-powerful-group-11597350861 Beirut Explosion Unleashes Public Anger at Hezbollah, Lebanon’s Most Powerful Group], WSJ, Aug. 13, 2020.''The Iranian ally becomes a target of public resistance, particularly from a new generation... The throngs of antiestablishment protesters marching in Beirut after last week’s devastating explosion have turned their sights on one group above all: Hezbollah, the powerful, Iranian-backed Shiite political party and militia that has in recent years become a nearly untouchable force in Lebanon. Hezbollah, which since its birth has billed itself as a bulwark against Israel and other foreign powers and a protector of Lebanon’s Shia population, is facing new, public criticism as an impediment to political reform. Critics say the group helps cover up systemic corruption and has focused its attention abroad instead of dealing with a deteriorating economic situation at home.''''“They are the biggest obstacle to the project of founding a strong state with working institutions,” said Nizar Hassan, a 27-year-old activist with the Lebanese rights group Li Haki. “They are to blame for a lot of this.”''</ref> It showed that plenty of Lebanese people hate Hezbollah. The comments on ''Naharnet'' were filled with people arguing about Israel — with plenty of them defending the Jewish state.However a racist liberal Ben Norton, a pseudo-journalist who works for Max Blumenthal’s Grayzone site, was angry about it.<ref>[https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/08/14/some-people-are-so-antisemitic-they-support-hezbollah/ Some People Are So Antisemitic, They Support Hezbollah], Algemeiner.com. Aug 14, 2020</ref> ====2022: Attitude towards Islamist Hezbollah's arms====In Mar 2022:<ref>roi kais - روعي كايس - רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) Tweeted ([https://twitter.com/kaisos1987/status/1501084691130204162 Mar 8, 2022]):<blockquote>The Lebanese channel al-Jadid conducted an interesting poll yesterday under the question "What is your position on Hezbollah's weapons?". Out of more than 34,000 participants, 73 percent answered "We are in favor of its dissolution because it goes beyond legitimacy (outside state institutions)", 26 percent answered that they are in favor of leaving it because it is the weapon of resistance [sic].</blockquote></ref><blockquote>The Lebanese channel al-Jadid conducted an interesting poll yesterday under the question "What is your position on Hezbollah's weapons?". Out of more than 34,000 participants, 73 percent answered "We are in favor of its dissolution because it goes beyond legitimacy (outside state institutions)", 26 percent answered that they are in favor of leaving it because it is the weapon of resistance [sic].</blockquote> ==In the Bible==Lebanon appears seventy times in the Bible, starting with the wanderings of the Israelites during the forty years in the wilderness as recorded in [[Deuteronomy]], through their conquer in [[Joshua]]. <blockquote>In the Bible (the) Lebanon is known as the source of building materials; wood for Solomon's temple (1 Kings 5:6), stones for Solomon's temple (1 Kings 5:14-18), and wood for Ezra's temple (Ezra 3:7). Lebanon is also known for its blossoms (Nahum 1:4) and wine (Hosea 14:7).When [[Moses]] pleads with God for his life, he mentions Lebanon as a desirable place (Deuteronomy 3:25, also see Isaiah 35:2), but Joshua is the one who conquers it (Joshua 11:17). [http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Lebanon.html]</blockquote> ==See Alsoalso==*[[2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict ]]
*[[1978-2000 South Lebanon conflict]]
*[[Beirut]]
*[[Edgar Feghaly]], Lebanese-born [[Independent Baptist]] missionary to the Muslim world
== External links ==
*[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/le.html Lebanon - CIA - The World Factbook.]
*[http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25000 America's Next War Theater: Syria and Lebanon?]
== References ==
<references />
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{{Christian victims of Palestinians}}
{{Asian Countries}}
[[Category:Middle Eastern Countries]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]