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{{Use Oxford spelling|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
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{{Campaignbox Lebanese Civil War}}
The '''Sabra and Shatila massacre''' was the 16–18 September 1982
In June 1982, Israel [[1982 Lebanon War|invaded Lebanon]] with the intention of rooting out the [[PLO]]. By 30 August 1982, under the supervision of the [[Multinational Force in Lebanon|Multinational Force]], the PLO withdrew from Lebanon following weeks of battles in West Beirut and shortly before the massacre took place. Various forces—Israeli, Lebanese Forces and possibly also the [[South Lebanon Army]] (SLA)—were in the vicinity of Sabra and Shatila at the time of the slaughter, taking advantage of the fact that the Multinational Force had removed barracks and mines that had encircled Beirut's predominantly Muslim neighborhoods and kept the Israelis at bay during the [[siege of Beirut
The killings are widely believed to have taken place under the command of Lebanese politician [[Elie Hobeika]], whose family and fiancée had been murdered by Palestinian militants and left-wing Lebanese militias during the [[Damour massacre]] in 1976, itself a response to the [[Karantina massacre]] of Palestinians and Lebanese Shias at the hands of Christian militias.<ref name="guardian_obit">{{Cite news |last1=Mostyn |first1=Trevor |date=2002-01-25 |title=Obituary: Elie Hobeika |newspaper=The Guardian |publisher=guardian.co.uk |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jan/25/israelandthepalestinians.lebanon |access-date=16 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Friedman
In February 1983, an independent commission chaired by Irish diplomat [[Seán MacBride]], assistant to the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]], concluded that the IDF, as the then occupying power over Sabra and Shatila, bore responsibility for the militia's massacre.
==Background==
=== Lebanese Civil War and Israeli-PLO skirmishes ===
From 1975 to 1990, groups in competing alliances with neighboring countries fought against each other in the [[Lebanese Civil War]]. Infighting and massacres between these groups claimed several thousand victims. Examples: the Syrian-backed [[Karantina massacre]] (January 1976) by the Kataeb and its allies against [[Kurds in Lebanon|Kurds]], [[Syrians in Lebanon|Syrians]] and [[Palestinians in Lebanon|Palestinians]] in the predominantly Muslim slum district of Beirut; [[Damour massacre|Damour]] (January 1976) by the PLO against Christian [[Maronite Christianity in Lebanon|Maronites]], including the family and fiancée of the Lebanese Forces intelligence chief [[Elie Hobeika]]; and [[Tel al-Zaatar massacre|Tel al-Zaatar]] (August 1976) by Phalangists and their allies against Palestinian refugees living in a camp administered by [[United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East|UNRWA]]. The total death toll in Lebanon for the whole civil war period was around 150,000 victims.<ref>
As the civil war unfolded, Israel and the PLO had been exchanging attacks since the early 1970s until early 1980s.
The casus belli cited by the Israeli side to declare war, however, was an assassination attempt, on 3 June 1982, made upon Israeli Ambassador to Britain [[Shlomo Argov]]. The attempt was the work of the [[Iraq]]-based [[Abu Nidal]], possibly with [[Syrian]] or Iraqi involvement.{{sfn|Becker|1984|p=362}}
=== Post-war assessment ===
After the war, Israel presented its actions as a response to terrorism being carried out by the PLO from several fronts, including the border with Lebanon.{{sfn|Becker|1984|p=257}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Israeli |first=Raphael |title=PLO in Lebanon: Selected Documents |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=1983 |isbn=0-297-78259-2 |page=7 |quote=From July 1981 to June 1982, under cover of the ceasefire, the PLO pursued its acts of terror against Israel, resulting in 26 deaths and 264 injured.}}</ref> However, these historians have argued that the PLO was respecting the ceasefire agreement then in force with Israel and keeping the border between the Jewish state and Lebanon more stable than it had been for over a decade.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Benny |author1-link=Benny Morris |title=Righteous Victims : A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881–2001 |date=2001 |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-679-74475-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/righteousvictims00morr_0/page/509 509] |quote="The most immediate problem was the PLO's military infrastructure, which posed a standing threat to the security of northern Israeli settlements. The removal of this threat was to be the battle cry to rouse the Israeli cabinet and public, despite the fact that the PLO took great pains not to violate the agreement of July 1981. Indeed, subsequent Israeli propaganda notwithstanding, the border between July 1981 and June 1982 enjoyed a state of calm unprecedented since 1968. But Sharon and Begin had a broader objective: the destruction of the PLO and its ejection from Lebanon. Once the organization was crushed, they reasoned, Israel would have a far freer hand to determine the fate of the West Bank and Gaza Strip." |url=https://archive.org/details/righteousvictims00morr_0/page/509}}</ref> During that ceasefire, which lasted eight months, [[
On 6 June 1982, Israel [[1982 Lebanon War|invaded Lebanon]] moving northwards to surround the capital, Beirut.
On 15 June 1982, 10 days after the start of the invasion, the Israeli Cabinet passed a proposal put forward by the Prime Minister, [[Menachem Begin]], that the IDF should not enter West Beirut but this should be done by [[Lebanese Forces]]. Chief of Staff, [[Rafael Eitan]], had already issued orders that the Lebanese predominantly Christian, right-wing militias should not take part in the fighting and the proposal was to counter public complaints that the IDF were suffering casualties whilst their allies were standing by.
On 23 August 1982, [[Bachir Gemayel]], leader of the right-wing [[Lebanese Forces (militia)|Lebanese Forces]], was elected [[List of Presidents of Lebanon|President of Lebanon]] by the National Assembly. Israel had relied on Gemayel and his forces as a counterbalance to the [[PLO]], and as a result, ties between Israel and Maronite groups, from which hailed many of the supporters of the Lebanese Forces, had grown stronger.<ref>
By 1 September, the [[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]] fighters had been evacuated from Beirut under the supervision of Multinational Force.<ref name="Anziska" /><ref>{{Cite news
On 11 September 1982, the international forces that were guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees left Beirut. Then on 14 September, Gemayel was assassinated in a massive explosion which demolished his headquarters. Eventually, the culprit, [[Habib Tanious Shartouni]], a Lebanese Christian, confessed to the crime. He turned out to be a member of the [[Syrian Social Nationalist Party]] and an agent of Syrian intelligence. Palestinian and Lebanese [[Islam in Lebanon|Muslim]] leaders denied any connection to him.<ref>Walid Harb, [http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091002022729/http://www.thenation.com/doc/19990719/harb Snake Eat Snake] ''[[The Nation (U.S. periodical)|The Nation]]'', posted 1 July 1999 (19 July 1999 issue). Accessed 9 February 2006.</ref>
On the evening of 14 September, following the news that [[Bashir Gemayel]] had been assassinated, Prime Minister Begin, Defense Minister Sharon and Chief of Staff Eitan agreed that the Israeli army should invade [[West Beirut]]. The public reason given was to be that they were there to prevent chaos. In a separate conversation, at 20:30 that evening, Sharon and Eitan agreed that the IDF should not enter the Palestinian refugee camps but that the Phalange should be used.
[[Fawwaz Traboulsi]] writes that while the massacre was presented as a reaction to the assassination of Bachir, it represented the posthumous achievement of his "radical solution" to Palestinians in Lebanon, who he thought of as "people too many" in the region. Later, the Israeli army's monthly journal ''Skira Hodechith'' wrote that the Lebanese Forces hoped to provoke "the general exodus of the Palestinian population" and aimed to create a new demographic balance in Lebanon favouring the Christians.{{sfn|Traboulsi|2007}}
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== Attack ==
=== Lead-up events ===
On the night of 14/15 September 1982 the [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]] chief of staff [[Raphael Eitan]] flew to [[Beirut]] where he went straight to the Phalangists' headquarters and instructed their leadership to order a general mobilisation of their forces and prepare to take part in the forthcoming Israeli attack on West Beirut. He also ordered them to impose a general curfew on all areas under their control and appoint a liaison officer to be stationed at the IDF forward command post. He told them that the IDF would not enter the refugee camps but that this would be done by the Phalangist forces. The militia leaders responded that the mobilisation would take them 24 hours to organise.
On morning of Wednesday 15 September Israeli Defence Minister, Sharon, who had also travelled to Beirut, held a meeting with Eitan at the IDF's forward command post, on the roof of a five-storey building 200 metres southwest of Shatila camp. Also in attendance were Sharon's aide [[Avi Duda'i]], the Director of [[Military Intelligence Directorate (Israel)|Military Intelligence]] -[[Yehoshua Saguy]], a senior [[Mossad]] officer, General [[Amir Drori]], General [[Amos Yaron]], an Intelligence officer, the Head of [[Shin Bet|GSS]]—[[Avraham Shalom]], the Deputy Chief of Staff—General [[Moshe Levi]] and other senior officers. It was agreed that the Phalange should go into the camps.
Following the assassination of Lebanese Christian President [[Bachir Gemayel]], the Phalangists sought revenge. <!--(commented out paragraph - does not belong in this section): The massacre is regarded as a reprisal for the [[Damour massacre]] by [[Palestinians]] a few years earlier,<ref name="ict">{{cite web |url=http://www.ict.org.il/Articles/tabid/66/Articlsid/291/currentpage/1/Default.aspx |title=Publications |publisher=ict.org.il |access-date=16 August 2015}}</ref> which personally impacted [[Elie Hobeika]].<ref name="au">{{cite web |url=http://www.moreorless.au.com/killers/hobeika.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041215213908/http://www.moreorless.au.com:80/killers/hobeika.html |archive-date=15 December 2004 |url-status=dead |title=Elie Hobeika killer file |publisher=web.archive.org |access-date=16 August 2015}}</ref> The view of the Sabra and Shatila killing as a revenge for the [[Damour massacre]] was asserted by the prominent writer Samir Khalaf,<ref>{{cite book |last=Samir
The following morning, 16 September, the sixth IDF order relating to the attack on West Beirut was issued. It specified: "The refugee camps are not to be entered. Searching and mopping up the camps will be done by the Phalangists/Lebanese Army".
According to Linda Malone of the [[Jerusalem Fund]], Ariel Sharon and Chief of Staff [[Rafael Eitan]]<ref>{{cite web |first=Linda |last=Malone
Shatila had previously been one of the PLO's three main training camps for foreign fighters and the main training camp for European fighters.{{sfn|Becker|1984|pp=239, 356–357}} The Israelis maintained that 2,000 to 3,000 terrorists remained in the camps, but were unwilling to risk the lives of more of their soldiers after the Lebanese army repeatedly refused to "clear them out."{{sfn|Becker|1984|p=264}} No evidence was offered for this claim. There were only a small number of forces sent into the camps and they suffered minimal casualties.<ref name="Shahid"/>{{rp|39}} Two Phalangists were wounded, one in the leg and another in the hand.
=== Massacre ===
An hour later, 1,500 militiamen assembled at Beirut International Airport, then occupied by Israel. Under the command of [[Elie Hobeika]], they began moving towards the area in IDF-supplied [[jeeps]], some bearing weapons provided by Israel,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Friedman |first1=Thomas L. |author1-link=Thomas Friedman |title=The Beirut Massacre: The Four Days |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/26/world/the-beirut-massacre-the-four-days.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=21 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101015175317/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/26/world/the-beirut-massacre-the-four-days.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=
[[File:Sabra et Chatila Fusées.jpg|thumb|Flares fired over Sabra and Shatila]]
The first unit of 150 [[Phalangists]] entered Sabra and Shatila at 18:00. A battle ensued that at times Palestinians claim involved lining up Palestinians for execution.<ref name="Shahid"/> During the night, the Israeli forces fired illuminating flares over the area. According to a Dutch nurse, the camp was as bright as "a sports stadium during a football game".<ref>''The New York Times'', 26 September 1982. in Claremont Research p. 76</ref>
At 19:30, the Israeli Cabinet convened and was informed that the Phalangist commanders had been informed that their men must participate in the operation and fight, and enter the extremity of Sabra, while the IDF would guarantee the success of their operation though not participate in it. The Phalangists were to go in there "with their own methods". After Gemayel's assassination there were two possibilities, either the Phalange would collapse or they would undertake revenge, having killed Druze for that reason earlier that day. With regard to this second possibility, it was noted, 'it will be an eruption the likes of which has never been seen; I can already see in their eyes what they are waiting for.' 'Revenge' was what Bashir Gemayel's brother had called for at the funeral earlier. [[David Levy (Israeli politician)|Levy]] commented: 'the Phalangists are already entering a certain neighborhood—and I know what the meaning of revenge is for them, what kind of slaughter. Then no one will believe we went in to create order there, and we will bear the blame. Therefore, I think that we are liable here to get into a situation in which we will be blamed, and our explanations will not stand up ...
<blockquote>In the wake of the assassination of the President-elect Bashir Jemayel, the I.D.F. has seized positions in West Beirut in order to forestall the danger of violence, bloodshed and chaos, as some 2,000 terrorists, equipped with modern and heavy weapons, have remained in Beirut, in flagrant violation of the evacuation agreement.</blockquote>
An Israeli intelligence officer present in the forward post, wishing to obtain information about the Phalangists' activities, ordered two distinct actions to find out what was happening. The first failed to turn up anything. The second resulted in a report at 20:00 from the roof, stated that the Phalangists' liaison officer had heard from an operative inside the camp that he held 45 people and asked what he should do with him. The liaison officer told him to more or less "Do the will of God." The Intelligence Officer received this report at approximately 20:00 from the person on the roof who heard the conversation. He did not pass on the report.
At roughly the same time or a little earlier at 19:00, Lieutenant Elul testified that he had overheard a radio conversation between one of the militia men in the camp and his commander Hobeika in which the former asking what he was to do with 50 women and children who had been taken prisoner. Hobeika's reply was: "This is the last time you're going to ask me a question like that; you know exactly what to do." Other Phalangists on the roof started laughing. Amongst the Israelis there was Brigadier General [[Amos Yaron|Yaron]], Divisional Commander, who asked Lieutenant Elul, his Chef de Bureau, what the laughter was about; Elul translated what Hobeika had said. Yaron then had a five-minute conversation, in English, with Hobeika. What was said is unknown.<ref name="Accused"/>
The Kahan Commission determined that the evidence pointed to 'two different and separate reports', noting that Yaron maintained that he thought they referred to the same incident, and that it concerned 45 "dead terrorists". At the same time, 20:00, a third report came in from liaison officer G. of the Phalangists who in the presence of numerous Israeli officers, including general Yaron, in the dining room, stated that within 2 hours the Phalangists had killed 300 people, including civilians. He returned sometime later and changed the number from 300 to 120.
At 20:40, General Yaron held a briefing, and after it the Divisional Intelligence Officer stated that it appeared no terrorists were in the Shatila camp, and that the Phalangists were in two minds as to what to do with the women, children and old people they had massed together, either to lead them somewhere else or that they were told, as the liaison officer was overheard saying, to 'do what your heart tells you, because everything comes from God.' Yaron interrupted the officer and said he'd checked and that 'they have no problems at all,' and that with regard to the people, 'It will not, will not harm them.' Yaron later testified he had been sceptical of the reports and had in any case told the Phalangists not to harm civilians.
At 23:00 the same evening, a report was sent to the IDF headquarters in East Beirut, reporting the killings of 300 people, including civilians. The report was forwarded to headquarters in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and to the office of the Bureau Chief of the director of Military Intelligence, Lt. Col. Hevroni, at 05:30 the following day where it was seen by more than 20 senior Israeli officers. It was then forwarded to his home by 06:15.<ref name="Shahid
<blockquote>During the night the Phalangists entered the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps. Even though it was agreed that they would not harm civilians, they 'butchered.' They did not operate in orderly fashion but dispersed. They had casualties, including two killed. They will organize to operate in a more orderly manner—we will see to it that they are moved into the area."
Early on that morning, between 08:00 and 09:00, several IDF soldiers stationed nearby noted killings were being conducted against the camp refugees. A deputy tank commander some {{convert|200|yd|m|order=flip}} away, Lieutenant Grabowski, saw two
At around 08:00, military correspondent [[Ze'ev Schiff]] received a tip-off a source in the General Staff in Tel Aviv that there had been a slaughter in the camps. Checking round for some hours, he got no confirmation other than that there "there's something." At 11:00 he met with [[Mordechai Tzipori]], Minister of Communications and conveyed his information. Unable to reach Military Intelligence by phone, he got in touch with [[Yitzhak Shamir]] at 11:19 asking him to check reports of a Phalangist slaughter in the camps.
<blockquote>I just don't understand, what are you looking for? Do you want the terrorists to stay? Are you afraid that somebody will think that you were in collusion with us? Deny it. We denied it,<ref name="Anziska"/></blockquote>
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<blockquote>So, we'll kill them. They will not be left there. You are not going to save them. You are not going to save these groups of the international terrorism.. . If you don't want the Lebanese to kill them, we will kill them.<ref name="Anziska"/></blockquote>
In the afternoon, before 16:00, Lieutenant Grabowski had one of his men ask a Phalangist why they were killing civilians, and was told that pregnant women will give birth to children who will grow up to be terrorists.
At Beirut airport at 16:00 journalist [[Ron Ben-Yishai]] heard from several Israeli officers that they had heard that killings had taken place in the camps. At 11:30 he telephoned Ariel Sharon to report on the rumours, and was told by Sharon that he had already heard of the stories from the Chief of Staff.
At 16:00 in a meeting with the Phalangist staff, with Mossad present, the Israeli Chief of Staff said he had a "positive impression" of their behavior in the field and from what the Phalangists reported, and asked them to continue 'mopping up the empty camps' until 5 am, whereupon they must desist due to American pressure. According to the Kahan Commission investigation, neither side explicitly mentioned to each other reports or rumours about the way civilians were being treated in the camp.
Later in the afternoon, a meeting was held between the Israeli Chief of Staff and the Phalangist staff.
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On the morning of Friday, 17 September, the Israeli Army surrounding Sabra and Shatila ordered the Phalange to halt their operation, concerned about reports of a massacre.<ref name="Accused"/>
== Foreign reporters' testimonies ==
On 17 September, while Sabra and Shatila still were sealed off, a few independent observers managed to enter. Among them were a Norwegian journalist and diplomat [[Gunnar Flakstad]], who observed Phalangists during their cleanup operations, removing dead bodies from destroyed houses in the Shatila camp.<ref>Harbo, 1982</ref>▼
▲On 17 September, while Sabra and Shatila still were sealed off, a few independent observers managed to enter. Among them were a Norwegian journalist and diplomat [[Gunnar Flakstad]], who observed Phalangists during their cleanup operations, removing dead bodies from destroyed houses in the Shatila camp.<ref>''Aftenposten'' Middle East correspondent Harbo was also quoted with the same information on ABC News "Close up,
Many of the bodies found had been severely mutilated. Young men had been [[castration|castrated]], some were [[scalping|scalped]], and some had the [[Christian cross]] carved into their bodies.<ref>"[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1310100/Syrians-aid-Butcher-of-Beirut-to-hide-from-justice.html Syrians aid 'Butcher of Beirut' to hide from justice]," ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 17 June 2001.</ref>▼
▲Many of the bodies found had been severely mutilated. Young men had been [[castration|castrated]], some were [[scalping|scalped]], and some had the [[Christian cross]] carved into their bodies.<ref>
[[Janet Lee Stevens]], an American journalist, later wrote to her husband, Dr. Franklin Lamb, "I 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."<ref>Dr. Franklin Lamb's letter. [http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/997/special.htm#1 Remembering Janet Lee Stevens, martyr for the Palestinian refugees] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403135700/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/997/special.htm#1 |date=3 April 2011 }}</ref>▼
▲[[Janet Lee Stevens]], an American journalist, later wrote to her husband, Dr. Franklin Lamb, "I 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."<ref>
Before the massacre, it was reported that the leader of the PLO, Yasir Arafat, had requested the return of international forces, from Italy, France and the United States, to Beirut to protect civilians. Those forces had just supervised the departure of Arafat and his PLO fighters from Beirut. Italy expressed 'deep concerns' about 'the new Israeli advance', but no action was taken to return the forces to Beirut.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/17/world/arafat-demands-3-nations-return-peace-force-to-beirut.html?scp=1&sq=henry+kamm+september+17+1982&st=nyt |title=Arafat Demands 3 Nations Return Peace Force to Beirut|newspaper=nytimes.com|date=17 September 1982 |access-date=16 August 2015|last1=Kamm |first1=Henry }}</ref> ''The New York Times'' reported in September 1982:▼
▲Before the massacre, it was reported that the leader of the PLO, Yasir Arafat, had requested the return of international forces, from Italy, France and the United States, to Beirut to protect civilians. Those forces had just supervised the departure of Arafat and his PLO fighters from Beirut. Italy expressed 'deep concerns' about 'the new Israeli advance', but no action was taken to return the forces to Beirut.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/17/world/arafat-demands-3-nations-return-peace-force-to-beirut.html?scp=1&sq=henry+kamm+september+17+1982&st=nyt |title=Arafat Demands 3 Nations Return Peace Force to Beirut |newspaper=
<blockquote>Yasir Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, demanded today that the United States, France and Italy send their troops back to Beirut to protect its inhabitants against Israel...''The dignity of three armies and the honor of their countries is involved'', Mr. Arafat said at his news conference. ''I ask Italy, France and the United States: What of your promise to protect the inhabitants of Beirut?''</blockquote>
In interviews with film director [[Lokman Slim]] in 2005, some of the [[Christianity in Lebanon|Lebanese Christian]] militia fighters reported that, prior to the massacre, the IDF took them to training camps in Israel and showed them documentaries about the Holocaust.<ref name="training with history" /> The Israelis told the Lebanese fighters that the same would happen to them too, as a minority in Lebanon, if the fighters did not take action against the Palestinians.<ref name="training with history">{{cite news |last1=Rmeileh |first1=Rami |title=Sabra & Shatila echoes past & ongoing Palestinian suffering |url=https://www.newarab.com/opinion/sabra-shatila-echoes-past-ongoing-palestinian-suffering |access-date=6 June 2024 |work=[[The New Arab]] |date=18 September 2023 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606060114/https://www.newarab.com/opinion/sabra-shatila-echoes-past-ongoing-palestinian-suffering |archive-date=6 June 2024}}</ref> The film was called ''"Massaker"'', it featured six perpetrators of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, and it was awarded the ''Fipresci Prize'' at the 2005 Berlinale.<ref name="Massaker">{{cite news |last1=Agencies |first1=The New Arab Staff & |title=Lokman Slim: The daring Lebanese activist, admired intellectual |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/lokman-slim-daring-lebanese-activist-admired-intellectual |access-date=6 June 2024 |work= [[The New Arab]] |date=6 February 2021 |language=en |quote= Their film "Massaker" — which studied six perpetrators of the 1982 Christian militia massacres of 1,000 people at the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian camps in Beirut — was awarded the Fipresci Prize at the 2005 Berlinale. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606062916/https://www.newarab.com/news/lokman-slim-daring-lebanese-activist-admired-intellectual |archive-date=6 June 2024}}</ref>
==Number of victims==
[[File:SabraShatilaMemorial.jpg|thumb|Memorial in Sabra, South Beirut]]
* [[Palestinian Red Crescent]] claimed 2,000 dead. 1,200 death certificates were issued to anyone who produced three witnesses claiming a family member disappeared during the time of the massacre.{{sfn|Schiff|Ya'ari|1985|p=[https://archive.org/details/israelslebanonwa00zeev/page/282 282]}}
* [[Bayan Nuwayhed|Bayan Nuwayhed al-Hout]] in her ''Sabra and Shatila: September 1982''{{
* [[Robert Fisk]] wrote, "After three days of rape, fighting and brutal executions, militias finally leave the camps with 1,700 dead".<ref>{{cite news |last=Fisk
* In his book published soon after the massacre,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kapeliouk |first=Amnon |author-link=Amnon Kapeliouk
* The Lebanese army's chief prosecutor, Assad Germanos, investigated the killings, but following orders from above, did not summon Lebanese witnesses. Also Palestinian survivors from the camps were afraid to testify, and Phalangist fighters were expressly forbidden to give testimony. Germanos' report concluded that 460 people had been killed (including 15 women and 20 children.)
* Israeli intelligence estimated 700–800 dead.
==Post-war testimonies by Lebanese Forces operatives==
Lokhman Slim and Monika Borgman's ''Massaker'', based on 90 hours of interviews with the LF soldiers who participated in the massacre, gives the participants' memories of how they were drawn into the militia, trained with the Israeli army and unleashed on the camps to take revenge for the murder of Bashir Gemayel. The motivations are varied, from blaming beatings from their fathers in childhood, the effects of the brutalization of war, obedience to one's leaders, a belief that the camp women would breed future terrorists, and the idea three-quarters of the residents were terrorists. Others spoke of their violence without traces of repentance.<ref>{{cite book |first=Sune |last=Haugbolle
===U.N. condemnation===
{{See also|Palestinian genocide accusation}}
On 16 December 1982, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] condemned the massacre and declared it to be an act of [[genocide]].<ref>[http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/426/01/IMG/NR042601.pdf?OpenElement U.N. General Assembly, Resolution 37/123, adopted between 16 and 20 December 1982.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429183049/http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/426/01/IMG/NR042601.pdf?OpenElement |date=29 April 2012 }} Retrieved 4 January 2010.</ref>
The voting record<ref>
The delegate for Canada stated: "The term genocide cannot, in our view, be applied to this particular inhuman act".
The United States commented that "While the criminality of the massacre was beyond question, it was a serious and reckless misuse of language to label this tragedy genocide as defined in the [[Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide|1948 Convention]]".
[[William Schabas]], director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the [[National University of Ireland]],<ref>
===Irish Commission (MacBride)===
The independent commission headed by Seán MacBride looking into reported violations of International Law by Israel, however, did find that the concept of genocide applied to the case as it was the intention of those behind the massacre "the deliberate destruction of the national and cultural rights and identity of the Palestinian people".
The MacBride Commission's report, ''Israel in Lebanon'', concluded that the Israeli authorities or forces were responsible in the massacres and other killings that have been reported to have been carried out by Lebanese militiamen in Sabra and Shatila in the Beirut area between 16 and 18 September.
===Kahan Commission (Israel)===
Israel's own [[Kahan commission]] found that only "indirect" responsibility befitted Israel's involvement. For British journalist
====Ariel Sharon's "personal responsibility"====
The [[Kahan Commission]] concluded Israeli Defense minister Sharon bore personal responsibility "for ignoring the danger of bloodshed and revenge" and "not taking appropriate measures to prevent bloodshed". Sharon's negligence in protecting the civilian population of Beirut, which had come under Israeli control, amounted to a non-
At first, Sharon refused to resign, and Begin refused to fire him. It was only after the death of [[Emil Grunzweig]] after a grenade was tossed by a right-wing Israeli into the dispersing crowd of a [[Peace Now]] protest march, which also injured ten others, that a compromise was reached: Sharon would resign as Defense Minister, but remain in the Cabinet as a [[Minister without Portfolio|minister without portfolio]]. Notwithstanding the dissuading conclusions of the Kahan report, Sharon would later become [[Prime Minister of Israel]].<ref>{{cite web |
An opinion poll indicated that 51.7% of the Israeli public thought the commission was too harsh, and only 2.17% too lenient.
====Other conclusions====
The Kahan commission also recommended the dismissal of Director of Military Intelligence [[Yehoshua Saguy]],<ref>
==Role of various parties==
The primary responsibility for the massacre is generally attributed to Elie Hobeika. [[Robert Hatem|Robert Maroun Hatem]], Elie Hobeika's bodyguard, stated in his book ''From Israel to Damascus'' that Hobeika ordered the massacre of civilians in defiance of Israeli instructions to behave like a "dignified" army.<ref name="online"/>
Hobeika was assassinated by a car bomb in Beirut on 24 January 2002. Lebanese and Arab commentators blamed Israel for the murder of Hobeika, with alleged Israeli motive that Hobeika would be "apparently poised to testify before the Belgian court about Sharon's role in the massacre"<ref name=Campagna>{{cite journal |last=Campagna |first=Joel |author-link= Joel Campagna
According to [[Alain Menargues]], on 15 September, an Israeli special operations group of [[Sayeret Matkal]] entered the camp to liquidate a number of Palestinian cadres, and left the same day. It was followed the next day, by "killers" from the Sa'ad Haddad's [[South Lebanon Army]], before the Lebanese Forces units of Elie Hobeika entered the camps.{{sfn|Menargues|2004|pp=469–470}}{{sfn|Traboulsi|2007|p=218|ps=: "On Wednesday 15th, units of the elite Israeli army 'reconnaissance' force, the Sayeret Mat`kal, which had already carried out the assassination of the three PLO leaders in Beirut, entered the camps with a mission to liquidate a selected number of Palestinian cadres. The next day, two units of killers were introduced into the camps, troops from Sa'd Haddad's Army of South Lebanon, attached to the Israeli forces in Beirut, and the LF security units of Elie Hobeika known as the Apaches, led by Marun Mash'alani, Michel Zuwayn and Georges Melko"}}<ref name="AvonKhatchadourian2012">{{cite book |first1=Dominique |last1=Avon |first2=Anaïs-Trissa |last2=Khatchadourian |first3=Jane Marie |last3=Todd |title=Hezbollah: A History of the "Party of God" |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jOZ3Aqf6BzoC |date=2012 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-07031-8 |page=22 |quote=That triggered the massacre of Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila camps in three waves, according to Alain Menargues, first at the hands of special Israeli units, whose troops reoccupied West Beirut; then by the groups in the SLA; and finally by men from the Jihaz al-Amn, a Lebanese forces special group led by Elie Hobeika.}}</ref>
The US responsibility was considerable;{{sfn|Traboulsi|2007|p=219}} indeed the Arab states and the PLO blamed the US.<ref name="Chomsky1999">{{cite book |first=Noam |last=Chomsky |author-link=Noam Chomsky |title=The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aHphMCIkhK0C&pg=PA377 |year=1999 |publisher=[[Pluto Press]] |isbn=978-0-7453-1530-0 |page=377}}</ref> The negotiations under the mediation of US diplomat [[Philip Habib]], which oversaw the withdrawal of the PLO from Beirut, had assigned responsibility to the American-led Multi National Force for guaranteeing the safety of those non-combatant Palestinians who remained. The US administration was criticized for the early withdrawal of the Multi National Force, a criticism which [[George Shultz]] accepted later.{{sfn|Traboulsi|2007|p=219}} Shultz recounted in his memoirs that "The brutal fact is that we are partially responsible. We took the Israelis and Lebanese at their word".<ref name="Shultz2010">{{cite book |first=George P. |last=Shultz |author-link=George Shultz |title=Turmoil and Triumph: Diplomacy, Power, and the Victory of the American Deal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ocPU-S9gloC&pg=PT31 |date=2010 |publisher=[[Simon
== Aftermath ==
=== Lawsuits against Sharon ===
==== Sharon's libel suit ====
Ariel Sharon sued [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] for [[libel]] in American and Israeli courts in a $50 million libel suit, after ''Time'' published a story in its 21 February 1983, issue, implying that Sharon had "reportedly discussed with the Gemayels the need for the Phalangists to take revenge" for Bachir's assassination.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_ariel_sharon,00.shtml |title=Time Collection: Ariel Sharon |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=25 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060116050853/http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_ariel_sharon,00.shtml |archive-date=16 January 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The jury found the article false and defamatory, although ''Time'' won the suit in the U.S. court because Sharon's defense failed to establish that the magazine's editors and writers had "acted out of [[malice (legal term)|malice]]", as required under U.S. libel law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://brookekroeger.com/sharon-loses-libel-suit-time-cleared-of-malice/ |title=Sharon Loses Libel Suit; Time Cleared of Malice |date=25 January 1985 |access-date=25 February 2022 |first=Brooke W. |last=Kroeger |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303053743/https://brookekroeger.com/sharon-loses-libel-suit-time-cleared-of-malice/ |archive-date=3 March 2024}}</ref>
==== Relatives of victims sue Sharon ====
After Sharon's 2001 election as Israeli Prime Minister, relatives of the victims of the massacre filed a lawsuit.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flint |first=Julie |title=Vanished victims of Israelis return to accuse Sharon
=== Reprisal attacks ===
According to [[Robert Fisk]], [[Osama bin Laden]] cited the Sabra and Shatila massacre as one of the motivations for the 1996 [[Khobar Towers bombing]], in which [[al-Qaeda]] attacked an American Air Force housing complex in Saudi Arabia.<ref name="google3">{{cite book |title=Structures of Love, The: Art and Politics beyond the Transference |
==See also==
Line 206 ⟶ 201:
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
=== Works cited ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Alpher |first=Yossi |author-link=Yossi Alpher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eCxyBgAAQBAJ |title=Periphery: Israel's Search for Middle East Allies |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |date=2015 |isbn=978-1-4422-3102-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Becker |first=Jillian |title=PLO: The Rise and Fall of the Palestine Liberation Organization |publisher=AuthorHouse |year=1984 |isbn=978-1-4918-4435-9}}▼
* {{cite book |last=Fisk |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Fisk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VrXpeELOUNsC |title=Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-280130-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Gonzalez |first=Nathan |author-link=Nathan Gonzalez |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HypnAgAAQBAJ |title=The Sunni-Shia Conflict: Understanding Sectarian Violence in the Middle East |publisher=Nortia Media Ltd |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-9842252-1-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Hirst |first=David |author-link=David Hirst (journalist) |year=2010 |title=Beware of small states: Lebanon, battleground of the Middle East |publisher=Nation Books |isbn=978-0-571-23741-8}}
* {{cite report |author1-link=Yitzhak Kahan |last1=Kahan |first1=Yitzhak |author2-link=Aharon Barak |last2=Barak |first2=Aharon |author3-link=Yona Efrat |last3=Efrat |first3=Yona |date=1983 |title=The Commission of Inquiry into events at the refugee camps in Beirut 1983 Final Report (Authorized translation) |jstor=20692582}}
* {{Cite book |last1=MacBride |first1=Seán |author1-link=Seán MacBride |first2=A. K. |last2=Asmal |first3=B. |last3=Bercusson |first4=R. A. |last4=Falk |first5=G. de la |last5=Pradelle |first6=S. |last6=Wild |title=Israel in Lebanon: The Report of International Commission to enquire into reported violations of International Law by Israel during its invasion of the Lebanon |publisher=[[Ithaca Press]] |year=1983 |location=London |isbn=0-903729-96-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Menargues |first=Alain |author-link=Alain Menargues |title=Secrets de la Guerre du Liban |language=fr |trans-title=Secrets of the Lebanese War |year=2004}}▼
* {{cite book |last=Nuwayhed al-Hout |first=Bayan |title=Sabra and Shatila September 1982 |year=2004 |publisher=[[Pluto Press]] |isbn=0-7453-2303-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=usQtAQAAIAAJ |author-link=Bayan Nuwayhed}}
* {{cite book |last=Quandt |first=William B. |author-link=William B. Quandt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-rmCPnSghbcC |title=Peace Process: American Diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict Since 1967 |date=1993 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-22374-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Schabas |first=William |author-link=William Schabas |date=2000 |title=Genocide in International Law: The Crimes of Crimes |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=0521782627}}
* {{cite book |last1=Schiff |first1=Ze'ev |author1-link=Ze'ev Schiff |last2=Ya'ari |first2=Ehud |author2-link=Ehud Ya'ari |title=Israel's Lebanon War |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-671-60216-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/israelslebanonwa00zeev}}
* {{cite book |last1=Traboulsi |first1=Fawwaz |author-link=Fawwaz Traboulsi |title=A History of Modern Lebanon |publisher=[[Pluto Press
{{refend}}
===Bibliography===
* {{cite news |last=Hamdan |first=Ajal |author-link=Amal Hamdan |date=16 September 2003 |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B26B8CE1-49E1-47FF-9ED5-8E1AE1305CC4.htm |title=Remembering Sabra and Shatila |work=[[Al Jazeera English|Aljazeera]] |access-date=4 December 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051225181635/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B26B8CE1-49E1-47FF-9ED5-8E1AE1305CC4.htm |archive-date=25 December 2005}}
▲* {{cite book|last=Becker|first=Jillian|title=PLO: The Rise and Fall of the Palestine Liberation Organization|publisher=AuthorHouse|year=1984|isbn=978-1-4918-4435-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Klein
* Bregman, Ahron (2002). ''Israel's Wars: A History Since 1947''. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-28716-2}}▼
* [[Bernard Lewis|Lewis, Bernard]]. [http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/21832.html "The New Anti-Semitism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110908010822/http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/21832.html |date=8 September 2011 }}, ''The American Scholar'', Volume 75 No. 1, Winter 2006, pp. 25–36. The paper is based on a lecture delivered at [[Brandeis University]] on 24 March 2004.▼
* {{cite book |last=Lewis
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*
* [[Noam Chomsky|Chomsky, Noam]] (1989). ''[https://archive.today/20000607162654/http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/ni/ni-c06-s06.html Necessary Illusions: Thought control in democratic societies]''. [[South End Press]]. {{ISBN|0-89608-366-7}}.▼
▲* Klein, A. J. (New York, 2005), ''Striking Back: The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and Israel's Deadly Response'', [[Random House]] {{ISBN|1-920769-80-3}}
▲*[[Bernard Lewis|Lewis, Bernard]]. [http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/21832.html "The New Anti-Semitism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110908010822/http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/21832.html |date=8 September 2011 }}, ''The American Scholar'', Volume 75 No. 1, Winter 2006, pp. 25–36. The paper is based on a lecture delivered at [[Brandeis University]] on 24 March 2004.
▲* Lewis, Bernard (1999). ''Semites and Anti-Semites: An Inquiry into Conflict and Prejudice''. W. W. Norton & Co. {{ISBN|0-393-31839-7}}
* [[Barnaby Mason|Mason, Barnaby]] (17 April 2002). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1935198.stm Analysis: 'War crimes' on West Bank]. ''BBC World News''. Retrieved 4 December 2004.▼
▲* {{cite book|last=Menargues|first=Alain|title=Secrets de la Guerre du Liban|year=2004}}
▲*[[Benny Morris]] and [[Ian Black (journalist)|Ian Black]]. ''[[Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services]]'', Grove, 1991, {{ISBN|0-8021-1159-9}}.
▲* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/1975849.stm New 'evidence' in Sharon trial] (8 May 2002). ''BBC World News''. Retrieved 4 December 2004.
* Shashaa, Esam (no date).
* [[Ahmad Tamal|Tamal, Ahmad]] (no date). [https://web.archive.org/web/20041218002425/http://www.allaboutpalestine.com/sabrashatillapics.html Sabra and Shatila]. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20041204231300/http://www.allaboutpalestine.com/index.shtml All About Palestine]''. Retrieved 4 December 2004.▼
▲* {{cite book|last1=Traboulsi|first1=Fawwaz|title=A History of Modern Lebanon|publisher=Pluto Press|pages=218–219|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wFltAAAAMAAJ|date=2007|isbn=9780745324371}}
* United Nations General Assembly, ''[https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/37/a37r123.htm A/RES/37/123(A-F). The situation in the Middle East]'' (16 December 1982). [https://web.archive.org/web/20060209114602/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/faabb796990cf95a852560d9005240cf?OpenDocument A/RES/37/123(A-F) of 16 December 1982]
*
*
===Notes===
{{notelist}}
==Further reading==
▲* {{cite book |last=Bregman
* {{cite web |
* {{cite web | title=Sabra Shatila Massacre Photos | website=littleredbutton.com | date=2004-10-09 | url=http://www.littleredbutton.com/sabra_shatila/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041009202109/http://www.littleredbutton.com/sabra_shatila/ | archive-date=2004-10-09 | url-status=unfit | ref={{sfnref | littleredbutton.com | 2004}} | access-date=2022-01-17}}▼
* {{cite web |
▲* [[Ahmad Tamal|Tamal, Ahmad]] (no date). [https://web.archive.org/web/20041218002425/http://www.allaboutpalestine.com/sabrashatillapics.html Sabra and Shatila]. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20041204231300/http://www.allaboutpalestine.com/index.shtml All About Palestine]''. Retrieved 4 December 2004.
▲* {{cite web |
* {{cite web | last=Anziska | first=Seth | title=Sabra and Shatila: New Revelations | website=The New York Review of Books | date=2021-04-26 | url=https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/09/17/sabra-and-shatila-new-revelations/ | access-date=2022-01-17}}▼
▲*
* {{cite web | last=Fisk | first=Robert | title=Sabra and Shatila| website=Countercurrents | url=https://www.countercurrents.org/pa-fisk180903.htm | access-date=2022-01-17}}▼
▲* {{cite web |
* {{cite web |author=Robert Fisk|title=Another war on terror. Another proxy army. Another mysterious | website=The Independent | date=2001-11-28 | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/another-war-on-terror-another-proxy-army-another-mysterious-massacre-and-now-after-19-years-perhaps-the-truth-at-last-9255784.html | ref={{sfnref | The Independent | 2001}} | access-date=2022-01-17}}▼
▲* {{cite web |
▲* {{cite
▲*
* [http://www.ism-france.org/news/article.php?id=5470&type=analyse&lesujet=Histoire Sabra and Shatila, the unforgivable slaughter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206001447/http://www.ism-france.org/news/article.php?id=5470&type=analyse&lesujet=Histoire |date=6 February 2008 }} {{in lang|fr}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140911212745/https://www.archives.gov.il/ArchiveGov_Eng/Publications/ElectronicPirsum/KahanCommission/ The Kahan Commission on Sabra and Shatila Massacre], published by Israel State Archives
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabra And Shatila Massacre}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Massacres in 1982]]
[[Category:Massacres of the Lebanese Civil War]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Beirut in the Lebanese Civil War]]
[[Category:Persecution of Muslims by Christians]]
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[[Category:Christian terrorism in Asia]]
[[Category:1982 murders in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Violence against Shia Muslims in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Massacres of Muslims]]
[[Category:Massacres of Palestinians]]
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[[Category:Genocides in Asia]]
[[Category:Wartime sexual violence in Asia]]
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