HIST 294 Lecture 15: Week 8 Monday: The First Intifada
24 Aug 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Monday, February 29, 2016
Lebanon and the Arab Isreali Conflict
Week 8: Monday
-ESSAY
•case study, very focused
•2000 words
•due last class
•at least ten sources from peer viewed articles or books
•worth 20%
•footnotes/ endnotes + bibliography whatever style you want
•have a cover page with number of words specified
•divide paper into subsections with subtitles
-The Geostrategic location of Lebanon (north of Israel and West of Syria)
•divided country
•high concentration of Christians… Lebanon carved out where they thought
Christians would have majority
-Many Christians living in Lebanon due to French colonialism
-French set these borders in order to attempt to create a Christian majority state
•Lebanon – problem with the location and internally divided society
•North and East bordered with Syria, Israel to the South
•PLO, Syria, and Israel did not allow Lebanon to remain neutral
-1943 National Pact that defined the political system of Lebanon
-The political system in Lebanon: Confessional democratic system of political
appointment based on the demographic size of each sect (Maronite, Sunni, Shiite,
Druze etc.)
•1932 – Maronite largest sect in the country
•Prime Minister elected by the government, not the people
!1
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Monday, February 29, 2016
•Parliament is elected directly by the people
•President appointed every 5 years
•pres of Lebanon would always be Maronite christian
•pres elected by parliament
•pm always sunni
-1932 census
-Political blocs in the parliament
•each group has a fixed number of seats —> this whole system kept Lebanon as a
weak state, eventually led to civil war
-Being caught geographically between Israel and Syria entangled Lebanon in the
Arab-Israeli conflict.
•After peace treaty… Syria couldn’t keep fighting alone, found ay to keep fighting
through proxies and lebanon
-After 1973, Israel and Syria continued to fight each other through proxies rather than
directly
-Lebanon: a weak state and weak Gov.
-Late 1960s, leftist movements in Lebanon called for the de-confessionalization of
Lebanon’s political system. These movements created the Lebanese National
Movement (LNM), an amalgam of mainly Muslim Lebanese parties. These
movements were supported by the PLO
•wanted it so any citizen could be elected president regardless of background
•mainly muslim created Lebanese parties, also secular Muslims
•wanted to maintain separation between religion and politics —> supported by PLO
-modern democratic system
•alliance between PLO and leftist movements
•Christians wanted Pal’s outside Lebanon and to remain neutral, as well as PLO
•After Black September, Palestinians moved to Lebanon —> The PLO wanted to
maintain their headquarters in a state with borders with Israel. PLO created a state
within a state.
!2
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Monday, February 29, 2016
•No census has be conducted in Lebanon since the 30s because they do not want
to reveal a Muslim majority
-Birth rate amongst Muslims much higher
-The LNM wanted to reform the political system in Lebanon
-1971 PLO created the Fatahland in Lebanon
•Fatal —> largest movement in the PLO
-Civil war in Lebanon in April 1975
•PLO started attacks against Israel from Lebanese Southern Borders
•Israel would attack not only the PLO, but the government that hosts the PLO
•Israeli air force would attack power stations and infrastructure within Lebanon
-1975 Civil war in Lebanon
•Sectarianism within Lebanon —> civil war between local sects in Lebanon
•Syria didn’t want conflict between minorities in the country
-Assad was part of a minority
-Christian Phalange militia attacked a Palestinian bus killing 27
-The PLO and the Maronite Phalange engaged in 2 months of fighting
-Syria did not want the sectarian strife to spillover into Syria
-With Egypt heading out of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Syria perceived the situation in
Lebanon as an opportunity to utilize the PLO as a spearhead in the fighting against
Israel
•Assad able to maintain power since 1972, his son able to keep power until today
-Assad wanted to control the PLO movement to prevent unwanted conflict with Israel
•Assad manipulated the political system within Syria against Israel
•conflict with Israel could be used to bolster his regime
-create solidarity with Syria, stability within the regime
-Assad supported PLO groups that rejected the Egyptian-Israeli peace process and
the LNM
!3
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The geostrategic location of lebanon (north of israel and west of syria: divided country, high concentration of christians lebanon carved out where they thought. Many christians living in lebanon due to french colonialism. 1943 national pact that de ned the political system of lebanon. The political system in lebanon: confessional democratic system of political appointment based on the demographic size of each sect (maronite, sunni, shiite, Druze etc. : 1932 maronite largest sect in the country, prime minister elected by the government, not the people. Monday, february 29, 2016: parliament is elected directly by the people, president appointed every 5 years, pres of lebanon would always be maronite christian, pres elected by parliament, pm always sunni. Political blocs in the parliament: each group has a xed number of seats > this whole system kept lebanon as a weak state, eventually led to civil war. Being caught geographically between israel and syria entangled lebanon in the.
