|
|
Article: Bitter memories: Israel's latest offensive on Lebanon has some historical parallels, but this time, it faces a more formidable opponent.(LEBANON)
- Article from:
- MEED Middle East Economic Digest
- Article date:
- August 11, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 MEED Middle East Economic Digest. All Rights Reserved. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
As Israel's military offensive gathers momentum, Lebanon's long-suffering southern residents may find echoes of Israel's first major invasion of its northern neighbour in March 1978. Then, Israel used the pretext of Palestinian guerrillas hijacking an Israeli bus south of Haifa to launch its assault, massing 25,000 men on the border, backed up by massive aerial and naval bombardments.
The similarities largely end there. In 1978, Israeli Defence Force (IDF) troops encountered little resistance from Fatah guerrillas. Within days, they had pushed back lightly-armed PLO units beyond the Litani river and carved out a security belt along the border. Many southern ...