Civil War in Lebanon
and Israeli interferece
Lebanon - Location
TASK 1: How do we call the area, where Lebanon
is located?
Which countries border Lebanon?
check with the
map
TASK 2: Why do you think an independent state
of Lebanon was created and not
incorporated into one of the
neighbouring countries?
Lebanon - Religion
TASK 3: What are the main religious groups in
Lebanon?
check with the
map
Religious compromise - National Covenant 1943
based on the 1932 census
seats in parliament in ratio 6 (Christian):5(Muslim)
President: Maronite Christian
Prime Minister: Sunni Muslim
Head of Parliament: Shiia Muslim
Commander-in-Chief: Druze
Lebanon - Creation
•
•
•
•
till 1918 part of the Ottoman Empire
Mandate of France – separated from Syria
1926 constitution, republic
1941 Free French Army with British support
liberates the area
• 1943 independence of Lebanon
• 1946 French and British forces leave Lebanon
to Lebanon
Timeline
Lebanon – before the war
1958 United Arab Republic (Egypt + Syria)
• Lebanese Muslims want to join
• Civil War
• US military assistance
TASK 4: Legend of Lebanon
Watch the video and list typical features of prewar Lebanon.
to the video
What was the main source of Lebanese wealth?
Main Groups Involved
TASK 5: Group Work
Look up information about the main groups
involved in the civil war in Lebanon. Share with
the rest of the class.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Maronites
Druze
Palestinians
Group 1
Group 1
Shi’a
Muslims
Phalange
Group 1
to who is who
flipchart
South Lebanon
Army
Civil War
TASK 6: Causes of the war
• About 500000 Palestinan refugees in a country of
about 2.3 million
• PLO moved headquatrers to Lebanon in 1970 when
expelled from Jordan
• Tensions between Maronite Christians and
Palestinians
TASK 7: What was the immediate reason for the
civil war. Read the two sources.
to the sources
15 years of fighting
TASK 8: Compare the two maps. What do they
tell us about the war?
1976
power balance
areas under
control of
GREEN – Syria
PURPLE – Maronites
BLUE - UN
YELLOW - Israel
GREEN - Palestinians
1983
Outline of Events
1975 Civil war starts Christians x Palestinians
1976 Syrian intervention to restore order
1977 Syrians ally with Palestinians
1978 Israel occupies South Lebanon, withdraws after
UN intervention, hands over the area to South Lebanon
Army (Christian buffer zone)
1982 Israel intervenes again – up to Beirut
1982 Sabra and Shatilla massacre
Hezbollah Shia guerrilla formed
1985 Israel withdraws
1985-1989 War of the Camps Shia vs. Sunni Muslims
1990 end of war
2005 Syrian army withdraws
Sabra and Shatila
TASK 9: Watch the video, read the article and
discuss what happened in Sabra and Shatila
Camps.
to the video
to the article
The End
PLO version:
The Final Spark
‘Phalangists seized a Palestinian vehicle in the Beirut suburb Ali
Rumaneh (Christian area) and killed the driver. Then armed
Phalangists on April 13th ambushed a bus returning a group of
Palestinians to Tal Zataar camp…27 men, women and children were
martyred, and a large number wounded. This bloody massacre
against an unarmed people is a plot carried out in co-ordination with
Jewish supporters.’
Statement by Yasser Arafat, PLO, 1975
Phalangist version:
‘Fighting started when Palestinian guerrillas opened fire from a car
on a church in Ali Rumaneh in which Mr Gemayel (a Christian leader)
was attending Mass. Three people were killed. Then Palestinian
reinforcements arrived by bus and there was a shoot-out between
the guerrillas and the (Christian) population of the area.
Statement by Phalangist spokesman, 1975
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Lebanon - Location
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Lebanon - Religion
Different regligious
groups 2013
1956
54% Christian
44% Muslim
2013
34% Christian
65% Muslim