The Sabra and Shatila Massacre of 1982 and ‘Israel’s’ Aggression in 2024

By Hamzah Rifaat – Sep 22, 2024

On its 42nd anniversary, the Sabra and Shatila massacre should remain part of global collective consciousness, as “Israel’s” actions in 2024 are putting innocent Palestinian and Lebanese lives at risk.

The 42nd anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre of 1982 is a glaring reminder of “Israel’s” historical ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and Lebanese. Back then, the Zionist regime invaded Lebanon and massacred Palestinians and Muslims in the capital city Beirut. The brutality and scale of the massacre classify it as a genocide and remain etched in the Palestinian collective consciousness as they continue to endure daily bombardments, extrajudicial killings, and violence by the very same Zionist entity.

Examined closely, there exist parallels between the 1982 genocide in Sabra and Shatila and “Israel’s” relentless attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon which is concomitant with its killing sprees in Gaza.

These parallels are exactly why the Sabra and Shatila massacre by “Israel” should never be forgotten.

The massacre of 1982
“Israel’s” creation in 1948 and its subsequent occupation of Palestinian territories resulted in a massive exodus of Palestinians migrating and seeking refuge in Lebanon. However, ethnic and religious tensions were brewing in Lebanon in 1975, partly due to the country’s unique demographic composition, which consists of Christians, Druze, Shia, and Sunni Muslims. Moreover, the country’s parliamentary structure favored Lebanese Christians at the expense of other religious groups, which resulted in the widening of religious cleavages after 1975, the year Lebanon plunged into a Civil War, which further worsened as different foreign powers got involved in the conflict that lasted for approximately 15 years.

It is within this context that “Israel” decided to pursue its opportunistic and expansionist agendas. This included foreign interference, aggression against an ethnic population on foreign territory, and brazen meddling in Lebanon’s internal affairs. After attacking and massacring PLO freedom fighters in Lebanon throughout the 1970s, “Israel” cited the attempted assassination of its ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, as a pretext to invade Lebanon and attack PLO freedom fighters. However, Israeli historians, including those advocating for the genocide of Palestinians such as Benny Morris, contested such claims and stated that the attempted assassination of Argov was by Abu Nidal, a defector from Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction within the PLO who had previously killed many PLO members.

Haifa and More: While Israel Massacres, Hezbollah Advances

Yet, despite the lack of evidence and subsequent PLO condemnation of the assassination attempt, “Israel” invaded Lebanon in 1982 and was supported by rogue Lebanese politicians such as Bachir Pierre Gemayel who headed the Lebanese Forces, a Christian right-wing militia fighting against Lebanese Muslims during the civil war. Gemayel was eventually assassinated by fellow Maronite Christian, Habib Shartouni, a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. His assassination, however, prompted then-Zionist Security Minister, Ariel Sharon, to call for the Israeli occupation of West Beirut in violation of “Israel’s” previous agreement with the United States to not occupy the capital of Lebanon. With anger brimming over the assassination of the Kataeb’s Gemayel, Ariel Sharon fomented negative sentiments and leveraged Christian anger by calling for the invasion of Sabra and Shatila by propagating a fallacy that the PLO was responsible for Gemayel’s death.

Sharon also notoriously stated:

“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 international terrorists. If you don’t want the Lebanese to kill them, we will kill them.”

After the invasion of Lebanon and Sharon’s siege of Beirut, a brutal genocide of 3,500 civilians, the majority of whom were Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims, unfolded in Sabra and Shatila. This included the Israeli and Kataeb mutilating bodies and mass raping women and children, which prompted the United Nations General Assembly to declare the massacre as a genocide. Lawsuits and proceedings were also initiated against Ariel Sharon, which eventually resulted in him forfeiting the post of Security Minister.

The scale of the massacre constituted “state-sponsored” terrorism. Fast forward to 2024, one notices that “Israel’s” strategic calculus remains the same.

The 2024 Hezbollah pager attacks and ‘Israel’s’ penchant for destruction
“Israel’s” ruthless electronic terrorism attack against Hezbollah’s fighters and civilians in Beirut in 2024 demonstrates the Zionist regime’s penchant for the destruction of Lebanon and Palestine as witnessed in 1982. The pager attacks resulted in thousands of casualties in Lebanon and are the latest example of “Israel” employing asymmetrical warfare, violating state sovereignty, and disregarding international law to achieve its narrow, parochial goal of eliminating resistance against occupation in both Lebanon and Palestine. The urge to turn Beirut into Gaza as expressed by Netanyahu himself comes in the form of dismembering Hezbollah, an entity born out of “Israel’s” occupation of Lebanon in 1982 and its horrendous attacks of Sabra and Shatila. In many ways, Hezbollah represents the resistance of the Lebanese people, its support base, and its Palestinian brethren who have otherwise endured “Israel’s” occupation and “state-sponsored terrorism” since 1948.

In fact, in 1982 the objective of Ariel Sharon was to eliminate the PLO and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, whereas in 2024, attention has shifted to attacking Hezbollah along with Hamas. It should be noted that both entities are liberation movements and both have suffered collateral damage from Israeli terrorism. Massacres in refugee camps in 1982 mirror similar instances of attacks against the al-Maghazi camp in Gaza and the Rafah tent camp in 2023-24 which is evidence of “Israel’s” nefarious attempts to eliminate populations.

In truth, if the 1948 Nakba symbolizes Palestinian genocide, then the Sabra and Shatila massacre of 1982 is evidence of “Israel’s” genocide against the Lebanese people, its aversion to Palestinian and Lebanese Resistance, and its penchant for “state terrorism”.

(Al Mayadeen English)