Democratic Palestine : 10 (ص 3)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 10 (ص 3)
- المحتوى
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Editorial
How the Camp War Ended...
The war launched against the Palestinian camps of Beirut
on May 19th, by the Amal movement and Lebanese Army 6th
Brigade, ended after an agreement between the Amal move-
ment, the Palestine National Salvation Front andthe Lebanese
National Democratic Front, signed in Damascus on July 17th,
in the presence of Syria’s Vice-President Knaddam. (See text
in following pages.)
An entire book could be written about the war on the
camps - about the motives of those who launched it, the suffer-
ing inflicted on the Palestinian masses, their steadfastness
and the heroism and unity in struggle of the Palestinian fighters
defending the camps. We cannot cover all the details of the
Camp war in these pages. Instead we will highlight some facts
that explain why the war ended as it did, why the Damascus
agreement was signed and with what conditions.
The survivors of the merciless Israeli siege of West Beirut,
and the ensuing Sabra-Shatila massacre of September 1982,
were again subject to siege, and consequently diminishing
food, water and medical supplies. The month-long siege of
1985 was especially cruel because of the small area upon
which it was imposed: the refugee camps of Shatila, Sabra and
Bourj al Barajneh where facilities anyway are limited. Those
wounded by the incessant bombardment could not be properly
treated; disease began to spread, in addition to the fact that
Amal forces entered the Gaza Hospital, massacring and
arresting patients and medical personnel. Many of the
wounded, whose lives might otherwise have been saved, died
under these conditions, and people had to find ways to bury
them. The necessity of mass burials was one indication of how
quickly conditions became intolerable. One of these occurred
two weeks after the siege began, Families gathered in
Shatila’s cemetery to identify their dead, despite continued
sniping into the cemetery by the attackers. Eighty-three per-
sons were buried that day alone, in two mass graves. At the
time the war ended, over two hundred injured were trapped at
Table of Contents
Palestine
5 The Damascus Agreement
8 Rebuilding the Camps
9 Situation in Saida
10 The Palestinian Right Compromising on Details
i2 Military Operations Escalate
13 The Progressive Front for Trade Union Action
16 Palestinian Children in Camps in Syria
Lebanon
}18 The Islamic Meeting and the National Program
Arab World
20 Arab Reaction Meets in Casablanca
21 Sudan
22 Terror Attacks in Kuwait
World
|23 Youth Festival in Moscow
24 Who Benefitted from the TWA Highjacking?
|26 UN World Conference on Women
Culture
shassan Kanatani
Shatila and Bourj al Barajneh, the attackers having totally pre-
vented ambulances from entering Shatila. Only very limited
evacuation of wounded had been allowed from Bourj al Baraj-
neh. Seventy per cent of the houses were destroyed in Shatila
and Sabra where the attacking forces had brought in bulldoz-
ers to finish where their shelling left off. There was considera-
ble damage in Bourj al Barajneh as well.
Palestinian unity in struggle
Despite all this, the people of the camps had remained
steadfast, encouraged by fighters’ bravery and unity in defend-
ing the camps. This was the key to thwarting the ultimate aims
of the attacking forces. The Amal movement and their suppor-
ters had expected a limited operation and quick victory. They
wagered that the prevailing division in the ranks of the PLO
would give credibility to their false claim that Arafat had pro-
voked the battle, and that they were only attacking «right-wing
deviators». The people of the camps knew this claim to be
false. Moreover, they rejected in principle such a pretext for
armed assault on the camps. The fighters of all organizations
present in the camps joined in the defense. Their position was
reinforced by the PNSF leadership which made clear that Amal
and the Lebanese Army’s 6th Brigade were attacking the
camps as a whole, to eliminate them and end the Palestinians’
militant national role in Lebanon. The PNSF moreover pledged
to fight to the utmost to defend the camps and preserve Pales-
tinian rights to bear arms for continuing the liberation struggle.
On the basis of a clear political stand and unity, Palestinian
fighters fought valiantly. Young men and women volunteered
for special operations of certain suicidal consequences, to
relieve the siege. Aided by «unknown soldiers» from Lebanese
nationalist ranks, special operations were mounted to hit the
attackers from the rear.
Problems in the attackers’ ranks
The result was setbacks and demoralization in Amal's
ranks. This was revealed in many incidents, including the
movement's execution of a number of its own military cadres -
perhaps they had expressed doubts about this campaign;
perhaps they were held responsible for failure to overrun the
camps in a few days. Amal also had to bring reinforcements
from the South. This turned out to be a unit of «retrained»
deserters from Lahad's renegade South Lebanese Army.
Moreover, the attack on the camps created friction be-
tween Amal and other Lebanese nationalist forces. People who
were in West Beirut at the time report that there was wide-
spread criticism of Amal’s actions among the Lebanese popu-
lation at large, including portions of the Shiite community. The
prolonged defense of the camps had its effect on the Arab
level. Those who had backed Amal's assault on the pretext of
fighting Arafat, were left without cover, because the PNSF,
known for opposition to the right-wing policy, took a clear pos-
ition on the real aims of the camp war. Arab regimes, as well as
international allies of the Palestinian and Arab people, urged
the end of the war, creating added pressure. The attackers
were forced to realize that their goals could not be achieved by
such means.
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