Learn about the history of the Palestinian struggle for freedom, equality and justice by exploring major events in the history of their oppression on this day of the year.
24 May
LEBANESE RESISTANCE DEFEATS ISRAELI OCCUPATION
On this day in 2000, Israel announced that it was accelerating the withdrawal of all its troops from South Lebanon. All Israeli forces had withdrawn by the end of the following day, more than six weeks before its stated deadline of 7 July. Some estimate that over 1,000 soldiers were killed during the 22-year occupation by resistance fighters who became more successful each year in exacting a price from the Israeli military and its South Lebanon Army ally. Lebanese snipers exacted more casualties as the Israeli forces pulled out.
المقاومة اللبنانية تهزم الاحتلال الإسرائيلي
24 مايو
في مثل هذا اليوم من عام 2004 ، أعلنت إسرائيل أنها ستسحب جميع قواتها من جنوب لبنان. وكانت جميع القوات الإسرائيلية قد انسحبت بحلول نهاية اليوم التالي ، أي قبل أكثر من ستة أسابيع من الموعد النهائي المعلن في 7 يوليو / تموز. يقدر البعض أن أكثر من 1000 جندي قُتلوا خلال 22 عامًا من الاحتلال على يد مقاتلي المقاومة الذين أصبحوا أكثر نجاحًا كل عام في تحصيل ثمن من الجيش الإسرائيلي وحليفه في جيش لبنان الجنوبي. وتسبب قناصة لبنانيون في سقوط المزيد من الضحايا بعد انسحاب القوات الإسرائيلي
The beginning - the invasion in 1982
Chris Drake of the BBC, describing the ferocious bombing of August 1, referred to “The PLO - which can rightfully claim to have fought a tremendous battle against overwhelming military opposition…” An Israeli journalist, a reserve sergeant in the paratroops, wrote that “the PLO fighters fought bravely in Beirut confronted with the Israeli machine of destruction. They continued to fight, in spite of the fact that they had no military chance, just as was the case for the Jewish fighters 40 years ago in the Warsaw ghetto,* in 1943.(Chomsky, Fateful Triangle, p.536)
When the Israeli mass killing in Beirut was underway, Time magazine reported "a remarkable transformation of opinion in this beleaguered city. Instead of desperately wanting the P.L.O. to leave in order to avoid further bloodshed. Lebanese civilians we talked to all over West Beirut now want to see Israel defeated. The Israeli attacks were directed not just against Palestinian military positions but at hospitals, schools, apartment houses, government offices and shipping centers. Everything became a target, and so did the people of West Beirut in what has become known as “the great siege.” (Fateful Triangle, p.434)
The end - the withdrawal under fire - Chaos and humiliation as Israel pulls out of Lebanon
Yesterday's clash, which raged for more than an hour, while refugees cowered behind cars or paltry pieces of luggage, encapsulated Israel's worst nightmare. After two decades and the loss, according to estimates, of more than 1,000 men, Israel's chaotic withdrawal from southern Lebanon leaves its northern flank dangerously exposed, with Hizbullah guerrillas sitting directly on its border.
With the fighters of its proxy militia, the South Lebanese Army (SLA) fleeing headlong with their families to crossings all along the border, the scale of the Israeli fiasco was beginning to unfold yesterday.
18-minute 1997 video from ABC Australia on Israel's 'Vietnam'