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53-570: The South Lebanon security belt administration was a local provisional governance body in South Lebanon, in the South Lebanon security belt areas. It replaced the Free Lebanon State institutions and operated from 1985 until 2000 with full Israeli logistic and military support. It controlled 328 square miles of territory in southern Lebanon. During its functioning years, the administration

106-612: A number of members were reportedly granted asylum in European countries (primarily Germany ). Others who remained in Lebanon surrendered to authorities or were captured by Hezbollah and handed over to the police. SLA members captured by Lebanon and Hezbollah were tried by Lebanese military courts for treason . Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak was criticized in Israel by the Jewish settler movement on

159-478: A number of years. Of those who initially fled to Israel, many SLA members and their families eventually chose to return to Lebanon after Hezbollah promised they would not be harmed. Others accepted Israel's offer of full citizenship and a financial package similar to that granted new immigrants, and settled permanently in Israel. On April 6, 2006, the Israeli Knesset Finance Committee approved

212-748: A progressive loss of morale and members. In 1997, Israel maintained approximately 1,000 to 1,200 troops in southern Lebanon and supported another 2,000 in the SLA. By 2000 the SLA was reduced to 1,500 soldiers, compared to 3,000 ten years earlier. At its peak during the early 1980s, the SLA was composed of over 5,000 soldiers. The increase in Israeli casualties in Lebanon over the previous few years led to growing domestic pressure for an end to Israel's military presence in Lebanon. Ehud Barak 's Labor Party pledged during his March 1999 election campaign for Prime Minister to withdraw Israeli troops from Lebanon by July 2000. Barak won

265-669: A victory in the May 1999 elections . On 1 June 1999, the South Lebanon Army began dismantling its TV station and headquarters in Jezzine. In the following two weeks they withdrew from the town and thirty six surrounding villages. Retreating SLA members and their families commandeered empty houses in Marjayun , Ibl al-Saqi and Kawkaba in the Indian UNIFIL zone. At the time it was estimated that

318-597: The 1985–2000 South Lebanon conflict . At the time of Israel's Operation Accountability , Hezbollah claimed to have 3,000 fighters. Other reports estimated that the number was probably 600–700. Other groups who fought against Israel and the SLA were the PFLP–GC , a Syria -based Marxist–Leninist and Palestinian nationalist organization, and the Popular Guard of the Lebanese Communist Party . The launching of

371-624: The Good Fence by Israel in 1976 coincided with the beginning of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975 and Israeli support for Christian militias against the Palestine Liberation Organization . From 1977 onwards, Israel allowed Maronites and their allies to find employment in Israel and provided assistance in exporting goods through the Israeli port city of Haifa . The main border crossing through which goods and workers crossed

424-692: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was deployed along the Israel–Lebanon border. Following increased attacks in northern Israel and the attempted assassination of Israeli diplomat Shlomo Argov , Israel invaded Lebanon to displace the PLO from along its border, triggering the 1982 Lebanon War . By 1985, Israel had withdrawn to a front designated as a "Security Zone" in Southern Lebanon, where it retained its forces to fight alongside

477-519: The internationally recognized border took place on 24 May 2000. The South Lebanon Army shortly collapsed, with most officers and administration officials fleeing to Israel with their families, as Hezbollah amounted pressure on the remaining units. When Israel allowed the pouring refugees in, some 7,000 refugees, including South Lebanon Army soldiers, Security Zone officials and their families arrived in Galilee. The South Lebanon security belt administration

530-691: The " security zone " (the area under occupation after a partial Israeli withdrawal in 1985). In return, Israel supplied the organization with arms, uniforms, and logistical equipment. The SLA hosted the Christian radio station Voice of Hope (established and funded by George Otis, founder of High Adventure Ministries ). Beginning in 1982, the SLA played host to Middle East Television (which was also established, funded, and operated by High Adventure Ministries). Otis gave Middle East Television (METV) to Televangelist Pat Robertson , founder of CBN . On May 2, 2000, Middle East Television relocated to Cyprus . In 1985

583-669: The Christian-led Army of Free Lebanon (AFL) aligned with the Christian-rightist militias of the Lebanese Front . Some Christian Lebanese Army officers commanding units based throughout the country joined the AFL with their men, including Major Saad Haddad , the commander of the 700-strong Marjayoun garrison in southern Lebanon . By late 1976, pressure from PLO and LNM-LAA militias finally forced Major Saad Haddad to evacuate

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636-517: The Government of Free Lebanon, on whose behalf the SLA had operated. The Government of Free Lebanon has operated from Jerusalem since 2000, and still claims to be the true government of Lebanon. The SLA was organized into two regions (western and eastern), each with its own infantry brigade. Each brigade consisted of three battalion-sized infantry regiments; the strength of support included several heavy-artillery batteries (155 and 130mm), subdivided into

689-656: The IDF carried out a phased withdrawal to a " Security Zone " along the border , which it said was to protect northern Israel. From this point onwards, Israel supported the South Lebanon Army (SLA), the Lebanese Christian paramilitary, against Hezbollah and other Muslim militants. They fought a guerrilla war in Southern Lebanon throughout the occupation. The Security Zone covered about 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi), roughly 10% of Lebanon's land area. It ran

742-710: The Lebanese Army and Tigers Militia ' militants – led by Major Sami Shidyaq , a Phalange militant. In January 1976, as a result of the ongoing civil war, the Lebanese Army began to break up into two rival factions, the Muslim-led Lebanese Arab Army (LAA) who sided with the Muslim-leftist militias of the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) and their allies of the PLO guerrilla factions, and

795-526: The PLO from along its border, triggering the 1978 South Lebanon conflict . After a week of fighting, the PLO withdrew from Southern Lebanon, and Israel increased its support for the Christian South Lebanon Army (SLA). In 1979, Saad Haddad , the founder of the SLA, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Free Lebanon with Israeli support. After Israel's withdrawal at the end of the operation,

848-577: The PLO's presence had become a severe nuisance for Christians and local residents, and Christian militias began to increasingly engage Palestinian militants in open conflict. From mid-1976 onwards, Israel began to assist Lebanon's Christian residents and militias through the " Good Fence " along the Israel–Lebanon border . Following the 1978 Coastal Road massacre of 38 Israeli citizens by Palestinian militants in Tel Aviv , Israel invaded Lebanon to displace

901-519: The SLA against Hezbollah and other Muslim militant groups , which marked the beginning of the 1985–2000 South Lebanon conflict . During the evacuation in the first Lebanon war, the command of the SLA was delivered into the hands of Antoine Lahad , who demanded and received Israeli permission to hold the Jezzine zone north of the strip. In the first years after the IDF withdrawal from the north part of Lebanon,

954-502: The SLA frequently engaged in armed clashes with Hezbollah , the Palestine Liberation Organization , and other militant groups. After Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon on 22 May 2000, the SLA positions collapsed in the face of Lebanese civilians and Hezbollah's advance towards South Lebanon and Saad Haddad's statue was dragged through the streets of Marjayoun. SLA members either fled to Israel, constituting Lebanese people in Israel , or were captured and tried for treason . In 1975, at

1007-411: The SLA had only four hundred men. On March 5, 2000, the Israeli cabinet voted unanimously for a full troop withdrawal from Lebanon by July. The expectation then was that such a withdrawal would be part of an agreement with Lebanon and Syria; however, negotiations with Syria broke down. On May 22, Israeli forces unilaterally began handing over their forward positions in the occupied zone to the SLA. As

1060-532: The SLA managed most of the occupied territory's affairs, including the operation of the Khiam detention centre . The SLA also controlled an enclave around Jezzine , just north of the Security Zone. Most of Israel's Security Zone lay within the area patrolled by United Nations peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), who had been deployed there since Israel's 1978 invasion . Although

1113-440: The SLA opened the Khiam detention center . Torture was a common tactic, and occurred on a large scale. Israel denies any involvement, and claims that Khiam was the sole responsibility of the SLA; this has been contested by human rights organizations such as Amnesty International . The SLA also imposed military conscription, under which males over 18 living in the territory it controlled served one year as military recruits. While

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1166-424: The SLA received funding, weapons, and logistics from Israel during its existence, the SLA did much fighting independent from Israeli forces. The SLA also handled all civilian governmental operations in Israel's zone of control. During the 1990s Hezbollah carried out increasingly effective attacks on the SLA, aided in later years by Lebanese army intelligence which had infiltrated it. These changed circumstances led to

1219-485: The SLA's activity was almost exclusively confined to southernmost Lebanon. Under the aegis of Israel , the militia was bolstered by the 1982 Lebanon War . It came under increasing Israeli supervision following the collapse of the State of Free Lebanon in 1984 and subsequent establishment of the South Lebanon security belt administration . As the most prominent pro-Israel militia in Israeli-occupied Lebanon ,

1272-527: The area considered them traitors and collaborators . In addition, they were told that Israel's border would be closed after the withdrawal. Many were terrified of being captured (and possibly killed) by Hezbollah guerrillas or vengeful mobs, or being jailed or executed by the Lebanese government. Many members of the SLA (including some with their families) fled to Israel; the Christian majority feared being suspected of serious offences committed by SLA members, and

1325-578: The capital of the Israeli-occupied belt. Some residents remaining in the Security Zone had contacts within Israel, many of whom worked there and received various services. South Lebanon Army The South Lebanon Army or South Lebanese Army ( SLA ; Arabic : جيش لبنان الجنوبي , Jayš Lubnān al-Janūbiyy ), also known as the Lahad Army ( جيش لحد ) or as the De Facto Forces ( DFF ),

1378-471: The chaotic nature of the withdrawal became obvious, civilians from the zone overran SLA positions to return to their occupied villages while Hezbollah guerrillas quickly took control of areas previously controlled by the SLA. The SLA in the central sector of the security zone collapsed in the face of the civilians and Hezbollah's rapid advance. The next day, SLA forward positions in the eastern sector collapsed and Israeli forces began their general withdrawal from

1431-483: The disintegration of the South Lebanon security belt administration. In 1993 estimates, the Security Zone had a population of 180,000. 50 percent were Shia Muslims , 10 percent were Maronites or Greek Orthodox Christians , 10 percent were Sunni Muslims , and 10 percent were Druze , most of whom lived in the town of Hasbaya . In the central zone of the Security Zone was the Maronite town of Marjayoun , which served as

1484-482: The end of the year, about 90 percent had been tried in military courts. It has been estimated that a third of the SLA members were sentenced to less than a month and another third received one-year sentences. Two members of the SLA accused of torture at Al-Khiam prison received life sentences. The death penalty was recommended for 21 SLA members, but in each case the military reduced the sentence. Certain other individuals were barred from returning to Southern Lebanon for

1537-528: The entire conflict. A total of 256 Israeli soldiers died in combat in South Lebanon from 1985 to 2000. In 2020, Israel recognized the conflict as a war, and retrospectively dubbed it the "Security Zone in Lebanon Campaign". Before the Israeli election in May 1999 the prime minister of Israel , Ehud Barak , promised that within a year all Israeli forces would withdraw from Southern Lebanon, effectively dropping

1590-416: The grounds that his decision to withdraw without consulting his SLA allies led to the speed and confusion of its collapse. Hezbollah was criticized for preventing the arrest of some members of the SLA; it justified this on the grounds that it was in a position to know who among them had been informants. By the next month (June 2000), 3,000 former SLA members were in the custody of the Lebanese government; by

1643-483: The group was no longer under the direct control of the Lebanese Army command, from 1976 to 1979 its members were still receiving their pay from the Lebanese central government. The 1978 Israeli invasion allowed the Free Lebanon Army to gain control over a much wider area in southern Lebanon. On April 18, 1979, Haddad proclaimed the area controlled by his force the "Independent Free Lebanon". The following day, he

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1696-471: The length of the Israel-Lebanon border and reached between 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to 20 kilometres (12 mi) deep into Lebanon. It was home to about 180,000 people – 6% of Lebanon's population – living in around a hundred villages and small towns. In 1993, it was estimated that there were 1,000–2,000 Israeli troops and 2,300 SLA troops in the zone. While the IDF oversaw the region's general security,

1749-436: The lives of their families. Hezbollah was headed by Sheikh Nasrallah . In July 1993 the IDF launched Operation Accountability which caused widespread destruction throughout Southern Lebanon but failed to end Hezbollah’s activities. On 11 April 1996 the Israeli army , navy and air force launched a seventeen day bombardment of southern Lebanon, Operation Grapes of Wrath , in which 154 Lebanese civilians were killed. At

1802-556: The massacre, SLA militiamen were known to still engage in brutality. Following Haddad's death from cancer in 1984, he was replaced as leader by retired Lieutenant General Antoine Lahad . In 1984 SLA militiamen were paid $ 300 a month. The SLA was closely allied with Israel. It supported the Israelis by fighting the PLO in southern Lebanon until the 1982 invasion. After that, SLA support for the Israelis consisted mainly of fighting other Lebanese guerrilla forces led by Hezbollah until 2000 in

1855-447: The muster was secretly carried by Lieutenant Ya'ir Ravid of the AMAN (the Israeli military intelligence service), who envisaged using them as a buffer force to prevent a Palestinian military build-up in the border area that could threaten the security of northern Israel. A second muster took place at Qlaiaa in early 1976, gathering a force of some 400 Christian soldiers – mostly deserters from

1908-527: The occupied strip was officially formed by Israel in 1985, following the collapse of the State of Free Lebanon and Israel's disengagement from most of Lebanon , it has its roots in the follow-up to and early stages of the Lebanese Civil War . In 1968, Palestinian militants led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had large-scale control over Southern Lebanon , from where they initiated an insurgency against Israel and Lebanese Christians . By 1975,

1961-631: The payment of 40,000 shekels per family to SLA veterans, payable over seven years. Many of the SLA fighters who settled in Israel later moved to the United States and Europe . Approximately 6,500 SLA fighters and family members moved to Israel, of whom 2,700 remained in the country permanently. They are mainly concentrated in Nahariya , Kiryat Shmona , Tiberias , Ma'alot-Tarshiha , and Haifa . As of 2021, there are 3,500 Lebanese in Israel , former SLA members and their families. Israel continues to host

2014-521: The post to Major (later, Colonel) Saad Haddad, in turn replaced upon his death from Cancer in January 1984 by another ex-LAF Officer, retired Lieutenant general Antoine Lahad , who was also a NLP sympathiser. The new FLA fought against various groups including the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Amal Movement and (after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon ) the emerging Hezbollah . While

2067-460: The remaining areas of the security zone. With the Israeli withdrawal, the SLA collapsed totally. The withdrawal was complete on Wednesday, May 24, 2000; the sight of Saad Haddad's statue being dragged through the streets of the Lebanese town of Marjayoun was a sure sign that the South Lebanon Army was gone. As the Israeli withdrawal rapidly progressed, SLA militiamen were left with few choices. The Lebanese government, Hezbollah and many civilians in

2120-587: The so-called "Free Lebanese Army" (FLA), formed in March 1978 under the auspices of another AMAN officer, reserve Major Yoram Hamizrachi . Primarily based at the towns of Marjayoun and Qlaiaa in southern Lebanon, and provisionally headquartered at the Hotel Arazim in Metula , Israel , the 1,200-strong FLA/SLA was initially placed under the overall command of Hamizrachi himself. In June 1978, Major Hamizrachi handed over

2173-618: The strip was relatively quiet. Over the years, the Lebanese militant groups, led by Sh'ite Hezbollah , increased on the Israeli side in the security belt. Driving on the roads became dangerous, and IDF forces stayed more in the military camps than on the roads. Hezbollah made many efforts to attack the IDF's military camps. On 27 July 1989 the Hizbullah leader in South Lebanon, Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid and two of his aides, were abducted from his home in Jibchit , by IDF commandos. The night-time raid

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2226-409: The support for the South Lebanon Army . When negotiation efforts between Israel and Syria, the goal of which was to bring a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon as well, failed due to Syrian control of Lebanon until 2005, Barak led to the decision of withdrawal of the IDF to the Israeli border. With the mounting pressure on South Lebanon Army and the South Lebanon security belt administration ,

2279-562: The system began to fall apart, with many members of the army and administration requesting political asylum in Israel and other countries. With mounting attacks of Hezbollah, the ranks of the South Lebanese Army deteriorated, with reduced conscription and high rates of desertion at lower ranks. In April 2000, when it was clear the Israeli withdrawal was about to happen within weeks or months, some SLA officials began moving their families to northern Israel. The Israeli complete withdrawal to

2332-410: The time, Israeli soldiers serving in Southern Lebanon received no ribbon for wartime military service, because Israel considered the maintaining of the security belt as a low-intensity conflict rather than a war. In early 2000, Chief-of-Staff Shaul Mofaz said that 1999 was "the IDF's most successful year in Lebanon" with 11 soldiers killed by hostiles in Southern Lebanon, the lowest casualty rate during

2385-604: The town and withdraw unopposed with his battalion to the village of Qlaiaa , close to the border with Israel . Here Maj. Haddad and his men placed themselves under the protection of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), eventually providing the cadre – after merging with the local Christian FLM, Shia Muslim and Druze militias, gathered since October 21, 1976, into the informal "Army for the Defense of South Lebanon" or ADSL ( French : Armée de Défense du Liban-Sud or ADLS) – of

2438-697: The town of Marjayoun in the Jabal Amel region of southern Lebanon, some local 300 Kataeb Regulatory Forces (KRF) and Guardians of the Cedars (GoC) militiamen were mustered together into the so-called "Free Lebanese Militia" – FLM ( Arabic : Al-Milishia Al-Lubnaniyyat Al-Hura ), ostensibly formed to defend the nearby Christian towns of Kfar Falous , Jezzine , Qlaiaa , Ain Ebel , Rumeish and surrounding villages threatened by Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and later by Lebanese Arab Army (LAA) attacks. In reality,

2491-650: Was Fatima Gate near Metula . This provided essential economic stability to the administration of the Free Lebanon State and the subsequent South Lebanon security belt administration . Israel states that, before 2000, approximately one-third of the patients in the ophthalmology department of the Western Galilee Hospital were Lebanese citizens who crossed the border through the Good Fence and received treatment free of charge. The Good Fence ceased to exist with Israel's withdrawal from Southern Lebanon in 2000 and

2544-592: Was a Christian -dominated militia in Lebanon . It was founded by Lebanese military officer Saad Haddad in 1977, amidst the Lebanese Civil War , and evolved to operate as a quasi-military during the South Lebanon conflict , basing itself in Haddad's unrecognized State of Free Lebanon . Initially, it was known as the "Free Lebanon Army" after it broke away from the Army of Free Lebanon , another Christian-dominated militia. After 1979,

2597-536: Was a Christian Lebanese provisional governance body that exercised authority in 850 square kilometres (330 sq mi) of the Israeli-occupied Security Zone. It replaced the institutions of the Free Lebanon State and operated from 1985 until 2000 with full Israeli logistical and military support. During its functioning years, the administration was headed by Antoine Lahad , a Maronite Christian military officer. The South Lebanon Army (SLA)

2650-586: Was a Lebanese Christian militia that was active during the Lebanese Civil War and its aftermath until its disbandment in 2000. It was originally named the Free Lebanon Army , which split from the Christian splinter faction of the Lebanese Army that was known as the Army of Free Lebanon . After 1979, the SLA operated in Southern Lebanon under the authority of Saad Haddad . It was supported by Israel , and became its primary ally against Hezbollah during

2703-541: Was branded a traitor by the Lebanese government and officially dismissed from the Lebanese Army under presidential decree No. 1924. Part of the Army of Free Lebanon returned to government control, while Haddad's part split away and was renamed the South Lebanon Army (SLA) in May 1980. In 1982, soldiers from the SLA were reported to have aided in the LF led Sabra and Shatila massacre . Though Haddad's men were cleared by an Israeli panel for

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2756-498: Was headed by Antoine Lahad , a Maronite Christian claiming the rank of general. Lahad's 2,400-strong South Lebanon Army , equipped and paid by Israel and supported by 1,000 Israeli troops was the armed force of the zone. This Israel -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to politics in Lebanon is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon From February to April 1985,

2809-537: Was planned by then Minister of Defence Yitzhak Rabin . Hizbullah responded by announcing the execution of Colonel Higgins a senior American officer working with UNIFIL who had been kidnapped in February 1988. On 16 February 1992, the then-leader of Hezbollah, Abbas Musawi , was assassinated by IDF's helicopter missiles. The IDF assumed that the Hezbollah leadership would curb their activities for fear of their lives and

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