Israel Today – Adapted
Within the week when the newspaper headlines warn of an imminent war with Hezbollah along the northern borders, Israel commemorates the 41st anniversary of the 1982 Lebanon War. Also known to Israelis as the “Safety of Jalil” Campaign.
On June 6th, 1982, the Israeli government ordered its army to get prepared for the “Safety of Jalil” campaign. It aimed to spotless all Palestinian northern towns from the fire ring of freedom fighters in Lebanon. Technically, the campaign's goals went further. It mainly focused on removing the Syrian control imposed on Lebanon, and establishing Israeli pro-government relations in Beirut.
However, none of these goals were fulfilled. Rather, Israel dwelled on the Lebanese crisis, which it couldn't overcome until after 17 years, in April 2000. At the time, Israel withdrew from Lebanon and thus immediately discovered the location of the PLO, which Israel kicked out of Lebanon. In that connection, Hezbollah supplanted it and started to work against the Israeli occupation forces in the security belt south of Lebanon. Even though Israel withdrew from the security belt on March 24th, 2000, Hezbollah continued to carry out resistance works along the borders, the foremost of which was on August 12th, 2006, which led to the second Lebanon War.
When a new conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which appears to be only a matter of time, arises, it is critical to keep in mind the lessons learned from the Lebanon's First War, both in terms of its merits and demerits.