Word: habib
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...aimed only at clearing Palestine Liberation Organization guerrillas out of a 40-kilometer-deep zone along Israel's borders; as it turned out, the army pushed deep into Lebanon and laid siege to Beirut. Next Israel pledged not to occupy West Beirut if U.S. Special Envoy Philip Habib could arrange an evacuation of the P.L.O. fighters holed up there; after the assassination of Lebanese President-elect Bashir Gemayel, the Israelis went into West Beirut on the pretext of preventing disorder. Finally, Americans charged that Ambassador to Washington Moshe Arens assured them on Begin's behalf that the Israelis...
...Palestinians' safety was certainly a decision that came back to haunt Washington last week. The exact form in which the guarantee was extended is a matter of considerable dispute. P.L.O. Representative Jamal Sourani told TIME Correspondent Wilton Wynn that the P.L.O. had received the assurance "in writing from Habib." In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat asserted, "I have in hand a document" containing the guarantee; he said he had received it as a condition for agreeing to pull the P.L.O. fighters out of Beirut. In a speech in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, Arafat...
...officials insist that there was no such document. But they concede that Habib did give the P.L.O. oral promises through Lebanese intermediaries that the Palestinians would be safe. The reason, according to one senior White House aide: "We had guarantees from the Israelis, which we believed were adequate." When P.L.O. officials charge that the U.S. must share some responsibility for not preventing the massacre, another official admits: "Quite candidly, they have a case...
...reportedly in the process of leaving West Beirut. Once that positive step is completed, the United States should spare no effort to get all foreign forces out of Lebanon in accordance with the Habib plan. By sending U.S. troops back to Lebanon where they will be bolstered by French and Italian contingents, President Reagan has already made this goal more attainable...
...Israelis said it was necessary, after Gemayel's death, to prevent bloodshed. The Israeli Cabinet also claimed that 2,000 P.L.O. fighters had remained in the city in "blatant violation of the departure agreement." Declared Begin: "The terrorists cheated us. Not all of them got out. They deceived Philip Habib too. They left behind a considerable number of terrorists, together with their arms...