Word: habib
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...after day, the unnerving calm stretched on. The truce between Israeli invaders and Palestinian defenders that had been in effect for more than a week threatened to break down at any moment with potentially disastrous results for the entire region. As talks continued, with U.S. Special Envoy Philip Habib serving as chief negotiator, there appeared to be just two possible outcomes: 1) a large-scale withdrawal from Lebanon of all or most of the Palestine Liberation Organization's 6,000 fighting men based in West Beirut; 2) an Israeli onslaught against the P.L.O.'s redoubt, leading...
...Habib's task was to reconcile Israel's blunt demand that the Palestinians lay down their arms and flee the country with the P.L.O.'s plea for an "honorable surrender." On Monday the P.L.O. presented Habib with a set of requests. The most important was the retention of a "symbolic" military presence in Lebanon in the form of two armed brigades that would be commanded by the Lebanese army. The P.L.O. has similar arrangements in Jordan and Syria. In addition, the organization asked that it be allowed to maintain its own armed police force in the Palestinian...
Though few specifics were known of the Habib negotiations in Beirut, one senior U.S. diplomat declared that the talks had reached the "rug merchant stage," implying that the various sides were haggling over the details of a P.L.O. withdrawal. By the end of the week, all parties were believed to have accepted the main principles of the U.S.-Lebanese plan. The P.L.O. realized that it must move its basic operations out of Lebanon, while the Israelis grudgingly accepted the idea that the Palestinians could retain a political office of some kind in Beirut...
...confusion increased and the Israeli attacks intensified, a mood of despair settled over the city and the negotiators. Instead of proceeding to Jerusalem, as previously announced, Habib remained in Beirut. Then, on Friday, came the Reagan-sponsored cease-fire and new hopes for a peaceful solution...
...Palestinians would withdraw to their camps and be subject to Lebanese law and sovereignty. Our forces would be governed by a specific formula whereby they would be considered as allied to the Lebanese army. Habib and the Israelis rejected all these positive suggestions. They insisted on imposing complete surrender, which we will not accept, not even consider, under the circumstances...