Word: habib
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Thanks to Habib's efforts, Jumblatt became a pivotal force in working for a settlement that would avoid a final military confrontation. But the Druze leader objected from the beginning to negotiating under the shadow of Israeli guns. After the committee's first meeting early last week, Jumblatt accused Sarkis and Wazzan of being Israeli "messengers" asking him to deliver the P.L.O. Said Jumblatt: "Why don't we invite Sharon and save time?" As he spoke, dozens of Israeli tanks occupied positions overlooking the presidential palace, where the committee held its meetings...
...middle of the second stormy session of the National Salvation Committee, Habib was summoned to the palace from the nearby residence of U.S. Ambassador Robert Dillon. Strongly urging the Americans to get Israel to cease hostilities, the committee informed Habib that they had agreed to a Palestinian plan for saving West Beirut. The P.L.O. proposals reportedly called for 1) an Israeli pullback to a distance of five kilometers from the capital, 2) the reopening of the Beirut-Damascus highway and 3) the return of the guerrillas to Palestinian refugee camps in and around Beirut, with the Lebanese army assuming...
Before he could do so, however, Israeli radio reported that the P.L.O. plan had been rejected by the Begin government because it did not provide for the disarming of the guerrillas or for their expulsion from Lebanon. Habib returned to the National Salvation Committee on Wednesday with the U.S. plan for a settlement. First, both the P.L.O. and Israel would agree to a ceasefire. Second, the P.L.O. would lay down its arms, and the 25,000-man Lebanese army would enter West Beirut to collect the weapons and take charge of the city. (At week...
...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...