Sabra and Shatila massacre was the 16–18 September 1982 killing of between 1300 and 3500 civilians—mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shias—in the city of Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. It was perpetrated by the Lebanese Forces, one of the main Christian militias in Lebanon, and supported by IOF that had surrounded Beirut’s Sabra neighbourhood and the Shatila refugee camp.

  • itsoctober@lemmy.mlEnglish
    9·
    1 day ago

    Here’s recent US secretary of state Antony Blinken’s thoughts on it in the 80s:

    the horrors of Shatila and Sabra obscure what we must hope will be the Jewish state’s eventual salvation: a working, vibrant democracy … Israel is not, has never been, nor will ever be the irreproachable, perfectly moral state some of its supporters would like to see. Israelis are, after all, only human. Still, one pedestal the Jewish state can stand on–and stand on alone in the Middle East–is that of a democracy. Yes, there are tragic excesses in the occupied territories. True, the invasion of Lebanon claimed many innocent lives. The fact remains, though, that Israelis question themselves and their government openly and honestly. Eventually, as in other democracies, those responsible for wrongdoing are held accountable. (“Israel’s Saving Grace,” 1982)

    There is much to be dismayed-even horrified-about. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of innocent civilians killed, and thousands more made homeless. … As grievance piles upon grievance, the anti-Israeli rhetoric becomes venomous, hateful. … The terrible waste of life and destruction notwithstanding, justification for the fight undertaken by Israel can be easily found … the history of the Middle East since 1948 shows Israel constantly striving for peace, only to be rebuffed time and again by the Arabs … Israel is the victim of a perverse double standard. When the Jews assert their right to a secure homeland, the world calls them “war-mongers” and “Nazis.” When the PLO tries to destroy Israel through terrorism, other nations sympathize with a people who “just wants a place to call home.” (“Lebanon and the Facts,” 1982)

    The summer of 1982 may be remembered in history as the time Israel passed from adolescence to adulthood. The illusions of a child are left behind. But the Jewish state remains special, an oasis in a desert. Its citizens have built a working democracy from scratch in a region that has no others. Israelis must treasure that democracy, protect it with all their will. (“The Danger Within,” 1983)