|
Trending Topics
|
Source: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/israels-south-lebanon-withdrawal/
Israel's Flight from South Lebanon 20 Years On
(BESA Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Prof. Efraim Karsh and Maj.-Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen - On May 24, 2000, 18 years after invading Lebanon with the expressed goal of removing the longstanding terrorist threat to its northern towns, Israel hurriedly vacated its security zone in south Lebanon. Hizbullah exploited the demise of Israel's security zone to transform south Lebanon into a military stronghold crisscrossed with fortified defenses, both above ground and in a complex underground tunnel system, designed to serve as a springboard for terror attacks on Israeli territory and to shelter Hizbullah's burgeoning rocket and missile arsenal. Prof. Efraim Karsh is director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, where Maj.-Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen is a senior research fellow.