Sadr initially advocated for non-violence during the early stages of the Lebanese Civil War, but when a deadly explosion took place at a training camp in the Beqaa Valley, he acknowledged, in July 1975, the existence of "Amal" (Arabic acronym for "Lebanese Resistance Brigades") as the military wing of the Movement of the Dispossessed. Amal grew rapidly in size, though with an increasingly weaker central command. This, in addition to the growing military presence of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Shiite lands in the south and its use of methods like torture, increased tension between the two parties.&lt;ref name="31/113"&gt;; &lt;/ref&gt; At first, the Shiites, particularly the ones living in the south, were generally supportive of the PLO, to which Amal was originally allied. But relations between the PLO and Amal were further strained by the latter's decision to support the Syrian intervention of 1976 against the Lebanese National Movement-PLO coalition. Sadr also drew criticism from within the Shiite community when, later in 1976, he struck a deal with Maronite Phalangist forces besieging the al-Nabaa district of Beirut, allowing the relocation of 100,000 Shiites, among whom were Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, from the neighborhood to Jabal Amel and the Beqaa. When Israel launched Operation "Litani" in 1978 against the PLO in South Lebanon, disproportionate damage was inflicted upon the Shiite community, as it was caught in the crossfire. Sadr himself criticized the PLO for provoking the conflict, and supporters of Amal shifted to blaming the Palestinians for their community's plight. Violent clashes between Amal and the various Palestinian factions operating in the country became more frequent between 1978 and the Israeli invasion of 1982. The IDF operation, which eventually succeeded in routing the PLO out of Lebanon, was welcomed by a portion of the southern Shiite community, given that it aimed to destroy their Palestinian foes.