Info and links The Cause for Invasion The goal was to remake the political landscape to drive out the Palestine Liberation Organization and install a right wing Christian Lebanese leader prepared to sign a peace deal with Israel But Operation Peace for Galilee ended in failure Israel launched operation Peace for Galilee and invaded Lebanon in 1982 in what was sold to the Israeli public as a bid to drive the Palestine Liberation Organization back from the northern border Sharon went on to drive the PLO out of Lebanon and to try to install a more friendly regime there The Israelis stayed and their effort to install a new regime ended in disaster The Invasion was planned When in early June 1982 terrorists of the Abu Nidal organization a PLO splinter group badly wounded the Israeli ambassador in London during an assassination attempt Israel seized the pretext for launching its long planned offensive The Invasion was opposed by the US and the UN See U N Security Council Resolution 509 On June 6 President Reagan in France to meet with the G 7 Heads of Government at the Versailles Economic Summit dispatched Habib to Israel to try to restore the cease fire That same day the United States joined a unanimous U N Security Council Resolution demanding that Israel withdraw from Lebanon and that the border cease fire be observed by all parties Other details September 15 1982 Ariel Sharon arrives in Beirut to personally direct the IDF campaign The IDF launches sporadic shellfire at Sabra and Shatila September 15 1982 An Israeli divisional intelligence officer providing an update briefing on the situation in the camps reports to the Chief of Staff It seems there are no terrorists there in the camp Sabra camp is empty Kahan Commission Final Report p 24 Two Israeli paratroopers tell correspondent Michael Gerti On Thursday evening as darkness fell Palestinian women from Shatila arrived at the post and hysterically told us that the Phalangists were shooting their children and putting the men in trucks I reported this to my commander but all he said was It is okay do not worry My order was to tell the women to go back home However many women and entire families as well ran away from the camps to the north I went back and repeated my report over and over Each time however the answer was the same It is okay It was possible to stop the massacre in Shatila even on Thursday had they acted on what we reported to our commander Ha aretz September 23 1982 05 25 2004 Dec 3 UTC