page_title: William Hawi
section_title: Liberation battles
hierarchical_section_title: William Hawi / Biography / National struggle / Military decisions / Liberation battles
caption_attribution_description: English: William Hawi with Amine Gemayel at Tel al-Zaatar (1976) العربية: وليم حاوي (الثاني من اليسار) وإلى جانبه الرئيس اللبناني الأسبق أمين الجميل في حصار مخيم تل الزعتر للاجئين الفلسطينيين عام 1976م
context_page_description: William Amine Hawi, –, was a Lebanese-American businessman and a leader and militia commander of the Kataeb Party better known in English as the Phalange, a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon.
  He was appointed Head of the second and Fourth Districts, President of the Recruitment Bureau, Head of the Department of Security, Sport and Mobilization on May 29, 1952, and member of the Political Bureau on July 12, 1952. On June 16, 1958, William Hawi was in charge of organizing and leading the activists during the Lebanese events; this constituted the hub of the Party's Regulatory Forces. On January 23, 1961, the Political Bureau dissolved the militants' organization before including its members in the Lebanese Phalange Party and Hawi created the Regulatory Forces. On February 6, 1961, William Hawi was appointed Head of said Forces. In 1963, the "First Commandos" unit was created. It was followed by the "Second Commandos" unit, then by the "B.G" troop. In 1973, the "Maghaweer" platoon was created and the "Combat School" established.
context_section_description: William Hawi engaged in a fight against corruption and in a battle for liberation when the Palestinians tried to control Beirut completely by isolating it with their surrounding military camps. The Quarantine camp fell within 24 hours under the attack orchestrated by William Hawi, which opened the road linking Beirut to Kesserouan and Byblos in December 1976. The camp of Jisr el Basha also fell after two days of the blockade organized by "Chef" William, paving the way for the liberation of the camp of Tell el Zaatar. However, the camp fell one building after the other. On July 11, 1976, the sources of the Lebanese allied forces announced the fall of the last bastion in Tell el Zaatar and declared that the Head of the Phalange War Council supervised this operation. On July 13, 1976, William Hawi was killed in the middle of the battlefield, before having the opportunity to celebrate his victory.
caption: William Hawi at Tell el Zaatar with former President Amine Gemayel
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