Antoine Lahad Antoine Lahad ( born 1927 ) was a Lebanese general and leader of the South Lebanon Army ( SLA ) from 1984 until 2000 , when Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon and the SLA was dissolved . Early life . Born into a Maronite Catholic family in 1927 in the village of Al Qattara . He graduated from the Lebanese Military Academy in 1952 . Military career . Lahad took control of the SLA in 1984 , following the death of Saad Haddad , the founder of the SLA . Lahad was a Lebanese Army ( reserve officer ) who carried a major general rank . He was close to Lebanese president , Camille Chamoun , a Maronite . Trouble with Hezbollah . Lahad was condemned to death by Hezbollah following Israel ’ s occupation of southern Lebanon . Men were required to sign written pledges not to visit with Lahad or his people if they were traveling into southern Lebanon . His headquarters was known as Marja ’ uyun , which flew an Israeli flag flanked by two flags of Lebanon . Also in the compound was the Pat Robertson CBN broadcast center . Assassination attempted . In 1988 , a Lebanese woman , Souha Bechara , tried to assassinate Lahad . She had been raised in the Eastern Orthodox Church and had become a member of the Communist party . She was tasked with assassinating Lahad . Bechara disguised herself as an aerobics instructor to visit with Lahad ’ s family . On November 17 , 1988 while she was having tea with Lahad ’ s wife , he returned home . Bechara shot him twice in the chest . She was detained by his security team . Lahad spent eight weeks in the hospital and suffered health complications leaving his left arm paralyzed . Ally ' s withdrawal . When Israel withdraew from southern Lebanon in 2000 , Lahad was determined to carry on against Hezbollah . He pleaded for support from Israel , SLA collapse . Lahad never received the support , and the SLA collapsed following Israel ' s withdrawal . At the time , Lahad was in Paris with his family . He came to Israel after the remainder of the SLA disintegrated . In Lebanon , Lahad was sentenced to death for treason " in absentia " in case he ever returned . In a meeting with the Israeli Government Coordinator , Uri Lubrani , in May 2000 , Lahad expressed deep concern surrounding the appropriate treatment of SLA members who ended up in Israel following the withdrawal . Contrary to contemporary media reports , Lahad stated that Israeli Prime Minister , Ehud Barak , had not tricked him . He highlighted the importance of his country ’ s cooperation with Israel and cited the United Nations Security Council resolution 425 as a legitimate reason for Barak ’ s withdrawal of Israeli armed forces . Lubrani assured Lahad that SLA members would receive appropriate treatment and thanked him and his men for their " long struggle for peace " . Soon afterwards Lahad went to France to meet up with his family . Despite his family members living in France , the French authorities denied him permission to live in the country . Retirement to Israel . After being refused the right to settle in France , Lahad moved to Israel , and opened a Lebanese restaurant in Haifa . He was therefore nicknamed “ General Hummus ” by journalists . He released a Hebrew language autobiography in 2004 , entitled , " In the Midst of a Storm : An Autobiography " . In November 2006 , Lahad had an interview with Ynet . He asserted his opinion that Syria was behind the assassination of Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Amine Gemayel , As of March 19 , 2009 the Lebanese parliament was considering a law to grant amnesty for all crimes committed before April 27 , 2005 . If passed , this would include charges against Lahad .