Sabra and Shatila Massacre

amother

Mon, Jul 21 2014, 1:17 pm

I recently heard about the Sabra and Shatila Massacre.

What happened? Were the Israelis the ones who actually massacred or just complicit in enabling it?

Is there a good source of information?

ora_43

Mon, Jul 21 2014, 1:27 pm

Israelis were allied with Lebanese Christian groups during fighting in Lebanon.

At one point, a Christian militia went into the Palestinian-Arab camps Sabra and Shatila, while Israeli troops guarded the perimeter. The stated purpose of the mission was for the militia to capture terrorists. But they went in and basically started killing people indiscriminately. Estimates vary about how many people were killed, but it was probably around 1,000.

Israel was widely blamed b/c people said the Israeli troops should have realized that what was going on in the camp was a massacre not a normal arrest operation. Even Israel accused its troops of negligence, ftr, and the commander in charge - Ariel Sharon - was forced to resign.

He was later elected Prime Minister, though, so apparently the public didn't think he was guilty.

ora_43

Mon, Jul 21 2014, 1:28 pm

There are a lot of sources of information. What kind of reading do you want to do? Like, articles, books?

You can always start with Wikipedia.

blueberries

Mon, Jul 21 2014, 1:35 pm

Op why are you bringing this up now? Are you serious? We have soldiers that are dying and you want to discuss this now. Rolling Eyes

June

Mon, Jul 21 2014, 1:39 pm

blueberries wrote:

Op why are you bringing this up now? Are you serious? We have soldiers that are dying and you want to discuss this now.

this was my first reaction, but to be dlkz, it could be OP was challenged by someone anti-israel on social media about it, and she wants to know how to respond. I've seen a lot of vicious anti-Israel statements recently that are false or greatly exaggerated.

amother

Mon, Jul 21 2014, 1:44 pm

blueberries wrote:

Op why are you bringing this up now? Are you serious? We have soldiers that are dying and you want to discuss this now. Rolling Eyes

I asked about it now because this was the first I've heard of it. It was mentioned by someone online showcasing one of the reasons Arabs don't trust Israelis. I don't know why "now" is wrong.

amother

Mon, Jul 21 2014, 1:45 pm

ora_43 wrote:

There are a lot of sources of information. What kind of reading do you want to do? Like, articles, books?

You can always start with Wikipedia.

Thank you for the information.

I found wikipedia to be a bit confusing. I would like to read something not too long or too graphic, but something that explains the whole situation.

amother

Mon, Jul 21 2014, 1:51 pm

It's never a bad time to read up on history. Check a few sources to get balanced input. The book "The Prime Ministers" by Yehuda Avner has a chapter devoted to it. And Wikipedia has a summary.