ABSTRACT
The Israeli ‘Peace for Galilee’ military operation provided the political opportunity for Lebanon to recover its sovereignty and for the Maronites to reconsolidate their dominant position in the hierarchy of power. The Syrian forces were forced out of Beirut and suffered a severe beating in aerial and ground fighting with Israeli forces. Israel downed approximately 120 Syrian warplanes while losing only two of its own aircraft. About 9,000 PLO terrorists including Yasir Arafat were expelled from Beirut by Israel’s policy of compellence in laying siege to the capital city. It seemed that the Christians of Lebanon would now achieve their confessional and national ambition thanks not to the historic French or more contemporary American patron, but to the determined Jews of Israel.
