ABSTRACT
The Arab leaders seemed shocked by Francois Mitterand remark that Lebanon, occupied by the Israelis, "was already occupied by two other armies, that of the Syrians and that of the Palestinians." The assault and destruction of the capital of Lebanon would compromise, painfully and in a permanent manner, the future of the entire country and of peace throughout the region. The entry of Israeli forces into Lebanon came barely hours after the Security Council called for "the cessation of all military activity" and just before Philip Habib's arrival in the Middle East. The declaration on the Middle East adopted by the Ten at the European Council of Brussels represented yet another attempt to convince the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to take a more moderate line, and to encourage Arafat to come to an agreement with King Hussein. The PLO quickly reconstituted part of its forces beneath the Syrian umbrella.
