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111101 entriesfrom the booksonly where the books disagree
chronologiesallThe road to war 1968–1974The Lebanese war 1975–1990After the war 1991–2005July 2006, as the books tell it 2006Since 2005 2005–2025
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14 entries on 14 dates · the books disagree on 14

February 1972

February 1972: day not established

The road to war · From the books

The Israeli army invades the south as far as the Litani.
Picard counts over 100 dead and over 150 houses destroyed as Israeli troops, aiming to disable the fedayeen and their Lebanese backers, drove south to several points on the Litani.

Sources differ: Picard gives one toll, 'on each occasion', for this and the September 1972 invasion alike.

\_this day in full

September 1972

Saturday, 16 September 1972

The road to war · From the books

After Munich, Israel invades South Lebanon for three days.
Israeli forces entered the south in reprisal for the Munich Olympics attack on Israeli athletes, striking Nahr al-Bared camp and southern and Bekaa villages. The Lebanese army held them up for two days; they left after three, destroying bridges and houses on the way out. De Clerck & Malsagne count 118 dead.

Sources differ: Death toll 118 (de Clerck & Malsagne) or more than 100 (Picard). Only de Clerck & Malsagne give the day.

\_this day in full \_on this day

November 1972

Friday, 3 November 1972

The road to war · From the books

Workers at the Ghandour factories begin an open-ended strike.
On 3 November 1972 an indefinite strike began at the Ghandour confectionery group, Lebanon's largest non-unionised industrial workforce. Workers wanted their factory committee recognised, the right to unionise, equal wages for women and higher pay.

Sources differ: Workforce: 1,200 in Shiyah (Traboulsi) or about 1,250 in Choueifat plus 350 in Chiyah (Tufaro).

\_this day in full \_on this day

Saturday, 11 November 1972

The road to war · From the books

Police fire on Ghandour strikers, killing two.
Two workers died on 11 November 1972 when security forces opened fire outside Ghandour's Chiyah plant: Fatima al-Khawaja of the Communist Party and Yusuf al-Attar of the OCA's workers' committees. Others were wounded. De Clerck & Malsagne call it the first workers' protest since independence put down with deadly force.

Sources differ: Wounded: 14 (Traboulsi) or 19, including 13 policemen (de Clerck & Malsagne).

\_this day in full \_on this day

December 1972

Friday, 15 December 1972

The road to war · From the books

Ghandour locks out and dismisses its workers.
Talks failed; the company locked out and sacked its whole workforce. Traboulsi says it reopened after a week, taking back all but 100 it saw as ringleaders; Tufaro describes a six-month lockout that fresh protests ended, with the demands unmet.

Sources differ: Length of the lockout: one week (Traboulsi) against a declared six months (Tufaro).

\_this day in full \_on this day

1972

1972 (month not given): day not established

The road to war · From the books

The last parliamentary elections before the war.
After the 1972 general elections there were none for twenty years; the parliament they chose sat through the whole war. Hanf rates them Lebanon's cleanest and freest; Traboulsi stresses how little they let new forces in.

Sources differ: Hanf: Lebanon's freest elections; Traboulsi, citing Le Monde: a chamber hardly representing public opinion.

\_this day in full

January 1973

Tuesday, 23 January 1973

The road to war · From the books

The army fires on tobacco growers, killing two.
Two peasants died on 23 January 1973 when soldiers fired on protesting tobacco growers. About 20,000 rallied in Beirut in support, and clashes spread across Lebanon.

Sources differ: Place: Nabatieh (Traboulsi) or Kfar Remmaneh-Nabatieh (Tufaro). Aftermath: 20,000 in Beirut 'a few days later' (Traboulsi) or a march from the South to Beirut the next day (Tufaro); possibly the same event.

\_this day in full \_on this day

April 1973

Tuesday, 10 April 1973

The road to war · From the books

Israeli commandos kill three PLO leaders in rue Verdun, Beirut.
During the night of 9 to 10 April, Israeli commandos came ashore and drove into West Beirut in hired cars. Fatah's Abu Yusuf al-Najjar and Kamal Adwan and the poet Kamal Nasser, PLO spokesman, were killed at home, within about a hundred metres of a police barracks; commandos also landed at Sidon. By the time the army was alerted, the raiders had left.

Sources differ: Operation name: 'Verdun' (de Clerck & Malsagne chronology), 'Wrath of God' (de Clerck & Malsagne, p. 50) or 'Aviv Ne'urim' (Ménargues). Fisk adds that the wife of one leader was killed; de Clerck & Malsagne mention civilian collateral victims. Hanf alone mentions targets in Sidon.

\_this day in full \_on this day

mid-April 1973 (days after 10 April): day not established

The road to war · From the books

Huge funerals for the PLO leaders; Prime Minister Salam resigns.
When Saeb Salam demanded the removal of the army commander, General Iskandar Ghanem, Frangieh refused and Salam resigned. Huge crowds mourned the three leaders; Traboulsi says they were angry at an army used against Lebanese, not for defence.

Sources differ: Crowd size: a quarter of a million (Traboulsi) or nearly 100,000 (de Clerck & Malsagne).

\_this day in full

May 1973

Tuesday, 1 May 1973

The road to war · From the books

Palestinian guerrillas abduct three Lebanese soldiers.
The May 1973 crisis began when members of the Popular and Democratic Fronts abducted three Lebanese soldiers as hostages for the release of detained Palestinians.

Sources differ: Kidnappers: PFLP and DFLP (Hanf) or DFLP (de Clerck & Malsagne).

\_this day in full \_on this day

Thursday, 3 May 1973

The road to war · From the books day (disputed)

The Lebanese air force bombs Palestinian camps in Beirut.
The Lebanese air force was used against the camps: Hanf writes that it bombed Burj al-Barajneh in response to rockets launched at the airport from inside the camp.

Sources differ: 3 May and Burj al-Barajneh (Traboulsi) against 2 May and the Sabra-Shatila area (de Clerck & Malsagne); Hanf gives Burj al-Barajneh without a day. They may be separate raids.

Other date in the books: Wednesday, 2 May 1973

\_this day in full \_on this day

Thursday, 17 May 1973

The road to war · From the books

The Melkart protocol ends the army-PLO fighting.
On 17 May, after Frangieh bowed to Arab pressure and halted the army, a West Beirut hotel hosted the Melkart signing: no more Palestinian raids into Israel, and a joint army-Palestinian commission. Hanf says it reaffirmed Cairo and proved as ineffective.

Sources differ: 17 May (de Clerck & Malsagne, Picard) or end of fighting on 18 May followed by the agreement (Hanf). De Clerck & Malsagne say it amended the Cairo Agreement; Hanf that it reaffirmed it.

\_this day in full \_on this day

June 1973

June 1973: day not established

The road to war · From the books

The future Lebanese National Movement is launched at the Byblos Cinema.
In June 1973 opponents of a draft law curbing political parties met in force at the Byblos Cinema and founded the Rally of National and Democratic Parties and Personalities, later the Lebanese National Movement.

Sources differ: De Clerck & Malsagne date Jumblatt's leadership of the National Movement from 1969; Traboulsi dates the launch of the Rally that became the LNM to June 1973. The two may refer to different stages.

\_this day in full

July 1973

July 1973: day not established

The road to war · From the books

In Dekwaneh, Palestinian gunmen fight the army, the Phalange and Eddé's supporters.
According to Traboulsi, Dekwaneh, the suburb beside Tall al-Za'tar camp, saw the first fight pitting armed Palestinians against the army, Phalangists and Raymond Eddé's supporters. It was already public knowledge that the Phalange and Chamoun's party were giving their members weapons and training.

Sources differ: Picard dates 'the first serious skirmish' between fedayeen and Kataeb, in Beirut's northern suburbs, to July 1974; Hanf already records Kataeb-Palestinian fighting at Dekwaneh in March 1970. Same month, different years: possibly one event misdated, possibly two.

\_this day in full