Chronology / 1978

Lebanese war chronology - 1978

January 6, 1978		The Begin Plan concerning the settlement of Palestinians in Lebanon made some noise. The Lebanese reacted with firmness and indignation to the conspiracy initiated by foreign countries. According to Salim El Hoss, 'Every project expecting the settlement of Palestinians outside of their land is rejected.' The President of the Republic also rejected any project stipulating the permanent settlement of Palestinians in Lebanon. 'Our country should determine itself what it is able to offer. It is unfair to solve the Palestinian question by creating a Lebanese problem. We will make every effort to let our right prevail', he said.
January 10, 1978		Within 3 weeks, four explosive charges were placed next to Saeb Salam's home.
January 20, 1978		A new armament and US equipment shipment sent to the Lebanese Army and the Internal Security Forces arrived at the Port of Beirut. It included a hundred armored vehicles and cistern trucks.
January 22, 1978		The Lebanese Front adopted a coexistence formula. Leaders of the Lebanese Front, gathered at President Frangieh's home in Zghorta since the day before, inaugurated their seminar which main themes were the national understanding, the project of Palestinians settlement in Lebanon, and the internal organization of the Front itself. Their final press release made it clear that the Palestinian presence constituted an obstacle to the national understanding and that Lebanon rejected any kind of union.
January 24, 1978		The Lebanese Front was alarmed : armaments were unloaded in Tyr.
January 25, 1978		The Parliament extended its mandate until the first of June 1980.
January 26, 1978		Feyrouz played Queen of ' Petra ', the play that the Rahbani brothers wrote and presented at the Picadilly Theatre. Assi Rahbani was the Director, Abdel-Hamid Caracalla was in charge of the scenography, Papou Lahoud did the costumes, and Ghazi Kahwaji the decoration.
January 29, 1978		A bomb attack damaged seriously the Tunisian embassy in Beirut, without, however, causing any victim.
February 1, 1978		An explosion injured 18 persons in Bourj. It was caused by a grenade hidden in a parked car.
February 2, 1978		Michel Sardou caused the walls at the Casino du Liban to vibrate.
February 7, 1978		A serious incident occurred in Fayadieh. Lebanese Soldiers fought with elements of the Arab Strike Force. Shots were exchanged followed by heavy armaments shootings.
February 25, 1978		It is the first night, at the Casino du Liban theater, of the ' Akhwat Loubnan ' show written and interpreted by Nabih Aboulhosn.
February 27, 1978		Diverse shows were scheduled in Lebanon. 'We Belnesba la bokra chou?' by Ziad Rahbani was a triumph at the Orly Theater.
March 8, 1978		The US government agreed on granting Lebanon an agricultural loan of the amount of 8,800,000 dollars.
March 14, 1978		Israel invaded the South, after an operation executed by the Fedayin on March 11 at Tel Aviv. 25,000 men backed by the aviation, armored vehicles and artillery invaded, within 2 hours, a tenth of Lebanon and forced Palestinians to withdraw to the North of the Litani. A first estimate reported 700 deaths and 160,000 displaced persons. Refugees rushed to Beirut causing a serious social problem. Air raids bombarded Damour, Ouzaï, and Tyr.
March 15, 1978		According to a report issued by the Ministry of Finance, the losses in the public sector were estimated at 7.5 billion Lebanese Pounds.
March 19, 1978		The Security council adopted the 425 Resolution which stipulated the expedition of 4,000 blue helmets to confirm the withdrawal of the Israeli forces. They had also to assist the Lebanese government in the restoration of its authority in the region.
March 22, 1978		The first ' Blue Helmets ' arrived to the South.
March 23, 1978		General Gour, from the Israeli army, affirmed that Israeli withdrawal from the South of Lebanon would start within a few days.
March 27, 1978		' The 'National parliamentary gathering', a Shiite block, was created under the presidency of Kamel El Assaad.
March 29, 1978		The Arab Strike Force's mandate was extended for another 6 months.
March 30, 1978		A little bit of cheerfulness in the midst of despair ! The Boney M gave a flamboyant show to a heartbroken Lebanese audience.
April 11, 1978		Violent fights were reported on the axis Chyah-Ain el Remmaneh. The Arab Strike Force intervened, bombing violently Ain el Remmaneh and establishing a 500-meter wide buffer zone.
April 19, 1978		The Hoss government, formed in December of 1976, resigned. El Hoss himself was soon asked, on April 28, to form the new government.
April 23, 1978		At the Villa Mansour, the committee of the ' Thirteen ', that included leaders from all parliamentary blocks, adopted a blueprint claiming the end of the Palestinian armed action on the entire Lebanese territory. The Parliament unanimously approved the resolution on the 27th of April.
April 28, 1978		A building collapsed on refugees from South Beirut causing tens of victims.
May 2, 1978		A fight opposed the UNIFL and the Palestinians. The French barrack in Tyr was bombed and the commander of the French contingent was seriously injured.
May 6, 1978		Several civil victims were reported during a violent bombardment of Ain el Remmanneh. As usual, there were contradictory versions of the incident.
May 7, 1978		The 'Mikhael Naimy' week was inaugurated under the patronage of the President of the Republic. This event was a Lebanese tribute to the great thinker and writer who stirs up Lebanon's tradition and vocation in the field of thinking.
May 12, 1978		Seiman Frangieh and Rachid Karameh reconciled under the auspices of the Syrian commander of the Arab Strike Force in Northern Lebanon.
May 24, 1978		The PLO committed, in an official press release, to stop all military activities in South Lebanon and facilitate the UNIFL's task, in order to reestablish the Lebanese sovereignty in this region.
May 31, 1978		A Sarkis-Assad summit was held in Lattaquieh. They discussed the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon, the military cooperation between the two countries, and the difficulties encountered in the pacification process in Lebanon.
June 4, 1978		A 19 years old Lebanese pianist, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, won the longest and toughest international contest: the Queen Elisabeth Music Prize.
June 5, 1978		Ghassan Tueini proposed, at the UN General Assembly, an 'international neutrality to protect Lebanon, because this country has no longer any other future besides explosion or invasion'. A UN force would take in charge the protection of the territory, while the army would devote its efforts to internal security and reconstruction.
June 6, 1978		The Lebanese Front stiffened its position. It considered that the Palestinian Resistance did not have its place in Lebanon anymore. The Front proclaimed that all the agreements with the PLO were null and void. The Front hoped that the Lebanese army replaces the primarily Syrian Arab Strike Force. President Sarkis was determined to dispatch the army to the South.
June 13, 1978		A dramatic event was reported in Zghorta. A chock commando killed Tony Frangieh, deputy and son of the President Sleiman Frangieh, his wife Vera and their daughter Jihane, at their home in Ehden. The murder of Tony Frangieh took place while the conflict between the Phalange Party and the Zghortiotes was at its peak.
June 17, 1978		President Sleiman Frangieh declared that no Phalangist member will stay alive in the North of Lebanon. The vendetta caused the death of tens of persons. Phalangist militiamen were forced to flee towards Batroun then Jbeil.
June 28, 1978		A massacre of a unique atrocity was perpetrated in the North of the Bekaa region. Forty persons from the Christian town of Kaa and its surroundings were kidnapped from their homes at night. 26 were executed at dawn, and their bodies were left in a mass grave. The Lebanese population and especially the Greek Catholic community, to which the victims belonged, were terrorized and distressed.
July 1, 1978		It is a blaze of fire ! Ain El Remmaneh was savagely bombed. 22 persons died and tens were injured. Syrian forces arrested Commander Bechir Gemayel then set him free.
July 2, 1978		Achrafieh was bombed. 130 shells hit the H™tel-Dieu hospital where 20 rooms were destroyed. At the same time, a huge fire ravaged the dock number 6 in the port.