____________________________________________ IICC Perspectives Thus, in an unprecedented move, the largest armed Muslim militia in Beirut switched sides and began to assist the IDF forces in actively controlling the city. Over the course of ten days, large quantities of weapons and ammunition were taken out of stockpiles in West Beirut. There were 520 tons of ammunition, 12 cannons, and eight heavy mortars, as well as vehicles carrying Katusha rockets. Wikipedia :Independent Nasserite Movement (Al-Mourabitoun) حركة الناصريين المستقلين- المرابطون Mouvement des Nasséristes Indépendants About a thousand buildings were searched by IDF forces in West Beirut, about half of which were headquarters, bases, and ammunition depots, targets not all of which were known to the IDF before the operation. The political leader of the al-Mourabitoun movement in Lebanon, Ibrahim Koleilat, gave official approval and authorization for the about-face in the movement's position. A personal envoy on his behalf asked me if we would be willing to meet with him secretly. I recommended the military command respond in favor of the proposed meeting on the eve of IDF withdrawal from Beirut. The meeting with Ibrahim Koleilat was meant to take place that evening at the Palm Beach Hotel in West Beirut, A messenger on behalf of Abu Ibrahim was sent to finalize the details but got stuck on the way and had to return. The next day, Abu Ibrahim tried to contact Koleilat at his home in Beirut but without success, thus ending the first initiative of its kind by the Lebanese al-Mourabitoun leader to dialogue with Israel during a war. West-Beirut occupation: conclusions and lessons The conquest of West Beirut without a fight and casualties can be considered one of the outstanding achievements of the First Lebanon War. It was an impressive military operation achieved in a concise time framework. From the point of view of the IDF and its military theory of applied warfare, one of the main lessons that can be learned from the operation concerns how POW interrogators are used during a war. It became clear that negotiation techniques can make it possible to dialogue with hostile parties even during the war, weakening enemy positions and morale and, in certain circumstances, even harnessing them to contribute to our intentions. Subduing an enemy through negotiations is intended to reduce military activity with the potential for many casualties, especially in built-up, densely populated areas such as West Beirut. Estimates of the expected casualties in occupying West Beirut are controversial. According to material published in recent years, apparently, the IDF command expected between 300 and 400 IDF soldiers would be killed in the operation.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgzNzA=