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By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

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BY WAY OF DECEPTION 317* * *And so it was that, with the Mossad working its various Lebaneseconnections and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon — described bythe Americans as a "hawk among hawks" — itching to get intobattle, pressure began building on Begin; at the very least, it wastime to wipe the PLO out <strong>of</strong> southern Lebanon, where they hadbeen using their position to lob shells and stage raids into Israelivillages near the northern border.Sharon had been hailed by his soldiers after the 1973 Yom KippurWar as "Arik, Arik, King <strong>of</strong> Israel." The five-foot, six- inch, 235-pound Sharon, frequently called "the bulldozer" because <strong>of</strong> hisshape and style, was only 25 when he led a commando raid thatkilled scores <strong>of</strong> innocent Jordanians, forcing Israel's first primeminister, David Ben-Gurion, to make a public apology. Later,Moshe Dayan nearly court- martialed him for defying ordersduring the 1956 Sinai campaign by staging a paratroop maneuverthat cost the lives <strong>of</strong> dozens <strong>of</strong> Israeli soldiers.Months before the Israeli invasion <strong>of</strong> Lebanon, the PLO hadsuspected it was coming, and Arafat ordered a halt to thebombardment <strong>of</strong> Israeli villages. Still, in the spring <strong>of</strong> 1982, Israelmassed its invasion forces near its northern border four times,each time backing <strong>of</strong>f at the last minute, largely because <strong>of</strong> U.S.pressure. Begin assured the Americans that if Israel ever didattack, its soldiers would go only as far as the Litani River, about18 miles north <strong>of</strong> the border, to force the PLO out <strong>of</strong> the range <strong>of</strong>Israeli settlements. He did not keep his promise, and consideringthe speed with which Israeli forces appeared in Beirut, clearly hehad not meant to.On April 25, 1982, Israel withdrew from the last third <strong>of</strong> the Sinai,which it had occupied since the Six Day War in 1967, fulfilling the1979 Egyptian-Israeli Camp David accord.But as Israeli bulldozers were destroying the remains <strong>of</strong> Jewishsettlements in the Sinai, Israel broke a ceasefire along its 63-mileLebanese border that had been in effect since July 1981. In 1978,Israel had invaded Lebanon with 10,000 men

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