Fateful Triangle

Aftermath708The Phalange incited armed conflict and also carried out numerousatrocities, sometimes reported in the Israeli press. 175 Shmuel Segevreports that although the Phalange were heavily armed by Israel andwestern countries, the Druze prevailed in the military conflicts that tookplace as the Phalangists followed the IDF into the Druze homeland. But“in contrast to the results of open battles—in incidents of kidnappingand murder the Christians [Phalange] held the upper hand—while in90% of the incidents the Druze return Christian captives healthy andwell, there have been 36 incidents in which the Christians did not returnthe Druze captives—or their bodies”; though, as we have seen, theysometimes returned parts of the bodies; see chapter 5, section 6.3. Inthe early stages of the war, Segev continues, Israel tried to cultivateDruze (the Arslan family) who had been traditional rivals of theJumblatts and the current Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, the leftist“collaborator with the PLO and the Syrians.” But the belief among theDruze that “Israel is helping the Christians” has overcome the conflictsamong the Druze, and they are now appealing to Syria to allow SyrianDruze to come to their assistance. Within Israel, there has been muchagitation among the Druze (who are treated differently from other IsraeliArabs, and serve in the IDF), which “might drive the Druze of the Stateof Israel right into the arms of the most extreme Arab elements.” Earlier,Druze reservists in the IDF threatened to refuse their mobilization ordersunless they were sent to serve in the Druze villages of the Chouf, and sixDruze sergeants were arrested for attacking Phalangists. Israeli Druzecomplained that the IDF disarmed the Druze in Lebanon while armingthe Phalangists. “We are part of the Israeli army,” a Druze leader inIsrael said, “but we cannot just stand by and watch it arming thePhalangists who are murdering our kin.” 176Christian and Druze leaders as well as Prime Minister Shafik WazzanClassics in Politics: The Fateful TriangleNoam Chomsky