Beirut 1982: The Siege That Shattered the PLO

In the summer of 1982, Israeli forces surrounded West Beirut in a siege that would reshape the Middle East. This episode follows the 70-day blockade: the relentless shelling, the water and food shortages, the diplomatic backchannel between Philip Habib and Yasser Arafat, and the tense negotiations that led to the PLO's evacuation. We meet the key players — Ariel Sharon, who pushed deep into Lebanon; Arafat, struggling to hold his fragmented movement together; the Lebanese prime minister Shafiq al-Wazza, caught between Israeli demands and Palestinian resistance. We relive the bombing of the Fakhani district, the sniper warfare in the museum crossing, and the final, surreal departure of PLO fighters from Beirut port under the watch of multinational peacekeepers. The siege didn't just destroy a military infrastructure; it uprooted a community and scattered the Palestinian leadership to Tunis, Algiers, and beyond. We reflect on what the siege meant for the civilians trapped inside — Lebanese, Palestinians, Syrians — and how it set the stage for the Sabra and Shatila massacres that followed. This is a story of strategy, survival, and the human cost of war.

#SiegeOfBeirut #1982LebanonWar #PLO #YasserArafat #ArielSharon #PhilipHabib #ShafiqalWazza #Beirut #Fakhani #SabraAndShatila #MultinationalForce #OperationPeaceForGalilee #History #FexingoHistory #MiddleEast #Lebanon #Palestine #War

Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo