We signed a cease-fire agreement with the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) and up to eleven months after they continued to conduct terrorist operations. Two hundred and seventy terrorist attacks can be linked to them in which twenty-nine Israelis died and over three hundred were injured. We allowed all of this to happen without starting another war but when the Abu Nidal led group attempted to kill Shlomo Argov, our Ambassador to Great Britain, actions had to be taken. Our actions were even condoned by President Reagan who said, "We agree that Israel must not be subjected to violence from the north." As the Defense Minister of Israel, it is my obligation to my country to protect all of my citizens, and if that means we had to attack and enter Lebanon to destroy the PLO then it is my duty to do so. Terrorism cannot be accepted nor can it be allowed to receive what it wants. It is because of these values that Israel invaded Lebanon.Our initial efforts were effective with the enemy's Surface to Air Missiles being destroyed early and many Air Force conflicts resulting in no Israeli losses and dozens of Syrian aircrafts destroyed. Further successes took place on gunships where supply lines were cut off to the PLO. The dropping of paratroopers behind Beirut to make sure no retreat efforts would be successful worked as planned. A few months ago,
an agreement was reached and American, French, and Italian peacekeepers exiled 14,000 PLO combatants, and 6,500 Fatah members relocated to Jordan and other Arab nations.Even though all of the assaults on the PLO were successful and we accomplished all we had wanted ,including creating the twenty five mile buffer in South Lebanon, nothing can excuse what happened on September 16 and 17 of 1982. The Sabra and Shatila Massacres, where approximately eight hundred people were killed, occurred because of Israeli ignorance. We should have been wary of the Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia, because Lebanese President Bashir Gemayel and 25 of his followers were killed in a bomb attack earlier that week. I take full responsibility for the monstrosities that took place those two nights in the refugee camps. Moreover, I officially resign from the Office of Defense Minister.
