Conflict Blame Quotes

Ariel Sharon, before he became Israeli Prime Minister was an Army General, who led the attack on the Palestinian PLO terrorists in Southern Lebanon. He had made an alliance with the Lebanese Christian Phalangists who had been brutalized and many had been murdered by the PLO militants who operated out of the Sabra and Shatila Beirut refugee camps where the terrorists had a safe haven and their PLO headquarters in Shatila. Israeli troops under Sharon had reached Beirut, and then the Phalangists attacked the two refugee camps where they had scores to settle and sought revenge. Somewhere between 700 and 3500 Palestinians were killed. Most of them were civilians (according to the Palestinians) or terrorist fighters (according to the Phalangists). Sharon was faulted by many for the deaths; these critics observe that Sharon, as the victorious military power in the area was responsible according to the rules of war for the safety of all civilians in the area. He commanded the strongest military in the area and he allowed or did not stop the Phalangists who were exacting their revenge. Therefore some accused him of war crimes. There was also an Italian military peacekeeping contingent in the camps but they chose not to intervene.