29 Remarks by Prime Minister Begin on the situation in Lebanon- 8 August 1977

Ladies and Gentlemen, now I would like to tell you about what my eyes saw in the north yesterday. I will dwell now on the problem of Lebanon. What a story. Lebanon actually was dismantled by the P.L.O. There are thousands of Palestinian Arabs in Lebanon, they got arms from the Soviet Union, including artillery and the Lebanese army was dispersed. There is a new President without an army. The Syrians invaded Lebanon, occupied most of Lebanese territory - This is an occupying power. Why do the Syrians have a right to be in Lebanon? It's independent country. It has a special tradition. And with a special regime at the time, as a result of an agreement between the various communities. One of those communities is the famous Maronite-Christian Community, one of the most ancient Christian faiths. Since 1840 they have suffered ten massacres at the hand of the Muslim majority. It isn't the lot of the Jewish People - we suffered more - but the fact is that they, too, are a minority in Lebanon, a minority in the Middle East facing an overwhelming Muslim majority, which tried time and again to wipe them out, and they suffered 10 massacres in 100 years.

Now the north of Lebanon is cut off from the south. So the south became completely isolated. In the north there is the Syrian occupation army, and there are the Palestinians, and very many armed groups. For the time being there is a cease-fire, and they can live although it almost destroyed Beirut, which became a shambles during the civil war, but the south is a special case. Yesterday I saw with my own eyes the south of Lebanon. I regret I don't have now the map. One day you will see it. I showed it to the President and also to the Secretary General of the United Nations. The President understood. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Waldheim was astonished. I was astonished by his astonishment. He saw the map. You can see there a few villages and townships of the Christians. The sea of Muslim villages in which there are placed the Palestinians with the Soviet supplied artillery, and they open up a barrage every night upon the Christian villages, and then Mr. Waldheim, told me, oh, now I understand - I understand the position. Now that fight goes on for two years. The United Nations is supposed to keep the peace in the world. And so this is the way they keep the peace. This is the general description of the situation. A small Chrisitian minority threatened by an overwhelming Muslim majority - with their very existence. Yesterday I met them. I saw the terrain of the mountains, the few Christian villages, the great sea of Muslim villages attacking the small minority.

They have problems of livelihood. Almost all the houses became floorless as a result of the bombardment by the P.L.O., Muslim artillery. Their children don't go to school. We just yesterday repeated our suggestion. We shall build a school for their children on our side - they will collect their children and bring them by bus. They are afraid to bring all their children together, lest the shells will kill them, from the Muslims. They don't have any more water installations. Their pipelines were destroyed by the Muslim attacks. Now we will start today to build for them a pipeline and until then we supply them with water. Just water through our tankers. Wounded people are being brought every night from the other side to us and we take care of them through our medical corps.

Yesterday I met also a Lebanese nurse, a Christian girl, a beautiful girl and she spoke to me Hebrew. I must tell you she asked me the following question: "Lama Lo" - Almost a question by a Sabra - "Lama Lo" - I only expected her to say "Betach she ken" - this is completely - It is completely Sabraic, very bad Hebrew. And so we help them. We help them militarily - No secret - It shouldn't be a secret - Public opinion in the United States and throughout the Christian world should know it. Without our military help the Christian minority would have long ago they would have been wiped out totally. No man, woman, or child would have been left - Mainly in Southern Lebanon, were it not for the help of the Jewish State.

We cannot acquiesce in the attempts to destroy them. We, ourselves, were the minority for ages, persecuted, always living on a thread and then, although we are an overwhelming majority now in our own land, we are a very small minority in the Middle East. Now an attempt is being made of genocide - To kill off a religious minority only because they are a Christian minority. This is written in the international convention about Genocide, exactly. What is written there they try to do in reality in Southern Lebanon - So we help them. And when the barrage is being opened upon the Christian villages, we train our fire upon the origins of the hostile fire. And then it quiets down. Because our men can shoot well.

This is the situation in South Lebanon. It was almost a secret for the last two years. Anyhow, the American People didn't know about that situation. The United Nations didn't know. The Secretary General got astonished when he looked at the map. Now you know - Everybody in America should know, and in France too. Catholic France - Christian France - Having been a patron of the Maronites for ages, now sold them down the river - The only materialistic calculations is how to find favour with those who have the oil. The oil.

And therefore you are ready even to sacrifice the lives of your own co-religionists - Christians for that materialistic thing. Although there is no reason to submit to that pressure. They cannot drink the oil - They have to sell it. And when the free world takes a stand, as President Carter did here a year ago, when he said that any attempt to renew the boycott will mean economic war upon the United States and the United States will take appropriate measures and then we can live, in God's good time - The free world will set itself free of that dependence on the mighty power called Abu Dhabi.

So my friends we shall go on helping the Christians in Lebanon, It's our moral duty, It's our moral commitment, but the Christian world should also do something about it. The United Nations, The United States and France can they really let down their own co-religionist to the danger of massacre of being annihilated? Well, that is a rhetorical question. The Christian world should answer it. We shall do our duty.