The crucial cabinet meeting took place in the official residence of the Prime Minister on Saturday night, 5 June 1982. By that time, over 500 shells fell on northern Israel. The Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff sought cabinet approval for an I.D.F. entry into Lebanon, for the purpose of distancing Israeli settlements from artillery range. The Ministers understood that the operation would involve about 40 kilometers and was designed to remove P. L. 0. artillery (including artillery within the Syrian deployment area in eastern Lebanon). The main problem that faced the cabinet was possible Syrian involvement. The Prime Minister stated that there was no intention to attack the Syrians, unless they fire first. The line of maximum advance was drawn, starting near Sidon on the Mediterranean and proceeding to south of Lake Karoun. Metulla was the northernmost Israeli town and it served as the base for the trajectory. The Defense Minister explained that Beirut was not involved because of the presence of foreign embassies and its dense population. He estimated the duration of the operation at about 24 hours, and assured his colleagues that there would be no Syrian intervention.
A proposal to postpone the action for two days and continue aerial bombardment was rejected. Two ministers abstained in the final vote. Mr. Begin himself drafted the cabinet communiqué and it was he who changed the code name of the operation from "Operation Pines" to "Operation Peace for Galilee"
The Cabinet took the following decision:
1) To instruct the Israel Defense Forces to place all the civilian population of the Galilee beyond the range of the terrorist fire from Lebanon, where they, their bases and their headquarters are concentrated.
2) The name of the operation is Peace for Galilee.
3) During the operation, the Syrian army will not be attacked unless it attacks our forces.
4) Israel continues to aspire to the signing of a peace treaty with independent Lebanon, its territorial integrity preserved.