Rafael Eitan
On June 3, 1982, Abu Nidal's militant group gravely wounded Israel's ambassador in London, Shlomo Argov as a result of an assassination attempt. In response, the Israeli Air Force bombed Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. The bombing caused Palestinian militants to shell Israel's northern settlements and resulted in the June 4th order to begin the 1982 Lebanon War. The operation was launched on June 6 and soon became a full-scale invasion. The Israeli plan was to drive the PLO away from the Israeli border and help Bachir Gemayel's Phalangist militia take control of south Lebanon. During the war, the IDF faced the Syrian military, Palestinian militants and various militias, such as Hezbollah. The IDF engaged in urban warfare and shelled Beirut to hit PLO headquarters.
The IDF achieved some impressive military results - such as wiping out the entire Syrian air defense system in the first days of the war, under the command of IAF Major general David Ivri. But it also had some failures, such as the battle of Sultan Yaakov.
The operation was designed to be limited - both in time and area - but the IDF advanced far beyond the planned "40 kilometers" under the command of Defense Minister Ariel Sharon. The mounting Israeli casualties in Lebanon, combined with the Sabra and Shatila Massacre, resulted in mass protests by the Israeli public against the war - which resulted in a cease-fire agreements and the establishment of the Kahan Commission to investigate the massacre. The commission concluded that Israel was not directly responsible for the massacre but that senior Israeli officials such as Sharon and Eitan were culpable in part. Although Sharon was removed as Minister of Defense, the committee recommended no sanctions against Eitan.
Nevertheless, Eitan's reputation became identified with the failed Lebanon War.
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Political career
After his retirement from the army, on April 1983, Eitan entered politics. He had the image of the sabra Israeli who connected to his roots and to the land. His background in agriculture and hobbies such as wood work and flight contributed to this image, which attracted many in the Israeli public.
Eitan was considered to be a conservative advocating tough policies toward Palestinian terror. On April 12, 1983 Eitan said in a Knesset committee meeting: "The Arabs will never defeat us by throwing stones. Our answer will be a nationalist Zionist solution. For every stone throwing - we'll establish ten settlements. If there will be - and there will be - a hundred settlements between Nablus and Jerusalem, no stones will be thrown." .[1]
Eitan initially joined the Tehiya party and was first elected to the Knesset in 1984. Later he established an ultra-nationalist party called Tzomet, which had conservative views on defense and foreign policy but a liberal and secular domestic platform. He was elected to the 11th Knesset and served as Minister of Agriculture between 1988 and 1991, when Tzomet left the government. In the 1992 elections, Tzomet achieved a record of eight seats, but Eitan refused to join Yitzhak Rabin's coalition.
However, Eitan had troubles in controlling his party, resulting in some Knesset members splitting from Tzomet to join other parties. When Rabin presented the Oslo II Accords to the Knesset, it managed to pass only with the support of Alex Goldfarb and Gonen Segev - two Tzomet members who were promised ministries by Rabin in return for their support.
On 1996, Tzomet joined an alliance of Likud and Gesher headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. Although the triumvarate lost the Knesset election to Labour, Netanyahu won the election for Prime Minister, allowing him to form the government. Eitan was promised the ministry of internal security, but a criminal investigation against him blocked his nomination. The investigation eventually cleared Eitan and the case was closed on 1998 due to "lack of evidence". In the meantime, Eitan served as Agriculture and Environment minister and also as a deputy prime minister (1998-1999).
In 1999 Tzomet failed to win any Knesset seats and Eitan retired from politics.
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Death
On November 23, 2004, Eitan arrived at the Mediterranean sea port of Ashdod, where he was overseeing a port expansion project. A large wave swept him from a breakwater into the sea and he was lost in rough waters for over an hour. Eitan's body was recovered by the Israeli Navy and he was pronounced dead after efforts to revive him failed.[2]
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Bibliography
- A Soldier's Story: The Life and Times of an Israeli War Hero by Raful Eitan (ISBN 1-56171-016-4)
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See also
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References
- ^ Chief of Staff: A settlement for every stone Yedioth Ahronoth, 13 April 1983 (scanned)
- ^ Former Israeli army chief drowns BBC News, 23 November 2004
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External links
- Rafael Eitan on the Knesset website (in English)
- Rafael "Raful" Eitan Jewish Virtual Library
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