IDF to consider naming close to two-decade long campaign in south Lebanon
Twenty years after Israel withdrew from the security belt, the nameless war has often been forgotten
By ANNA AHRONHEIMLt.-Col. (res.) Shay Shemesh with members of his platoon during their time in Lebanon(photo credit: SHAY SHEMESH)IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi has appointed a committee to examine the possibility of recognizing the decades Israel’s military spent in south Lebanon as a war.The appointment of the committee, done with the approval of Defense Minister Benny Gantz, will be headed by former chief of staff Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Shaul Mofaz, who was the top military officer when the IDF withdrew from the South Lebanon Security Belt.The committee members will be OC Manpower Directorate Maj.-Gen. Moti Almoz, OC Northern Corps Maj.-Gen. Ya’acov Banjo, OC Military Colleges Maj.-Gen. Itai Veruv, Military Court of Appeals president Maj.-Gen. Doron Piles, Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Giora Eiland, Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Moshe Kaplinsky and Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Ido Nehoshtan.The committee will examine naming the campaign, awarding a medal to soldiers who served in the Southern Lebanon Security Belt from 1985-2000, the qualifying period for receiving the medal and other eligibility criteria.It will give its recommendations to Kochavi and Gantz in the coming months.Soldiers entered Lebanon in 1978 to root out Palestinian terrorists. While the IDF withdrew from most of the country in 1985, Israel kept control of a 1,000-sq.-km. security buffer zone 20 km. deep to prevent terrorist attacks like the ones that plagued civilians in the 1970s and ’80s.Though official numbers put IDF casualties at 256, with roughly two dozen soldiers killed per year, the unofficial number is 675. It does not include those who were wounded during their time in Lebanon and does not take into account those who came back with psychological wounds.
Related TagsLebanon WarAviv Kochavi
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