The evacuation, supervised by a Multinational Peacekeeping Force, went smoothly and was completed on the 1st of September. On the 3rd of September the first violation of the Habib Agreement took place, when Israeli forces, still surrounding West-Beirut, occupied Bir Hassan in the Southern Suburbs. In spite of this the Multinational Force left between the 10th and 13th of September, much earlier than the 26th of September, the date that had originally been agreed.
Earlier, Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Defense minister, had stated that he want the peacekeeping forces out of Beirut.
The situation in West-Beirut in the mean time was quiet. The field hospitals were closed after evacuation of the injured by the International Red Cross and the international medical teams moved back to the Palestinian refugee camps in the southern district of West-Beirut, which had been in the middle of the front line during the war. Haifa-hospital in Burj al-Barajneh, Akka-hospital in Shatila and Gaza-hospital in Sabra were cleaned up and made ready to receive patients. In early September, it seemed, life in the refugee camps was resuming. At no time I or any of my colleagues saw any evidence that groups of Palestinian fedayeen had stayed behind. The election of Bashir Gemayel as the new Lebanese president admittedly made the future for the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon uncertain, but the Palestinians had vested their hope for security in the American government and the Lebanese government army.
Earlier, Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Defense minister, had stated that he want the peacekeeping forces out of Beirut.
The situation in West-Beirut in the mean time was quiet. The field hospitals were closed after evacuation of the injured by the International Red Cross and the international medical teams moved back to the Palestinian refugee camps in the southern district of West-Beirut, which had been in the middle of the front line during the war. Haifa-hospital in Burj al-Barajneh, Akka-hospital in Shatila and Gaza-hospital in Sabra were cleaned up and made ready to receive patients. In early September, it seemed, life in the refugee camps was resuming. At no time I or any of my colleagues saw any evidence that groups of Palestinian fedayeen had stayed behind. The election of Bashir Gemayel as the new Lebanese president admittedly made the future for the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon uncertain, but the Palestinians had vested their hope for security in the American government and the Lebanese government army.