Lebanon, known as the Little Paris of the East, is next to Palestine, why is it beaten into a refugee camp?

Talk about Palestine, in addition to Jordan next door, it is indispensable to talk about Lebanon. Lebanon is a country with a very special geographical location, bordered by Palestine to the south, Syria to the east and north, and the endless Mediterranean Sea to the west.

It can be said that Lebanon has a unique advantage from the point of view of geographical location. They not only occupy a place in the Middle East, but also next to the Middle Eastern powder keg Palestine. The most important thing is that it is still a coastal country in the Mediterranean.

From a geopolitical point of view, the geographical location determines that Lebanon is a country that is not destined to be ordinary. After all, Israel, the little bully of the Middle East, stares at Lebanon all day, and if there is a little wind here, Israel will be the first to rush out. So how extraordinary is historical Lebanon?

Lebanon and Syria were forcibly separated by the French.

In the past, the territory of the Middle East was all owned by the Ottoman Empire. As a result, after World War I, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, which led the British and French powers to enter the Middle East.

Lebanon and Syria were still in the same area at that time, and were called Greater Syria. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, France became the administrator of Greater Syria, effectively colonizing the region.

At this time, the French began to engage in moths, and there were more people who believed in Islam, but there were also a small number of Christian people. France, on the other hand, is an authentic Christian country.

In order to support the Christian forces, France forcibly divided Greater Syria into two parts. Christian denominations established a highly autonomous autonomous autonomous region in present-day Lebanon.

At the same time, Hussein, the hero of the Hejaz region, also began to actively prepare for the Arab National Revival Movement. His third son, Faisal, was elected king of Syria, but only one month later, Faisal was driven away by the French. So much so that his second brother Abdullah immediately gave up the Iraqi throne to his younger brother Faisal, and he threatened to single out France with his army.

In the end, under the mediation of the British, the two sides still maintained restraint. Abdullah became the ruler of Jordan, and Faisal became the king of Iraq. As for Syria and Lebanon, they are still under the control of the French.

During World War II, France surrendered after only 39 days of resistance. This caused France to lose face in front of the whole world, and their overseas colonies began to stir. Syria and Lebanon also indirectly became the sphere of influence of the Germans.

It was not until 1941 that the Free France, with the help of the British, drove out the German army and regained administration of Syria and Lebanon. To be honest, free France at that time could not protect itself, let alone protect Syria and Lebanon. As a result, Free France was unable to rule the region, and Syria declared independence in 1943.

Lebanon, a highly autonomous region under Syria, also declared independence in 1944. Since then, Syria and Lebanon have officially parted ways.

Second, there are many Lebanese factions, each with an army.

When we heard about the country of Lebanon, the first impression was one word, chaos! In 2020, there was also a big explosion in their capital Beirut, and keywords such as war, refugees, and conflict have basically become Lebanon's label.

So the question is, why did a country with such a superior geographical situation and the size of Jiangsu Province become so chaotic? This has to start with the founding of Lebanon.

Lebanon was able to separate from Syria mainly because of the large concentration of Christian believers. These people, who make up about 60 per cent of Lebanon's total population, are a force to be reckoned with. According to statistics, there are at least 18 factions in Lebanon, each with an army in its hands, which is more difficult to deal with. Among them, Christianity and Islam are the two main categories.

On the eve of Lebanon's independence in 1944, the factions came together for a meeting and seemed to have reached an agreement.

1. First, the Maronite Christian menitarians, who serve as president of the country and commander-in-chief of the army. The chief of staff of the army is a member of the Islamic Druze faction.
2. Second, Shia and Sunni Islamists serve as Speaker and Prime Minister respectively.
3. Thirdly, ministers and parliamentarians are distributed in proportion to the population of each faction. Of the 99 seats in Parliament at that time, Christian churches accounted for 53.

Logically speaking, this distribution method is very secure, and it seems that all power relations are clearly arranged, so there should be no problem, right? In fact, the problem is still very big.

Initially, the Christian population was predominant, but over time, Christians were less willing to have children, and instead Muslims were frantically giving birth. In addition, on the Palestinian side, a large number of Palestine refugees and PLO members were transferred, and they said that they would train troops here. The number of believers in Islam clearly exceeds that of Christians.

So, the situation has changed, in the past, the Maronite of Christianity held military and political power, and now Islam demands more power, do you give it? Don't give it, right? Then fight well! Thus, the 15-year Lebanese civil war broke out.

Lebanon before 1975, known as the Little Paris of the East, where the economy is prosperous, the people live happily, do not need to rely on selling oil, can still ensure economic development, the most important thing is that their currency Lebanese pound is a very strong international currency.

But when the civil war broke out, about 150,000 people were killed, hundreds of thousands injured, and nearly a million were displaced as refugees. A good game of chess was ruined by the power struggle of these factions.

Third, the intervention of external forces should not be underestimated.

As we mentioned earlier, the PLO came to Lebanon. So why did the PLO come to Lebanon? In addition to being relatively close, there are obviously many reasons.

In 1964, with the support of Arab countries, the Arabs of Palestine united to form the PLO. Their aim is to liberate Palestinian areas from Israel.

However, after the third Middle East war in 1967, the entire Palestinian area was occupied by Israel, and the PLO had no choice but to move its headquarters to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan next door.

After this gang came, they were not honest at all, not only raiding homes and houses, but also having the idea of the peak Jordanian king. Jordan was angry, the consequences were serious, and after a meal of sticks, the PLO had to walk away in ashes.

So where to go? They set their sights on Lebanon. Lebanon's military strength is relatively weak, and after the PLO comes, it can become a force to be reckoned with. Therefore, the fundamental reason for the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war is actually the PLO.

The PLO, together with local Islamists, took control of southern Lebanon and used it as a base to fight not only against Lebanese government forces, but also against Israel.

At this time, Israel was provoked and immediately announced that it would cooperate with the Lebanese government army (Falangist) to deal with the PLO. In this way, Lebanon's position in the Arab world seems to be very problematic.

For this reason, Syria next door could not sit still, they announced the stationing of troops in Lebanon in 1976, supported the Lebanese Allah Party guerrillas, and in 1982, Iran once again joined the Lebanese Allah Party, since then people have become bigger and stronger, listed on the market! It is equivalent to saying that what seems to be a Lebanese civil war, after the fight to this extent, has become a contest between Syria, Iran, PLO and Israel on Lebanese soil.

With so many countries involved, Lebanon wants to stop the loss in time, and it can't control it anymore. You have to wait until all the big guys are tired of crooked, and this matter can come to an end. Therefore, this "civil war" has only been fought for 15 years. A good little Paris in the East, beaten alive into a refugee camp.

Written at the end: none of the neighbors want peaceful development in Lebanon.

Many people find various reasons from Lebanon itself, and there are many factions, each with its own mountain, which is indeed very important. But behind these people, there is actually a lot of interference from external forces.

Among them, Iran, Syria and Israel are the most involved in internal Lebanon. These neighbors actually do not want Lebanon to have a good time.

1. Syria's intentions are obvious, this place is originally Syrian territory, and they very much want to take it back. That is why it intervened indirectly and directly in Lebanon for 30 years.
2. Iran's goal is to build the Shiite family they dream of. Now that Iraq and Syria have joined, why not Lebanon?
3. As for Israel, it is for survival. How can others be allowed to snore under the couch? How could they possibly tolerate a well-developed, powerful and wealthy Arab neighbor next door to them? As long as the chaos in this place continues, then Israel can guarantee security in the east.

So, a lot of people are asking, who can save Lebanon. In fact, as long as all external forces leave and let the Lebanese people choose to save themselves, I think there is still a chance. Back then, everyone could sit down calmly and talk about cooperation to create the Little Paris of the East, why not now?