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Elie Hobeika ,(1956–24 Jan 2002)(Arabic:وعــــد: إيلي حبيقة) was a Phalangist and Lebanese Forces militia commander during the Lebanese Civil War, and former Lebanese MP. Hobeika gained notoriety as the leader of the Phalangist forces that went into the Sabra and Shatila camps and massacred Palestinians there.
Personal life
Hobeika was born in Kleiat, Lebanon. According to the Guardian, he was said to have been deeply influenced by the massacre of much of his family and of his fiancée by Palestinian militiamen at Damour in 1976. In 1978 after leaving school he joined the Banco di Brazil. At that time was already involved with the Phalanges movement. He went to Damascus to continue his studies. He married Gina Raymond Nachaty in 1981. They had a son, Joseph.
The Tripartite Agreement
The Tripartite Agreement was an agreement intended to end the Lebanese conflict. In December 1985, the various Christian militias, the Shiite Amal Movement and the Druze Progressive Socialist Party met in Damasacus reaching agreement on political reforms as well as special relations with Syria. A few months later however, President Amin Gemayel and Samir Geagea organised a coup against Hobeika thus rendering the agreement null and void.
The Syrians still interfered in the parliamentary elections of 2000 in order to defeat Mr. Elie Hobeika. As a result, many of their traditional allies, including Prime Minister Salim Al-Hoss and Maronite MP and ex-minister Mr. Elie Hobeika, were defeated at the polls.
Lebanese Civil War
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Over the next few years as support for the Lebanese Forces declined, and in 1984, Samir Geagea, Karim Pakradouni, and Elie Hobeika forced the resignation of the then commander of the Lebanese Forces, Fuad Abu Nader. Fouad Abu Nader was considered too close to Amine Gemayel (he was Gemayel's nephew). Amine, unlike his brother Bachir was disliked by all the LF leaders. Elie Hobeika was named head of the LF after Abou Nader's removal.
Hobeika was besieged in his Qarantina headquarters by Geagea's men (Elias el Murr was trapped with Hobeika in the same building) and was evacuated by Michel Aoun after strong American pressures. He and his supporters fled to Paris. They returned to Lebanon as a pro-Laic LF faction and were stationed in Zahle. In 1990 Hobeika supported the parliamentary faction against Syria in the war initiated by Michel Aoun.
After the civil war ended in 1990 Hobeika became Minister for the Displaced. In October 1992 he was appointed Minister for Social Affairs and the Handicapped. He was reassigned to the Ministry of Electricity and Water in 1996, a period which saw massive power projects in Baddawi and Zahrani, Zouk And Baalbeck, and massive electrical grid installation and distribution throughout Lebanon, including the outlying areas still in turmoil with Israeli Forces in the south, hence the progress was too slow compared to the massive increase in the Megawatts needed, since little electricity projects were accomplished over 18 years of civil unrest, mainly because of the Israeli operation Grapes of Wrath. In 1998, General Emile Lahoud became president of Lebanon and appointed Selim Hoss Prime Minister.In 2000 Hobeika lost his parliament seat, due to Syrian active interference in the Polls against Hobeika.
In 1983, an Israel state inquiry named Hobeika as the man who personally directed the massacre at Sabra and Shatila. In June 2001, Chebli Mallat, a left-wing Maronite lawyer, filed a case against Ariel Sharon in Belgium under a law that allowed foreigners to be sued for crimes against humanity. Just before his death, Elie Hobeika publicly declared his intention to testify against Ariel Sharon about his involvement in the Sabra and Shatila massacre in a Belgian court's trial for crimes against humanity. A Belgian senator, Josy Dubie, was quoted as saying that Hobeika had told him several days before his death that he had "revelations" to disclose about the massacres and felt "threatened". When Dubie had asked him why he did not reveal all the facts he knew immediately, Hobeika is reported to have said: "I am saving them for the trial". At a news conference, he said, "I am very interested that the trial starts because my innocence is a core issue."
Assassination January 24th 2002
Elie Hobeika was killed at the age of 45 in a huge car bomb attack at his house in the Beirut suburb of Hazmiyeh. The fact that he was to testify in Sharon's Belguim trial led some to believe that Israel was behind his assassination.
References
- ^ Mostyn, Trevor, Guardian.co.uk, Friday January 25 2002
- Hassan Krayem, The Lebanese Civil War and the Taif Agreement American University of Beirut
- Palestine facts