 
thirty years after the creation of the state of israel, the palestinian 
arabs not only are at war with israel but are in conflict with the arab 
governments and among themselves. 
many of the palestinians feel that the arab governments have let them 
down. 
the palestinians have been demanding that the arab countries join forces 
for a military showdown with israel. 
but the arab governments are not willing to risk another defeat in a war 
with israel at present. 
some of the arab countries have said they are willing to reach a 
settlement with israel, but the palestinians reject this idea. 
the palestinians would like to use the arab countries as a base for 
attacks against israel. 
for a long time they had bases in jordan, the arab country having the 
longest border with israel. 
from here they periodically attacked israel. 
however, in 1970 and 1971 king hussein of jordan decided to crack down on 
the guerrillas. 
as a result of a bitter war between the jordanian army and the palestinian 
guerrillas, the guerrillas were expelled from their bases in jordan. 
the palestinian guerrillas next decided to use lebanon as their base. 
refugee camps located along the border with israel were heavily armed, and 
from here attacks into israel were frequently launched. 
but these attacks resulted in israeli reprisals. 
the israeli army bombed border areas in lebanon causing substantial 
destruction. 
the guerrillas were becoming a headache to the government of lebanon, 
just as they had been to jordan earlier. 
in may 1973 violent fighting broke out between the palestinian guerrillas 
and the lebanese army and several hundred people were killed. 
