* 1978 – 150 Palestinians in Beirut are killed in a terrorist attack during the second phase of the Lebanese Civil War.

* 1976 – Between 1, 000 and 3, 500 Palestinians are killed in the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, one of the bloodiest events of the Lebanese Civil War

Smaller businesses are privately owned by Beninese citizens, but some firms are foreign owned, primarily French and Lebanese.

* 2005 – Cronulla riots: Thousands of White Australians demonstrate against ethnic violence resulting in a riot against anyone thought to be Lebanese ( and many who are not ) in Cronulla Sydney.

* 2005 – Lebanese self-made billionaire and business tycoon Rafik Hariri is killed, along with 21 others, when explosives, equivalent of around 1, 000 kg of TNT, are detonated as his motorcade drove near the St. George Hotel in Beirut.

And thousands who are Middle Easterner descendants: Arabs, Lebanese, Palestinians, Syrians, Europeans, Armenians, Italians, Greeks and Turks came to Guatemala after World War I.

There are also Europeans, Indians, Lebanese, Syrians, Chinese, and Carib Amerindians ( remnants of the original pre-European population ).

Hezbollah says that its continued hostilities against Israel are justified as reciprocal to Israeli operations against Lebanon and as retaliation for what they claim is Israel's occupation of Lebanese territory.

Additionally, Hezbollah claims that three Lebanese prisoners are being held in Israel.

* 1982 – Iranian diplomats kidnapping ( 1982 ): four Iranian diplomats are kidnapped by Lebanese militia in Lebanon.

* 1980 – During the Lebanese Civil War, 83 Tiger militants are killed during what will be known as the Safra massacre.

* 2006 – Lebanon War: At least 28 civilians, including 16 children are killed by the Israeli Air Force in what Lebanese call the Second Qana massacre and what Israel considers to be an attempt to stop rockets ' being fired, from Lebanon, at Israeli civilian targets.

This sentiment was prevalent among the rally participants who opposed Hezbollah's refusal to disarm based on the claim that Lebanese and Syrian interests are linked.

There are also sharp changes in other elements of the environment, from good to poor soils, as one moves through the Lebanese mountains.

Among private broadcasters are the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation ( LBCI ), National Broadcasting Network, Radio One, and the Voice of Tomorrow.

The Lebanese officers are sent to other countries such as Russia or other parts of Europe to receive additional training.

The Lebanese Special Forces are the elite of the Lebanese army, those who enroll are subjected to rigorous training regimes and must be in peak physical and mental condition prior to their ascension to such a highly desired position.

To ensure the effectiveness of such an elite force, many Commandos are sent overseas to nations such as the US, UK and France to receive extra training in specialized areas that the Lebanese Armed Forces are unable to provide, due to a lack of resources.

The Lebanese Special Forces are also well known for killing and eating snakes with their bare hands at graduation ceremonies.

The Staff and Command College, Military Academy, and Mountain Skiing Fighting School are training centers for Lebanese soldiers designed to upgrade the quality of their skills while the High Center for Military Sport is designed to keep them in peak physical shape ( it also organizes sports groups and teams for international competition as well ).

After his death, the Maan family continued to rule in Lebanon under the name of State of Lebanon until 1842 when the first Lebanese Civil War started between the Druze and Christians and as a result the Turks divided it into two separate provinces.

Although the Taif agreement ( 1989 ) ended the Lebanese Civil War ( 1975 – 1990 ), power remains divided among different groups.

Critics of the resolution argue however that an attempt from the weak and politically divided Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah would be very difficult and could restart the Lebanese civil war.

Later the party was divided into the Syrian Communist Party and the Lebanese Communist Party, but the decision, taken at the end of 1943, was only implemented in 1964.

It occurred as part of a series of events during the Lebanese Civil War, in which Palestinians joined the Muslim forces, in the context of the Christian-Muslim divide, and soon Beirut was divided along the Green Line, with Christian enclaves to the east and Muslims to the west.

Sometimes they get their initial experience in church haflis, conducted by Lebanese and Syrians in the U.S., where they dance with just as few veils across their bodies as in nightclubs.

At the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990, despite the Taif Agreement asking for the " disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias ," Syria, in control of Lebanon at that time, allowed Hezbollah to maintain their arsenal, and control the Shiite areas in Southern Lebanon along the border with Israel.

Although Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, and their complete withdrawal was verified by the United Nations, Lebanon now considers the Shebaa farms — a 26-km² ( 10-mi² ) piece of land captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 war and considered by the UN to be disputed territory between Syria and Israel — to be Lebanese territory.

After gradual decline of its strength, Phoenician city states on the Lebanese coast were conquered outright by the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia, which organized it as a satrapy, though many of Phoenician colonies continued their independent existence-most notably Carthage.

He won the confidence of the Ottomans by fighting on their side at Marj Dabaq and, apparently pleased with the behavior of the Lebanese amirs, introduced them to Salim I when he entered Damascus.

Consequently, the demographics of Lebanon were profoundly altered, as the territory added contained people who were predominantly Muslim or Druze: Lebanese Christians, of which the Maronites were the largest subgrouping, now constituted barely more than 50 % of the population, while Sunni Muslims in Lebanon saw their numbers increase eightfold, Shi ' ite Muslims fourfold.

By 1975, Lebanon was a religiously and ethnically diverse country with most dominant groups of Maronite Christians and Lebanese Sunni and Shia Arabs ; with significant minorities of Druze, Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians and Palestinian Arab refugees and their descendants.

Up to 2005, 14-15, 000 Syrian troops ( down from 35, 000 ) remained in position in many areas of Lebanon, although the Taif called for an agreement between the Syrian and Lebanese Governments by September 1992 on their redeployment to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.

To this day, many Lebanese families take pride in tracing their descent to ancient tribes of Arabia.

The Free Patriotic Movement, The Kataeb Party, also known as the Phalange Party, the National Bloc, National Liberal Party, Lebanese Forces and the Guardians of the Cedars ( now outlawed ) each have their own base among Christians and it's controversial as to which group has the largest popularity.

In addition to the two major conflicting views, prominent Lebanese politicians of the myriad religious denominations in Lebanon have also tended to be feudal warlords commanding their own private militias and feared that a strong army would endanger their personal power.

The Lebanese Armed Forces ' strength lies in their ground forces which is by far the largest of the three branches of the military.

While many Lebanese regard themselves as Arab, other Lebanese regard themselves, their history, and their culture as Phoenician and not Arab, while still other Lebanese regard themselves as both.

A Lebanese public opinion poll taken in August 2006 shows that most of the Shia did not believe that Hezbollah should disarm after the 2006 Lebanon war, while the majority of Sunni, Druze and Christians believed that they should.

In 2010, a survey of Muslims in Lebanon showed that 94 % of Lebanese Shia supported Hezbollah, while 84 % of the Sunni Muslims held an unfavorable opinion of the group.

Helen Thomas ( born August 4, 1920 ) is an American author and former news service reporter, member of the White House Press Corps and opinion columnist of Lebanese Rûm / Melkite descent.

The party has adopted a hard line in regard to the preservation of Lebanese independence, and to the safeguard of the distinctive liberal practices in Lebanon with respect to freedom of expression and opinion and religious freedoms.

He asserted his opinion that Syria was behind the assassination of Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Amine Gemayel, “ I have no doubt about who assassinated Lebanese Minister Pierre Gemayel last week.

He has expressed deep disappointment that countries to which the Lebanese opposition has looked for support have not, in his opinion, lived up to their expectations.