The Ministry of Defense will invest resources in commemorating the work of the organization's soldiers who fought with the IDF in Lebanon • Minister Bitton: "The State of Israel has a moral debt to the SLA martyrs"
Simulation of the monument to the victims of the SLA organization // Photo: Architect Tova Shapira-Levitt
21 years after the IDF forces left Lebanon, the Ministry of Defense announced that it would invest resources in the honor and commemoration of SLA fighters, who fought side by side with IDF forces in the security zone in southern Lebanon.
According to the plan, the monument in memory of hundreds of soldiers from the southern Lebanese army, whose cornerstone was laid in 2017, will be built with an investment of NIS 2.4 million from the defense budget in cooperation with the JNF, and its construction will be completed in about two months.
The monument is to serve as a heritage site for the southern Lebanese army, which was dismantled when IDF forces left southern Lebanon in May 2000.
A monument to the SLA martyrs was erected before the retreat on the top of a mountain in Marj Iyun, opposite the Beaufort summit. It was inaugurated in a solemn ceremony on May 22, 2000. Two days later, the IDF withdrew from Lebanon, and Hezbollah blew up the monument.
As mentioned, no alternative monument has been erected since, although in 2017 the cornerstone was laid for a new monument after repeated requests from the organization’s spaces.
At a recent meeting at the Office of the Minister of Civil and Social Affairs at the Ministry of Defense Michael Bitton, with the participation of Maj. Gen. Itai Yarov, representatives of the Ministry of Defense and SLA representatives, it was agreed And in collaboration with the JNF.
The monument, which is due to be completed in about two months, will serve as a memorial site that will miraculously surpass the contribution of SLA soldiers to Israel's security. It was also agreed that a museum dedicated to SLA and combat in Lebanon will be built next to the Lebanese Historical Liaison Unit headquarters in Metula.
In the first phase, Minister Bitton allocated a budget of one million shekels for the planning and construction of the museum.
In addition, the Ministries of Defense, the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister are formulating a package of assistance for about 400 SLA fighters living in Israel, which will provide a special solution to the housing crisis among them and ensure the continuation of their lives with dignity in Israel.
Minister Bitton: "This is a first step on the path to redressing a 21-year historical injustice. For many years, SLA forces fought side by side with IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon to protect the residents of the north. SLA fighters currently living in Israel have won blood, body And in the soul their place in society, and the State of Israel owes them a great moral debt.
I am happy that in our shift at the Ministry of Defense, we were privileged to make a just and historic correction with them. "
