State of Free Lebanon

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The State of Free Lebanon (Arabic: دولة لبنان الحرة, Dawlat Lubnān al-Ḥurra) was an unrecognized separatist country in Lebanon that acted as a puppet state of Israel. On 18 April 1979, Lebanese military officer Saad Haddad proclaimed the independence of a "Free Lebanon" carved out of the southernmost territory of Lebanon, amidst the hostilities of the Lebanese Civil War. Haddad was the founding commander of the South Lebanon Army, a quasi-military that aimed to serve the political interests of the South Lebanese (and especially South Lebanese Christians) as the central government's authority collapsed during the conflict. Though Free Lebanon garnered no international recognition, it received support from neighboring Israel; the South Lebanon Army and the Israel Defense Forces had established a working alliance with each other during the 1978 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Despite being further bolstered by the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the authority of Free Lebanon rapidly deteriorated...

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