For some people, however, collaboration with the Jewish state was considered a must to uproot the presence of Syrian and Palestinian militants.
Samer, whose real name cannot be disclosed for fear of his safety, remembers well that hot summer day of 6 June 1982 when Israel launched its Operation Peace for Galilee that aimed at curbing the threat of Palestinian and Syrian militants.
At the time of the incursion, Samer was 22. He was living in Marjayoun, a small town in the south of the country and he was part of one of Lebanon’s Christian militias.
Like thousands of other Christians, Samer joined the Israeli forces. He fought Palestinian and Syrian militias shoulder-to-shoulder with the IDF but soon enough he was burnt in one of the battles and rushed by the Israelis to a hospital in the city of Safed in northern Israel. After the recovery, Samer went back to Lebanon to re-join the ranks.
For many Lebanese, especially the Muslims of the country, he was a traitor. Israel reportedly fired more than 185,000 projectiles into the Arab country and devastated much of its infrastructure. It left some 200,000 people homeless, up to 19,000 dead and thousands of others injured.
Samer, however, says his decision to fight in the ranks of the IDF was prompted because of his desire to protect Lebanon from the Palestinian and Syrian presence.
Even after the operation was over, many Christians continued to assist Israel in southern Lebanon. By 1985 they all merged into the so-called South Lebanon Army (SLA) that also included Muslims and Druze. They all were fighting together to keep Syrians and the Palestinians at bay.
However, that loyalty came at a price. In 2000, when Israel pulled out completely from Lebanon, Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia that led the resistance against Israel, wanted to take revenge. Anyone who was believed to be an Israeli ally was at risk of being either killed or jailed. Thousands of SLA fighters and their families looked for a way out.
680 families, including some 3,500 people have managed to cross the border and get accepted by Israel. Samer and his family were among the lucky ones. He has received monetary assistance and accommodation.
Thousands of other SLA fighters, however, have been left behind. His contacts with those who remained in Lebanon, are almost non-existent.