42 years ago today, December 20, 1983 (November 17, 1983 in the lunar calendar), Arafat and the PLO soldiers withdrew from Tripoli. PLO troops withdraw from Tripoli On December 20, 1983, thousands of PLO fighters loyal to Arafat withdrew from Tripoli by boat. In Tripoli, they are completely surrounded by Palestinian opposition and Syria troops. The United Nations Security Council arranged the evacuation. PLO soldiers left Tripoli aboard French ships flying the United Nations flag. Yasser Arafat is trying to make the evacuation more dignified, but it will not be easy. This is the second time in 16 months that he has withdrawn his Palestine Liberation Organization troops from Lebanon under high pressure. In 1982, Israel forced Arafat to withdraw from Beirut. Arafat's withdrawal from Tripoli was delayed by air strikes. Israel's air strikes are retaliation for the terrorist attack on Jerusalem. In addition, there were reports at the time that troops from the PLO had withdrawn from Tripoli and Beirut that Israel had allowed Egypt to provide weapons to Arafat in Tripoli to support his fight against the Syrian army.