Opposition Knesset Member and Minister of Defence
Following his resignation and Labour Party defeat at the elections, Likud's Menachem Begin was elected in 1977. Until 1984 Rabin was a member of Knesset and sat on the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. From 1984 to 1990, he served as Minister of Defence in several national unity governments led by prime ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Shimon Peres.
When Rabin came to office, Israeli troops were still deep in Lebanon. Rabin ordered their withdrawal to a "Security Zone" on the Lebanese side of the border. The South Lebanon Army was active in this zone, along with the Israeli Defence Forces.
When the first Intifada broke out, Rabin adopted harsh measures to stop the demonstrations, even authorising the use of "Force, might and beatings," on the demonstrators. Rabin the "bone breaker" was used as an International image. The combination of the failure of the "Iron Fist" policy, Israel's deteriorating international image and Jordan cutting legal and administrative ties to the West Bank with the U.S.'s recognition of the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people forced Rabin to seek an end to the violence through negotiation and dialogue with the PLO.
In 1990 to 1992, Rabin again served as a Knesset member and sat on the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.
Read more about this topic: Yitzhak Rabin
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