August 27, 1982. Yasser ARAFAT in the Fakhani district with members of Force 17, a group of 17 people who survived the Jordanian exterminaton of 1970. During the Lebanon War of 1982, Arafat and PLO forces were trapped in Beirut as Israeli Defense Forces encircled and bombed the city for 70 days. After Lebanese leaders petitioned the PLO to leave the city, Arafat negotiated a Palestinian evacuation of Beirut through talks with U.S Ambassador Philip Habib. On August 21, multinational forces arrived in Beirut to provide protection for the exodus, which was completed by September 1.