During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, a Palestinian four-man squad infiltrated the IDF-held mountainous area north of Bhamdoun, in central Lebanon, and attacked an IDF observation point, capturing the entire IDF unit without firing a single bullet.

The exchange was criticised as extremely "lopsided" and it was feared the agreement would set a precedent for breaking Israel's firm policy of no deals with terrorist organizations.

"[2] Fatah also held two Israeli prisoners at the time of the evacuation of Palestinian forces from West Beirut in August 1982.

Aharon Achiaz was an Israeli Air Force Skyhawk pilot shot down during the battle of Beaufort on the first day of the war.

One of their more pressing concerns was the many thousands of Palestinian and allied Lebanese prisoners held by Israel, mainly in the vast Ansar camp in the Nabatiya district of south Lebanon.

A four-man squad of Fatah fighters from the elite al-Jarmaq battalion, led by commander Eisa Hajjo, were selected for the mission.

They were dressed in uniforms similar to those worn by Israel-allied Lebanese Forces fighters and also carried the same type of guns (East German AK-47's).

The Fatah commander Hajjo walked alone straight into the Israeli position, speaking French to and shaking hands with Sgt.

The Israeli soldiers had kept their guns loaded but not cocked, making any armed response too slow and extremely dangerous.

The Israeli prisoners were stripped of all their ammunition but were allowed to keep their personal weapons, so the company would appear, from a distance, to be a joint IDF-Lebanese Forces patrol.

In the Biqaa valley, the six remaining Fatah prisoners were handed over to al-Jarmaq battalion commander Mahmoud al-Aloul, who is presently the Vice-President of the Palestinian Authority.

The six prisoners still held by Fatah were hidden almost a year, in a small area near the town of Chtaura in the Biqaa valley.

The indirect negotiations were then conducted with Austria and the International Committee of the Red Cross acting as mediators.

In October 1983 Israel quickly switched position, due the drastic decline in the security situation for the Israeli prisoners.

[10] The Fatah rebels received massive support from the Syrian army and from Pro-Syrian Palestinian forces, including the PFLP-GC.

Arafat loyalist forces were gradually pushed out of most of eastern and northern Lebanon and soon found themselves besieged in Tripoli.

PLO veteran Shafiq al-Hout described in his memoirs the two agreements as "the largest prisoner exchange in the history of the Arab–Israeli conflict" and "a day of national celebration in Lebanon" and that "smiles returned for the first time since June 1982".

[12] In contrast, many Israelis felt humiliated by the behaviour of the eight Nahal brigade soldiers, all surrendering without firing a single bullet.

[4] One of the Bhamdoun prisoners, Rafael ('Rafi') Hazan, however, strongly defended the soldiers’ behaviour, shifting the blame to their superior officers.