In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in the middle of the civil war after a gunman from Abu Nidal's organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov. The Israeli Prime Minister blamed the PLO for the incident, and used it as an excuse to begin Operation Peace for Galilee and the 1982 Lebanon War.[16] During the invasion Israel allied with the Phalangist Christian militant group against the PLO and Shia militias.