With the joint Muslim-Palestinian advance halted in Beirut and in the mountain, the Lebanese Front could focus more attention on Palestinian camps in the Christian areas. June 29 1976 saw the camp at Jisr el Basha fall and then efforts were directed against Tal al-Zaatar, one of the largest Palestinian camps in the country and situated on the Christian side of the Green Line. The battle for Tal al-Zaatar was the final showdown between the Palestinians and the Lebanese Front in Beirut. Tal al-Zaatar contained about 2,000 Palestinian guerrillas intermixed with a civilian population of roughly 15,000 facing them were some 4,000 Lebanese Front militiamen. The Lebanese Front were supported and advised in the siege by the Lebanese and Syrian armies; Israeli advisers were also present.

Because Tal al-Zaatar was honeycombed with bunkers and tunnels, the PLO was able to defend the camp from persistent Christian attacks for about six months, despite a nearly constant barrage of artillery fire that took a large toll. Despite numerous calls for the Palestinians to surrender, Arafat felt that a large military defeat would result in a political victory and so he called upon those inside the camp to go on fighting regardless being hopelessly surrounded. Arafat appealed to them to turn Tal al-Zaatar into 'a Stalingrad'. On August 12 Christian forces finally overran the camp. About 1,600 people died in fighting during the entire siege, and 4,000 were wounded. The surviving civilians were deported to Palestinian held areas and the PLO then settled them in Damour. Despite the loss of Tal al-Zaatar, the PLO still had however a massive military machine in Lebanon.

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