Fighting between Maronite and Palestinian forces began in 1975, then Leftist, pan-Arabist and Muslim Lebanese groups later allied themselves with the Palestinians.[9] During the course of the fighting, alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. Furthermore, foreign powers, such as Israel and Syria, became involved in the war and fought alongside different factions. Peace keeping forces, such as the Multinational Force in Lebanon & UNIFIL, were also stationed in Lebanon.