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For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation).

Hezbollah[1] (Arabic: حزب الله Template:ArabDIN, [2] literally "party of God") is a Shi'a Islamic political and paramilitary organization based in Lebanon. It follows a distinct version of Islamist Shi'a ideology developed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.[3] [4][5] [6] [7]

Hezbollah is a terrorist group funded by Iran and Syria based in southern Lebanon. However, Hezbollah is also a political party in Lebanon. Hezbollah is responsible for the 1983 Beirut Barracks Bombing that killed over 300 American and French peacekeeping troops. Hezbollah fought against Israel in the 2006 Lebanon War. Hezbollah killed 43 Israeli civilians and injured 4,262 by firing Keytusha rockets into cities in northern Israel. Hezbollah used human shields by firing rockets from residential neighborhoods forcing Israel to also kill civilians when aiming at Hezbollah militants. The leader of Hezbollah is Hassan Nassrallah. When Hezbollah was formed in 1982, Nassrallah said in a speech "Death to Israel! Death to America!" in front of many cheering supporters.

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Background

File:BlueLine2.jpg
Map of southern Lebanon, featuring the Blue Line and Litani River, 2006

Hezbollah is one of two major political parties that represent the Shiites in Lebanon, Lebanon's largest religious group. It holds 14 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliament, and is a member of the Resistance and Development Bloc.

Hezbollah organizes an extensive social development program and runs hospitals, news services, and educational facilities.[8] Its Reconstruction Campaign ('Jihad Al Binna') is responsible for numerous economic and infrastructure development projects in Lebanon.[9]

Ending Israel's occupation of Southern Lebanon was the primary focus of Hezbollah's early activities.[10] Israel had become militarily involved in Lebanon in combat with the Palestine Liberation Organization which moved into Southern Lebanon after being ousted from Jordan. The PLO was attacking Israel from Southern Lebanon in the lead up to the 1982 Lebanon War, and Israel had invaded and occupied Southern Lebanon and besieged Beirut.

Then Hezbollah tried to expel Israel from Lebanon. At the beginning it had used suicide attacks against the IDF and also against Jewish and Israeli targets outside of Lebanon.[11] Hezbollah is reputed to have been among the first Islamic resistance groups to use tactical suicide bombing, assassination and capturing against foreign soldiers in the Middle East.[12][10] But gradually Hezbollah turned into paramilitary organization and used missiles, Katyusha and other type of rocket launchers and detonations of explosive charges[4][13][14] instead of capturings,[15][16][17] murders,[16] hijackings,[18] and bombings.[18][19][20] Hezbollah has been subject to assassination and abduction by Israel as well.[18] Hezbollah's violent acts are characterized by some countries as terrorist attacks; while others regard them as a resistance movement engaged in defensive Jihad."[21][22] Human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused Hezbollah of committing war crimes against Israeli civilians.[23]

Supporters of Hezbollah justify Hezbollah's attacks against Israel for several reasons. Firstly, Hezbollah justifies its operations against Israel as reciprocal to Israeli operations against Lebanese civilians and retaliation for Israel's occupation of Lebanese territory.[24][25][26] Many of these attacks took place while Israel occupied the southern part of Lebanon and held it as a security zone in spite of United Nations Security Council Resolution 425. Although Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, and their complete withdrawal was verified by the United Nations, Lebanon now considers the Shebaa farms, a 10 sq. mile piece of land captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 war and considered by the UN to be disputed territory between Syria and Israel, to be Lebanese territory. Additionally, Hezbollah has identified three Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails it wants released.[27] Finally, Hezbollah and some of the Muslim world consider Israel an illegitimate state. For these reasons, many in the Arab world consider acts performed by Hezbollah against Israel to be justified as acts of defensive Jihad.[28][18] Although some Arab states (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia) have condemned Hezbollah's actions, saying that "the Arabs and Muslims can't afford to allow an irresponsible and adventurous organization like Hezbollah to drag the region to war" and calling it "dangerous adventurism,"[29] throughout most of much of Lebanese society and the Arab and Muslim world Hezbollah is regarded as a legitimate resistance movement with an emphasis on "calls for the destruction of Israel."[30] Three-quarters of Lebanese Christians identified Hezbollah as a legitimate group in challenging Israeli aggression.[31][32]

In contrast, the United States, Israel and four other countries consider Hezbollah wholly or partly a terrorist organization. The European Union does not list Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization",[33] but does list Imad Mugniyah, a senior member and founder of Hezbollah as a terrorist.[34]

Ideology

Main article: Hezbollah Ideology

On February 16, 1985 Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin publicly declared the group's manifesto. According to "The Hizballah Program" the principles of its ideology comprise:[35]

  • To expel Americans, the French and their allies definitely from Lebanon, putting an end to any colonialist entity on our land.
  • To submit the phalanges to a just power and bring them all to justice for the crimes they have perpetrated against Muslims and Christians.
  • To permit all the sons of our people to determine their future and to choose in all the liberty the form of government they desire. We call upon all of them to pick the option of Islamic government which alone is capable of guaranteeing justice and liberty for all. Only an Islamic regime can stop any future tentative attempts of imperialistic infiltration onto our country.

It also includes complete destruction of the state of Israel.[35]

Hezbollah's Shi'a Islamic doctrine

File:Hizbullahmartyrs.jpg
Billboard in Southern Lebanon depicting Hezbollah combatant "martyrs." Note the image of the Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock accompanied by an image of Hassan Nasrallah in the center of the billboard.

Hezbollah's original 1985 manifesto reads:

We are the sons of the ummah (Muslim community) - the party of God (Hizb Allah) the vanguard of which was made victorious by God in Iran. There the vanguard succeeded to lay down the bases of a Muslim state which plays a central role in the world. We obey the orders of one leader, wise and just, that of our tutor and faqih (jurist) who fulfills all the necessary conditions: Ruhollah Musawi Khomeini....We are an umma linked to the Muslims of the whole world by the solid doctrinal and religious connection of Islam, whose message God wanted to be fulfilled by the Seal of the Prophets, i.e., Muhammad. Our behavior is dictated to us by legal principles laid down by the light of an overall political conception defined by the leading jurist....As for our culture, it is based on the Holy Koran, the Sunna and the legal rulings of the faqih who is our source of imitation.[35]

Hezbollah was largely formed with the aid of the Ayatollah Khomeini's followers in the early eighties in order to spread Islamic revolution[36] and follows a distinct version of Islamic Shi'a ideology (“Willayat Al-Faqih”) developed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.[4][5][3][6][7]

Although Hezbollah originally aimed to transform Lebanon into an Islamic republic, Hezbollah's spiritual guide Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah claims this goal has been abandoned.[3][10] Doubts, however, remain.[37][38][39]Nasrallah has been quoted as saying, "We believe the requirement for an Islamic state is to have an overwhelming popular desire, and we're not talking about fifty percent plus one, but a large majority."[12] Although Hezbollah believes in one-person-one-vote system and disagree with the multi-confessional quotas under the Ta'if Accord, it does not intend to force a one-person-one-vote system onto the country’s Christians.[40]

Position on armed struggle and suicide attacks

Hezbollah's 1985 founding Manifesto reads:

No one can imagine the importance of our military potential as our military apparatus is not separate from our overall social fabric. Each of us is a fighting soldier. And when it becomes necessary to carry out the Holy War, each of us takes up his assignment in the fight in accordance with the injunctions of the Law, and that in the framework of the mission carried out under the tutelage of the Commanding Jurist. ...This is why whatever touches or strikes the Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines and elsewhere reverberates throughout the whole Muslim umma of which we are an integral part.[35]

According to Islamic law, all Muslims should defend Islamic lands through Defensive Jihad and fight non-Muslims to withdraw from them. Both Sunnis and Shiites accept this principle.[41]

Position on Israel

From the inception of Hezbollah to the present[35][12][42][43][44] the elimination of the State of Israel has been one of Hezbollah's primary goals. Secretary-General Nasrallah has stated that "Israel is an illegal usurper entity, which is based on falsehood, massacres, and illusions,"[28] and considers that the elimination of Israel will bring peace in the Middle East: "There is no solution to the conflict in this region except with the disappearance of Israel."[45][42] In an interview with the Washington Post, Nasrallah said "I am against any reconciliation with Israel. I do not even recognize the presence of a state that is called 'Israel.' I consider its presence both unjust and unlawful. That is why if Lebanon concludes a peace agreement with Israel and brings that accord to the Parliament our deputies will reject it; Hezbollah refuses any conciliation with Israel in principle...When a peace agreement is concluded between the Lebanese government and Israel, we would surely disagree with the Lebanese government about that, but we would not make any turmoil out of it."[46]

In a 1999 interview, Nasrallah outlined the group’s three "minimal demand[s]: an [Israeli] withdrawal from South Lebanon and the Western Bqa’ Valley, a withdrawal from the Golan, and the return of the Palestinian refugees.”[28] An additional objective is the freeing of prisoners held in Israeli jails.[47][48][3] Hezbollah's desire for Israeli prisoners that could be exchanged with Israel led to its abduction of Israeli soldiers which triggered the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.[49]

Israel's occupation of the Shebaa Farms, along with the presence of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails, is often cited as justification – and invoked as a pretext, acccording to many[50][51][52] – for Hezbollah's continued hostilities against Israel even after Israel's verified withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. Hezbollah's spokesperson Hassan Ezzedin, however, had this to say about an Israeli withdrawal from Sheba Farms: "If they go from Shebaa, we won't stop fighting them. ... Our goal is to liberate the 1948 borders of Palestine, ... The Jews who survive this war of liberation can go back to Germany or wherever they came from."[53]

In a 2003 interview, Nasrallah has answered questions concerning the establishment of a Palestinian state established alongside an Israeli state stating "that he would not sabotage what is finally a 'Palestinian matter.' But until such a settlement is reached, he will, he said, continue to encourage Palestinian suicide bombers."[54] Similarly, in 2004, when asked whether he was prepared to live with a two-state settlement between Israel and Palestine, Nasrallah said he wouldn't sabotage what is a Palestinian matter.[12] He also said that outside of Lebanon, Hezbollah will act only in a defensive manner towards Israeli forces, and that Hezbollah's missiles were acquired to deter attacks on Lebanon.[55]

Position on the United States

Hezbollah is considered to be the group behind suicide bombing not only of Israel, but also of the American and French peacekeeping "Multinational Force." According to researcher Robert A. Pape, "from 1982 to 1986, Hezbollah conducted 36 suicide terrorist attacks involving a total of 41 attackers against American, French, and Israeli political and military targets in Lebanon ... Altogether, these attacks killed 659 people, most of who were off-duty soldiers in no position to defend themselves, such as the 241 U.S. Marine who were killed as they slept. [56]

Hezbollah leader Fadlallah, has told interviewer

We believe there is no difference between the United States and Israel; the latter is a mere extension of the former. The United States is ready to fight the whole world to defend Israel's existence and security. The two countries are working in complete harmony, and the United States is certainly not inclined to exert pressure on Israel. [57]

On its Al-Manar Television network, which is viewed by "an estimated 10-15 million people a day across the world," the United States is portrayed by an animated image of "the Statue of Liberty as a ghoul, her gown dripping blood, a knife instead of a torch in her raised hand. In Arabic the video ... concludes with the words: 'America owes blood to all of humanity.'[58]

Position on Jews and Judaism

Hezbollah has declared that it distinguishes between Zionism and Judaism. Hezbollah MP Abdallah Qussayr stated that "Hezbollah has never been against religions. Hezbollah supports all religions, it supports interfaith dialogue, and it has no problem with any religion. Hezbollah considers Zionism to be the enemy, not the Jews as a people or a religion."[59] Hezbollah's official web site marks a distinction between "Zionist ideology" and Judaism. It likens Zionism to "the concept of creating 'Israel' by the use of force and violence, by stealing the Arabs’ lands and killing Palestinians."[60]

Others have attributed anti-Jewish statements to Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah was quoted as saying "if [Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide."[61][62] Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, a Lebanese author and expert on Hezbollah, quoted Hassan Nasrallah as saying, "If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew."[53] Regarding the official public stance of Hezbollah as a whole, she argues that while Hezbollah, "tries to mask its anti-Judaism for public-relations reasons... a study of its language, spoken and written, reveals an underlying truth." In her book, Hezbollah: Politics & Religion, she states that Hezbollah "believes that Jews, by the nature of Judaism, possess fatal character flaws," and that "Hezbollah's Quranic reading of Jewish history has led its leaders to believe that Jewish theology is evil."[53]

In 2004 the Hezbollah-owned television station Al-Manar was banned in France on the grounds that it was inciting racial hatred. The court cited a 23 November 2004 broadcast in which a speaker accused Israel of deliberately disseminating AIDS in Arab nations.[63]

Women’s rights

In keeping with Lebanon’s generally secular and egalitarian culture, Hezbollah recognizes and promotes women’s rights (in the mold of the Western liberal tradition) somewhat more strongly than do other groups associated with Islamic jihad or Iran.[64]

See also: Women in Muslim societies

History

Main article: History of Hezbollah
File:Hizbullah.jpg
Cover of the Hizbullah, The Story From Within, a book written by Naim Qassem, deputy general of Hezbollah.

Background

See also: Israel-Lebanon conflict

Hezbollah was founded in the early 1980s, during the time of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, the Lebanese Civil War, and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.[65] Israel had become militarily involved in Lebanon in combat with the Palestine Liberation Organization who moved into Southern Lebanon after being ousted from Jordan. The PLO was attacking Israel from Southern Lebanon in the lead up to the 1982 Lebanon War, and Israel had invaded and occupied Lebanon to protect its Northern border.

In 1982, Iran sent a contingent of about 1000 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to Zebdani in western Syria and the Bekaa valley of eastern Lebanon. "In November [1982] a demonstration instigated by the Guards and Lebanese radicals brought thousands of men and women to the barracks to demand the eviction of the Lebanese army which they accused of being in the hand of Bashir Gemayel," the Christian president of Lebanon.[66]

In Bekaa, the Guards worked to Islamicize the predominantly Shia area - taking over the Lebanese Army's regional headquarters in the Sheikh Abdullah barracks, a modern clinic renamed `Hospital Khomeini` and the Hotel Khayyam[67] - and to train and equip Lebanese Shia supporters of the Islamic Revolution, particularly to fight the Israel occupation of southern Lebanon.[68]

Foundation

Hezbollah was formed primarily to combat the Israeli occupation following the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.[10][69][38] The organization "was officially founded on February 16, 1985 when Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin declared the group's manifesto."[70] Scholars differ as to when Hezbollah came to be a distinct entity. Some organizations list the official formation of the group as early as 1982[71] whereas Diaz and Newman maintain that Hezbollah remained an amalgamation of various violent Shi’a extremists until as late as 1985.[72] Another version states that it grew out of the southern Shiite resistance formed lead by Sheikh Ragheb Harb, a leader "assassinated by Israel in 1984."[73]

Lebanese Civil war (1982-1990)

See also: Lebanese Civil War

After emerging during the civil war of the early 1980s Hezbollah focused on expelling Israeli and Western forces from Lebanon. Although Hezbollah battled the Amal militia for control of Shiite areas and vigorously attacked Israel's Lebanese proxies(SLA), unlike other wartime militias, it never engaged in sectarian bloodletting (or fought a major engagement with the army) during the war.[74]

During the years prior to its official founding, Hezbollah was held responsible or partially responsible for several attacks on Western (mostly American) targets; the most notable of which were the April 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in which 63 people were killed[75] and the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing in which 241 American military personnel were killed[75] Hezbollah has denied involvement in the latter attack.[76]

Nasrallah's leadership (1992-present)

Hasan Nasrallah was chosen as the secretary-general of Hezbollah after Israeli forces assassinated Seyyed Abbas al-Musawi in 1992.[18][73]

In the early 1990s, Hezbollah underwent what a number of observers have called a process of "Lebanonization",[77] which is reflected in acceptance of a multiconfessional Lebanon, rapprochement with a variety of non-Islamist forces, participation in electoral politics, and an emphasis on providing for the social welfare of its Shi'a Lebanese constituency.[78]

During 1990s, Hezbollah militias became at least as powerful as the national Lebanese army in Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah continued its guerilla warfare campaign against Israeli targets in Southern Lebanon, which Israel occupied after the 1982 war, and internationally despite the requirement of the Taif Agreement that all non-national militias disarm.[79][80] Hezbollah's popularity and prestige grew substantially following Israel's withdrawal from Southern Lebanon verified by the United Nations in 2000,[81] an event considered by Hezbollah and its supporters to be a victory achieved by Hezbollah.[18] Hezbollah continues to fight against Israel in part because it claims that Shebaa Farms, a 35 km² area piece of the Golan Heights, is Lebanese land (the United Nations and Israel both claim it to be Syrian land, however Syria and Lebanon have recognized it as Lebanese land).[82]) In the 2000s, Hezbollah relied less on suicide attacks and more on repeated attempts at capturing Israeli soldiers[83] with the expectation of a prisoner exchange with Israel.[84] Three of these attempts were successful and one of them led to the 2006 Lebanon War which ended in high civilian casualty rates on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border.[85]

Political activities

Main article: Hezbollah political activities
Organizational chart of Hezbollah, by Ahmad Nizar Hamzeh.

Hezbollah, along with the Amal Movement, represents most of the Shi'a community in Lebanon.[86] However, unlike Amal, Hezbollah has not disarmed. Its actions are thought to provide strong clues as to how other emerging Islamist forces, like Hamas and United Iraqi Alliance, might behave.[73]

Hezbollah participates in the Parliament of Lebanon. In the general election of 2005, it won 10.9% of parliamentary seats. The Resistance and Development Bloc, of which Hezbollah is a member, won all 23 seats in Southern Lebanon, and in total 35 seats or 27.3% of parliamentary seats natonwide.[87] When municipal elections were held in Spring, 2004, Hezbollah won control of 21% of the municipalities.[73]

Although Hezbollah had joined the new government in 2005, it remained staunchly opposed to the March 14 Alliance.[88] In November 2006, Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), and the Amal Movement jointly demanded the establishment of a "national unity government",[89][90] in which they demanded early elections and one third of the Cabinet seats; effectively veto power.[91][92] When negotiations with the ruling coalition failed, five Cabinet Ministers from Hezbollah and Amal resigned their positions. A Christian member close to President Lahoud was the sixth member to resign from the Cabinet within twenty-four hours.[93] On December 1, 2006, these groups began the 2006–present Lebanese revolt, an ongoing series of protests and sit-ins in opposition to the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

See also: 2006–2007 Lebanese anti-government revolt

Lebanese government positions on Hezbollah's disarmament

After approval of the U.N. Resolution 1559 that requires Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias to disband and disarm Lebanese prime minister, Najib Mikati, declared on May 7, 2005 that "Our terminology -- Hezbollah -- is not a militia. It's a resistance ... and there is a difference between resistance and militia".[94] On August 5, 2006 the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Fouad Siniora, said that "the continued presence of Israeli occupation of Lebanese lands in the Shebaa Farms region is what contributes to the presence of Hezbollah weapons. The international community must help us in (getting) an Israeli withdrawal from Shebaa Farms so we can solve the problem of Hezbollah's arms".[95]

Military activities

Main article: Hezbollah military activities

Hezbollah has a military branch known as Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya ("The Islamic Resistance") and is the possible sponsor of a number of lesser-known militant groups, some of which may be little more than fronts for Hezbollah itself, including the Organization of the Oppressed, the Revolutionary Justice Organization, the Organization of Right Against Wrong, and Followers of the Prophet Muhammad.[96][4][97]

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 called for the disarmament of militia[98] with the Taif agreement at the end of the Lebanese civil war. Hezbollah denounced and protested against the resolution.[10][99] The 2006 military conflict with Israel has increased the controversy. Failure to disarm remains a violation of the resolution and agreement,[100] but a significant majority[citation needed] of Lebanese consider Hezbollah's weaponry a necessary and justified element of resistance.

Armed strength

See also: Hezbollah rocket force


It has been estimated by Mustafa Alani, security director at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre, that Hezbollah military force is made up of about 1,000 full-time Hezbollah members, along with a further 6,000-10,000 volunteers.[101]

Hezbollah possesses the Katyusha-122 rocket, which has a range of 29 kilometres (18 miles) and carries a 15 kilo (33 pound) warhead. Hezbollah also possesses about 100 long-range missiles. They include the Iranian-made Fajr-3 and Fajr-5, the latter with a range of 75 kilometres, enabling it to strike the Israeli port of Haifa, and the Zelzal-1 with an estimated 150-kilometre range, which can reach Tel Aviv. Fajr-3 missiles have a range of 40 kilometres, and a 45 kilo warhead, and Fajr-5 missiles, which extend to 72 kilometres, also hold 45 kilo warheads.[101]

Hezbollah is also armed with anti-tank guided missiles, namely the Russian-made Metis-M and European-made MILAN missiles, equipped with Tandem warheads able to penetrate Reactive armor. These weapons have been used effectively against the Merkava, the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces, causing at least 22[102][original research?] of the 119 IDF fatalities[103] during the 2006 conflict. For air defence, Hezbollah possesses some anti-aircraft weapons, including the ZU-23 artillery and man-portable shoulder-fired SA-7 and SA-18 surface-to-air missile (SAM).[104] One of the most effective weapons deployed by Hezbollah has been the C-802 anti-ship missile, a variant of the Chinese Silkworm missile.[105]

During the Lebanese-Israeli conflict of 2006, Hezbollah fired 3,970 rockets into Northern Israel in the course of a month, killing 43 Israeli civilians.[106] Hezbollah officials have stated that the group has recovered fully from the previous war; during the Divine Victory rally, held shortly after the cease-fire, Hezbollah's Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah declared that the group has "more than 20,000 rockets available".[107] He also spoke in retrospect of the war, saying "Tel Aviv or elsewhere, we were certain that we could reach any corner or spot in occupied Palestine and now we are certain that we can reach them."[108] Nasrallah has also implied that Hezbollah's rocket force became stronger in the months following the 2006 Lebanon War than it had been during the war itself.[109]

Intelligence capabilities

According to Israeli and American sources, Hezbollah has three units charged with intelligence operations.

One unit is responsible for intelligence activities against Israel, primarily by recruiting and running agents in order to gather information about Israeli military bases and other potential targets and is also known to conduct SIGINT operations against IDF communications.[110]

According to Michael Eisenstadt, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Hezbollah also has a unit called Unit 1800 which aids Palestinians engaged in their operations, by providing funding, direction, weapons, and bomb-building instructions.[111]

Stance on what is a legitimate military target

Hezbollah has not been involved in any suicide bombing since Israel withdrew from Lebanon.[112][113] After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Hezbollah condemned Al Qaeda for targeting the civilian World Trade Center, but remained silent on the attack on the The Pentagon, neither favoring nor opposing the act.[114][12] Hezbollah also denounced the Armed Islamic Group massacres in Algeria, Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya attacks on tourists in Egypt,[115] and the murder of Nick Berg.[116] Nasrallah, in a 2006 interview with the Washington Post, condemned violence against American civilians: “[I]f there are American tourists, or intellectuals, doctors, or professors who have nothing to do with this war, they are innocent, even though they are Americans, and it is forbidden."[114]

Although Hezbollah has denounced certain attacks on Western civilians, some people accuse the organisation of the bombing of an Argentine synagogue in 1994. Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, Marcelo Martinez Burgos, and their "staff of some 45 people"[117] alleged Hezbollah and their contacts in Iran were responsible for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Argentina, in which "[e]ighty-five people were killed and more than 200 others injured."[118] In June 2002, shortly after the Israeli government launched Operation Defensive Shield, Nasrallah gave a speech in which he defended and praised suicide bombings of Israeli targets by members of Palestinian groups for "creating a deterrence and equalizing fear." Nasrallah stated that "in occupied Palestine there is no difference between a soldier and a civilian, for they are all invaders, occupiers and usurpers of the land."[119]

In addition, Hezbollah's television station Al-Manar airs programming designed to inspire suicide attacks in Gaza, the West Bank and Iraq.[53][120][121]

Media operations

Hezbollah operates a satellite television station, Al-Manar TV ("the Lighthouse"), a radio station al-Nour ("the Light"), and a monthly magazine Kabdat Alla ("The Fist of God"). Al-Manar broadcasts from Beirut, Lebanon.[122] The station was launched by Hezbollah in 1991[123] with the help of Iranian funds.[124] Al-Manar, self-proclaimed "Station of the Resistance" (qanat al-muqawama), is a key player in what Hezbollah calls its "psychological warfare against the Zionist enemy"[125][124] and an integral part of Hezbollah's plan to spread its message to the entire Arab world.[124] Al Manar does not aim to be neutral, but instead tries to broadcast in support of a partisan approach to today's news.[126]

Al-Manar's transmission in France is prohibited due to promotion of Holocaust denial, a criminal offense in France.[127][128][129] The United States also lists Al-Manar television network as a terrorist organization.[130]

Materials aimed at instilling principles of nationalism and Islam in children are an aspect of Hezbollah's media operations.[131] The Hezbollah Central Internet Bureau released a video game in 2003 entitled Special Force in which players conduct war on Israeli invaders, wherein the winner becomes a national hero on Earth and a martyr in Heaven.[132]

Social services

Hezbollah also organizes extensive social development programs, running hospitals, news services, and educational facilities. Social services have a central role in the party's programs. Most experts believe that Hezbollah's social and health programmes are worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually.[8]

It has established some institutions which are Emdad committee for Islamic Charity,[133] Hizbollah Central Press Office, Al Jarha Association,[134] and Jehad Al Benaa Developmental Association.[135] Its Reconstruction Campaign ('Jihad al-Binna') is responsible for numerous economic and infrastructure development projects in Lebanon.[136] Hezbollah has set up a Martyr's Institute(Al-Shahid Social Association), which guarantees to provide for the living and education expenses for the families of fighters who die in battle.[137] In March 2006 an IRIN news report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted: "Hezbollah not only has armed and political wings - it also boasts an extensive social development programme. Hezbollah currently operates at least four hospitals, 12 clinics, 12 schools and two agricultural centres that provide farmers with technical assistance and training. It also has an environmental department and an extensive social assistance programme. Medical care is also cheaper than in most of the country's private hospitals and free for Hezbollah members".[8] Also Hezbollah's social service agencies provide health care and schooling for poor farmers.[138]

According to CNN: "Hezbollah did everything that a government should do, from collecting the garbage to running hospitals and repairing schools."[139] In July 2006, during the war with Israel, when there was no running water in Beirut, Hezbollah was arranging supplies around the city. "People here [in South Beirut] see Hezbollah as a political movement and a social service provider as much as it is a militia, in this traditionally poor and dispossessed Shiite community."[139] Also after the war it competes with the Lebanon government to reconstruct destroyed area. According to analysts like American University Professor Judith Swain Harik, Jihad al-Binaa has won the initial battle of hearts and minds in large part because they are the most experienced in the reconstruction field in Lebanon.[140]

Funding

Main article: Funding of Hezbollah

Hezbollah's financial support is a matter of controversy. Critics argue it is, or has been, massively supported with tens of millions of dollars annually from the Islamic Republic of Iran.[53] Hezbollah maintains the main source of its income comes from donations by Muslims.[141]

Lebanese Shi’ites often make zakat contributions directly after prayers, and an additional donation in a Hezbollah donation box. Hezbollah also receives financial and political assistance, as well as weapons and training, from the Islamic Republic of Iran.[8][137][142] The US estimates that Iran was giving Hezbollah about $60-$100 million per year in financial assistance but that assistance declined as other funding was secured, primarily from South America.[143]

Hezbollah has relied extensively on funding from the Shi'ite Lebanese Diaspora in West Africa, the United States and, most importantly, the Triple Frontier, or tri-border area, along the junction of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil.[144] U.S. law enforcement officials charged that smugglers of illegal cigarettes in the United States were funneling millions of dollars to Hezbollah.[145]

Foreign relations

Main article: Hezbollah foreign relations

Hezbollah has close relations with Iran.[146] It also has ties with the Alawite leadership in Syria, specifically with President Hafez al-Assad (until his death in 2000) and his son and successor Bashar al-Assad.[147] Although Hezbollah and Hamas are not organizationally linked, Hezbollah provides military training as well as financial and moral support to the Palestinian group.[148] Furthermore, Hezbollah is a strong supporter of the ongoing Al-Aqsa Intifada. </ref name=nybooks> The cooperation or any relationship between Hezbollah and al-Qaeda has been questioned.[149] Hezbollah's leaders deny links to al-Qaeda, present or past.[149][150] Also some al-Qaeda leaders like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi[151] and Wahhabi clerics consider Hezbollah to be apostate.[152][153] But United States intelligence officials speculate there has been contact between Hezbollah and low-level al-Qaeda figures who fled Afghanistan for Lebanon.[149][154][155]

Outside views of Hezbollah

Lebanon’s majority Shi’a areas, where Hezbollah is most prominent

Public opinion

In the majority of the Arab world, Hezbollah is seen as a legitimate resistance organization that has defended its land against the Israeli occupying force, and consistently stood up to the Israeli army.[12]

According to a poll released by the "Beirut Center for Research and Information" on 26 July during 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, 87 percent of Lebanese support Hezbollah's fight with Israel, a rise of 29 percent on a similar poll conducted in February. More striking, however, is the level of support for Hezbollah's resistance from non-Shiite communities. Eighty percent of Christians polled supported Hezbollah along with 80 percent of Druze and 89 percent of Sunnis.[156][157]

In a poll of Lebanese adults taken in 2004, 6% of respondents gave unqualified support to the statement "Hezbollah should be disarmed". 41% reported unqualified disagreement.[158]

A poll of Palestinians taken in the Gaza Strip indicated that 79.6% had "a very good view" of Hezbollah.[159]

Polls of Jordanian adults in December, 2005 and June, 2006, showed that 63.9% and 63.3%, respectively, considered Hezbollah to be a legitimate resistance organization.[160] In the December, 2005, poll only 6% of Jordanian adults considered Hezbollah to be terrorist.[161]

A poll in August 2006 by ABC News and the Washington Post found that 68% of the 1,002 Americans polled blamed Hezbollah, at least in part, for the civilian casualties in Lebanon during the 2006 Lebanon War, compared to 31% who blamed Israel to some degree.[162] Another August 2006 poll by CNN shows that 69% of the 1,047 Americans polled believe that Hezbollah is unfriendly towards, or an enemy of, the United States.[162] A July 2006 USA Today/Gallup poll found that 83% of the 1,005 Americans polled blamed Hezbollah, at least in part, for the 2006 Lebanon War, compared to 66% who blamed Israel to some degree. Additionally, 76% disapproved of the military action Hezbollah took in Israel, compared to 38% who disapproved of Israel's military action in Lebanon.[162]

Designation as a terrorist organization

Governments disagree on Hezbollah’s status as a legitimate political entity, a terrorist group, or both. Throughout most of the Arab and Muslim worlds, Hezbollah is highly regarded as a legitimate resistance movement.[3] The Lebanese government confirmed it as a legitimate resistance against occupation.[163]

The countries below have officially listed Hezbollah in at least some part as a terrorist organization.

List of states officially designating Hezbollah as "terrorist"
State Part(s) designated as terrorist Reference
 Australia The Hezbollah External Security Organization [164]
 Canada The entire organization Hezbollah [165]
 Israel The entire organization Hezbollah [166][167]
 Netherlands The entire organization Hezbollah [168][169]
 United Kingdom The Hezbollah External Security Organization [170]
 United States The entire organization Hezbollah [171]

In the past, the Netherlands had only considered the External Security Organisation to be terrorist. However, after assessing investigations in 2004, they conclude "that Hezbollah's political and terrorist wings are controlled by one co-ordinating council. This means there is indeed a link between these parts of the organisation. The Netherlands has changed its policy and no longer makes a distinction between the political and terrorist Hezbollah branches."[169]

The European Union does not list Hezbollah, or any group within it, a "terrorist" organization,[172][173] but on 10 March 2005 the European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution recognizing "clear evidence" of "terrorist activities by Hezbollah"[174] and urging the EU Council to brand Hezbollah a terrorist organization and EU governments to place Hezbollah on their terrorist blacklists, as the bloc did with the Palestinian Hamas group in 2003.[174] The Council, however, has been reluctant to do this because France, Spain, and Britain fear that such a move would further damage the prospects for Middle East peace talks.[174] The EU Council designates Imad Mugniyah as a terrorist, claiming he is Hezbollah's "Senior Intelligence Officer".[172][175] In the midst of the 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, Russia’s government declined to include Hezbollah in a newly-released list of terrorist organizations, saying that they only list organizations which represent "the greatest threat to the security of [4]".[176] This was a notable omission given Russia’s membership with the US, EU, and UN in the Middle East Quartet. Prior to the release of the list, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov called "on Hezbollah to stop resorting to any terrorist methods including attacking neighboring states."[177]

The Quartet’s fourth member, the United Nations, does not maintain such a list.[178]

Some other countries have criticized Hezbollah, citing terrorist activities, without maintaining such a list. Argentine prosecutors hold Hezbollah and their financial supporters in Iran responsible for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center, described by the Associated Press as "the worst terrorist attack on Argentine soil", in which "[e]ighty-five people were killed and more than 200 others injured."[118] On 24 February 2000, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin condemned attacks by Hezbollah fighters on Israeli forces in south Lebanon, saying they are "terrorism" and not acts of resistance. "France condemns Hezbollah's attacks, and all types of terrorist attacks which may be carried out against soldiers, or possibly Israel's civilian population."[179] On 29 August 2006, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema differentiated the wings of Hezbollah: "Apart from their well-known terrorist activities, they also have political standing and are socially engaged."[180][181]

Hezbollah accused of war crimes

On September 14, 2006, Amnesty International released a report on the 2006 conflict with Israel accusing both parties of war crimes.[182] Human Rights Watch similarly accused Hezbollah of war crimes in a report issued on August 5, 2006.[183]

See also

References

  1. ^ Other transliterations include Hizbullah, Hizbollah, Hezballah, Hizballah, Hisbollah, and Hizb Allah.
  2. ^ In English the stress is most commonly placed on the final syllable, as suggested in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (this is in accord with the Persian pronunciation, of Iran); in the Arabic of Hezbollah's theatre of operations it is most commonly placed on the second syllable. Hizb (party) is the Modern Standard Arabic pronunciation, and hezb is closer to Persian and Lebanese dialect. The name is derived from a Qur’anic ayat (verse) referring to those who belong to and follow the "party of God" [1].
  3. ^ a b c d e [2]
  4. ^ a b c d Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1996-04-11). "Hizbullah". Retrieved 2006-08-17.
  5. ^ a b "FRONTLINE/WORLD . Lebanon - Party of God . The Story." PBS. 24 February 2007.
  6. ^ a b Rubenstein, Colin. "Australia is right to ban Hezbollah. Here's why." The Age. 2 June 2003. 24 February 2007.
  7. ^ a b "National Geographic News Photo Gallery: Hezbollah, Igniting Conflict." National Geographic News. 24 February 2006.
  8. ^ a b c d UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2006-03-29). "LEBANON: The many hands and faces of Hezbollah". Retrieved 2006-08-17.
  9. ^ Sachs, Susan. The New York Times. Helping Hand of Hezbollah Emerging in South Lebanon. March 30, 2000.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Hezbollah". BBC News. 2002-04-04. Retrieved 2006-08-11.
  11. ^ Pape, Robert (2005). Dying to win: the strategic logic of suicide terrorism. Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6317-5. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |loc= ignored (help) Specifically: "Suicide Terrorist Campaigns, 1980-2003", Appendix 1. (Page 253 of Australian paperback edition, published by Scribe Publications)
  12. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference nybooks was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Zionism and Israel - Encyclopedic Dictionary, Hezbollah Definition
  14. ^ Hezbollah – the real story
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  16. ^ a b H. CON. RES. 190, 1st session, 101st congress (1989-08-04). "Expressing the sense of the Congress over the reported murder of Lieutenant Colonel William Higgins and Hezbollah-sponsored terrorism". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2006-08-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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  24. ^ CIVILIAN PAWNS, Laws of War Violations and the Use of Weapons on the Israel-Lebanon Border
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  82. ^ In focus: Shebaa farms
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  84. ^ Mid-East prisoners welcomed home
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  115. ^ Hezbollah's condemnation of murder of civilians in Egypt and Algeria is described in Saad-Ghorayeb, p. 101.
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  117. ^ Larry Luxner (2006-03-04). "AMIA Probe Was Botched: Argentina". The Jewish Week. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
  118. ^ a b "Argentine prosecutors: Arrest former Iranian president." Jerusalem Post, 2006-10-26, "Prosecutor Alberto Nisman told a news conference that the decision to attack the center 'was undertaken in 1993 by the highest authorities of the then-government of Iran.' He said the actual attack was entrusted to the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah."
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  128. ^ Press Release(in French)
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  132. ^ Video Game at
  133. ^ Emdad committee for Islamic Charity
  134. ^ Al Jarha Association
  135. ^ Jehad Al Benaa Developmental Association
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  160. ^ Angus Reid Global Scan, citing Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, July 14, 2006 Hamas, Hezbollah Legitimate for Jordanians Accessed August 14, 2006
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  165. ^ See:
  166. ^ "Summary of Terrorist Activity 2004". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2005-01-05. Retrieved 2006-07-15.
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  168. ^ "beantwoording_toezegging_inzake_de_positie_van_hezbollah" (website). The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. p. 1. Retrieved 2006-10-11.
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  172. ^ a b "COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2005/847/CFSP" (PDF). 29 November 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |publication= ignored (help)
  173. ^ "The EU's relations with Lebanon". December 2005. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
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  176. ^ "Hezbollah not on Russia's "terrorist" list". Associated Press. Retrieved 2006-08-10. {{cite news}}: Text "date-2006-07-28" ignored (help)
  177. ^ Haaretz (2006-07-15). "Russian defense minister says Hezbollah uses 'terrorist methods' - Haaretz - Israel News". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  178. ^ United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Portal Accessed August 7, 2006
  179. ^ French PM lashes Hezbollah 'terrorism'
  180. ^ D'Alema: The end of unilateralism, UN back in the lead
  181. ^ Italian FM: Hezbollah, Hamas are not al-Qaida
  182. ^ "Israel/Lebanon Under fire: Hizbullah's attacks on northern Israel". Amnesty International. 2006-09-14. Retrieved 2006-09-14.
  183. ^ "Israel/Lebanon: Hezbollah Must End Attacks on Civilians". Human Rights Watch. 2006-08-05. Retrieved 2006-10-04.

Literature

  • Bregman, Ahron (2002). Israel's Wars: A History Since 1947. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-28716-2.

Official sites

UN resolutions regarding Lebanon

United States Department of State

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