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Template:Infobox Social Political Party

For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation).

Hezbollah (Template:Lang-ar Template:ArabDIN, literally "party of God") is a Shi'a Islamic political and paramilitary organization based in Lebanon. It follows a distinct version of Islamic Shi'a ideology developed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.

Hezbollah began to take shape during the Lebanese Civil War with three main goals comprising the eradication of what it viewed as Western colonialism in Lebanon, the bringing to justice of those who committed atrocities during the war (specifically the Phalangists), and to establishing an Islamic government in Lebanon. Hezbollah has realized that the goal of transforming Lebanon into an Islamic state is not practical at this time and has temporarily abandoned it.

Hezbollah has popular support in Shi'a Lebanese society and has mobilized demonstrations of hundreds of thousands. In addition Hezbollah receives arms, training, and financial support from Iran and has "operated with Syria's blessing" since the end of the Civil War. Hezbollah, which started only with a militia, has grown to an organization which has seats in the Lebanese government, a radio and a satellite television station, and programs for social development. Since 1992 the organization has been headed by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, its Secretary-General.

Six countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, officially list Hezbollah or its external security arm as a terrorist organization. In addition, Hezbollah is often referred to as a radical Islamic group. These labels are controversial, as most of the Arab and Muslim worlds regard Hezbollah as a legitimate resistance movement.

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Background

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. Its Reconstruction Campaign ('Jihad Al Binna') is responsible for numerous economic and infrastructure development projects in Lebanon.

Ending Israel's occupation of Southern Lebanon was the primary focus of Hezbollah's early activities. 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. According to the BBC, "For many years, Hezbollah was synonymous with terror, suicide bombings and kidnappings. Hezbollah is reputed to have been among the first Islamic resistance groups to use tactical suicide bombing against foreign soldiers in the Middle East. But gradually Hezbollah turned into paramilitary organization and used missiles, Katyusha and other type of rocket launchers and detonations of explosive charges instead of kidnappings, murders, hijackings, and bombings. Hezbollah has been subject to assassination and abduction by Israel as well. Hezbollah's violent acts are characterized by some countries as terrorist attacks; while others regard them as a resistance movement engaged in defensive Jihad." Human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused Hezbollah of committing war crimes against Israeli civilians.

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. 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. 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. 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," 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." Three-quarters of Lebanese Christians identified Hezbollah as a legitimate group in challenging Israeli aggression.

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", but does list Imad Mugniyah, a senior member and founder of Hezbollah as a terrorist.

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:

  • 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.

In the early 1990s, Hezbollah underwent what a number of observers have called a process of "Lebanonization", 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.

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.

Hezbollah was largely formed with the aid of the Ayatollah Khomeini's followers in the early eighties in order to spread Islamic revolution 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.

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. Doubts, however, remain.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." 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.

Position on Israel

From the inception of Hezbollah to the present the elimination of the State of Israel has been Hezbollah's primary goal. Secretary-General Nasrallah has stated that "Israel is an illegal usurper entity, which is based on falsehood, massacres, and illusions," 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." 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."

In a 1999 interview, Nasrallah outlined the group’s three "minimal demand: an withdrawal from South Lebanon and the Western Bqa’ Valley, a withdrawal from the Golan, and the return of the Palestinian refugees.” An additional objective is the freeing of prisoners held in Israeli jails. 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.

Israel's occupation of the Shebaa Farms, along with the presence of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails, is often used as a pretext and stated as justification for the 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 will not 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. However, that the Jews who lived in Palestine before 1948 will be 'allowed to live as a minority and they will be cared for by the Muslim majority."

In 2002, according to the BBC, Hezbollah, "said publicly that it is ready to open a second front against Israel in support of the intifada." 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." In the same interview, Nasrallah stated that "at the end of the road no one can go to war on behalf of the Palestinians, even if that one is not in agreement with what the Palestinians agreed on", adding, "Of course, it would bother us that Jerusalem goes to Israel ... let it happen. I would not say O.K. I would say nothing." Similarly, in 2004, when asked whether he was prepared to live with a two-state settlement between Israel and Palestine, Nasrallah said he would not sabotage what is a Palestinian matter. 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.

Position on use of armed strength to achieve aims

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.

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.

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." 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."

Others have attributed anti-Jewish statements to Hassan Nasrallah. Badih Chayban wrote an article in the Beirut-based Daily Star which quoted him as saying "if all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide." Charles Glass asserted that Wafa Hoteit, Hezbollah's spokeswoman, has denied that Nasrallah ever made the statement, and that the paper's managing editor has since called into question the accuracy of the quotation, as well as the honesty of the reporter. 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. Notice, I do not say the Israeli." 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."

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.

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.

See also: Women in Muslim societies

History

Main article: History of Hezbollah

Background

See also: Israel-Lebanon conflict

Its origins started in the early 1980s in a milieu which included the recent Iranian Islamic Revolution, political and secular conflict in Lebanon, and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. 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. Also, in 1982, Iran sent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to train Lebanese groups while Israel was invading and occuping the southern part of Lebanon.

Foundation

Hezbollah was formed primarily to combat the Israeli occupation following the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. The organization "was officially founded on February 16, 1985 when Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin declared the group's manifesto." 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 whereas Diaz and Newman maintain that Hezbollah remained an amalgamation of various violent Shi’a extremists until as late as 1985. 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."

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.

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 and the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing in which 241 American military personnel were killed Hezbollah has denied involvement in the latter attack.

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.

In the early 1990s, Hezbollah underwent what a number of observers have called a process of "Lebanonization", 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.

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. Hezbollah's popularity and prestige grew substantially following Israel's withdrawal from Southern Lebanon verified by the United Nations in 2000, an event considered by Hezbollah and its supporters to be a victory achieved by Hezbollah. 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).) In the 2000s, Hezbollah relied less on suicide attacks and more on repeated attempts at kidnapping Israeli soldiers with the expectation of a prisoner exchange with Israel. 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.

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. 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.

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. When municipal elections were held in Spring, 2004, Hezbollah won control of 21% of the municipalities.

Although Hezbollah had joined the new government in 2005, it remained staunchly opposed to the March 14 Alliance. In November 2006, Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), and the Amal Movement jointly demanded the establishment of a "national unity government", in which they demanded early elections and one third of the Cabinet seats; effectively veto power. 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. 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". 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".

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.

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

Armed strength

File:Raad-image1.jpg
Ra'ad 1 single 333mm rocket launcher, shown on al-Manar.
See also: Hezbollah rocket force

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

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 Zelsal-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. Some analysts believe that Hezbollah also has the more potent Zelzal-2 which has a claimed range of 200-400km and can be fitted with a 600kg high-explosive warhead.

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 most of the deaths of the 44 Israeli soldiers who were killed during the first four weeks of 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). One of the most effective weapons deployed by Hezbollah has been the C-802 anti-ship missile, a variant of the Chinese Silkworm missile.

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.

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".

Hezbollah is now thought to be focusing on training militants in the construction and deployment of "so-called `mega-bombs,`" for use against Israel. These portable devices powerful enough "to bring down office towers and other large structures" and kill thousands.

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.

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.

Stance on what is a legitimate military target

Hezbollah has not been involved in any suicide bombing since Israel withdrew from Lebanon. It has publicly denounced some of these attacks. 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. Hezbollah also denounced the Armed Islamic Group massacres in Algeria, Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya attacks on tourists in Egypt, and the murder of Nick Berg. Nasrallah, in a 2006 interview with the Washington Post, condemned violence against American civilians: “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."

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" alleged Hezbollah and their contacts in Iran were responsible for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Argentina, in which "ighty-five people were killed and more than 200 others injured." 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."

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

Media operations

File:Nasrallah on al-Manar television.jpg
Hassan Nasrallah on al-Manar

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 in Arabic, English, French and Hebrew and is widely watched both in Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, and in other Arab countries. The primary message of the station is the promotion of resistance and struggle, or 'jihad.' It promotes armed resistance against foreign invaders, such as Israel, the United States and other countries. Current political focus is on the Israeli occupation of Sheeba Farms and the Israeli oppression of Palestinians. According to Al Manar's news director, Hassan Fadlallah, Al Manar does not aim to be unbalanced in its broadcasting, but instead, the reality itself is biased.

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

Materials aimed at instilling principles of nationalism and Islam in children are an aspect of Hezbollah's media operations. 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.

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.

It has established some institutions which are Emdad committee for Islamic Charity, Hizbollah Central Press Office, Al Jarha Association, and Jehad Al Benaa Developmental Association. Its Reconstruction Campaign ('Jihad al-Binna') is responsible for numerous economic and infrastructure development projects in Lebanon. 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. 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". Also Hezbollah's social service agencies provide health care and schooling for poor farmers.

According to CNN: "Hezbollah did everything that a government should do, from collecting the garbage to running hospitals and repairing schools." 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 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." 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.

Funding

Main article: Funding of Hezbollah

Hezbollah's financial support is a matter of controversy as critics argue it is, or has been, massively supported 10s of millions of dollars annually from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Supporters maintain the main source of its income comes from donations by Muslims.

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. 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.

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. U.S. law enforcement officials charged that smugglers of illegal cigarettes in the United States were funneling millions of dollars to Hezbollah.

Foreign relations

Main article: Hezbollah foreign relations

Hezbollah has close relations with Iran. 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. Hezbollas has declared his support for the ongoing al-Aqsa intifada.

The cooperation or any relationship between Hezbollah and al-Qaeda has been questioned. Hezbollah's leaders denies links to al-Qaeda, present or past. Also some of the al-Qaeda's leaders like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Wahhabists clerics consider Hezbollah to be apostate. But United States intelligence officials speculate there has been contact between Hezbollah and low-level al-Qaeda figures who fled Afghanistan for Lebanon.

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.

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,

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.

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

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. In the December, 2005, poll only 6% of Jordanian adults considered Hezbollah to be terrorist.

ABC News/Washington Post Poll. Aug. 3-6, 2006. N=1,002 adults in the US. MoE ± 3 (for all adults). 46% said Israel and Hezbollah are both responsible for the conflict in Lebanon, 39% said Hezbollah is most to blame, while only 7% said Israel is. The same poll found that 58% blamed Hezbollah for the civilian casualties in Lebanon for locating its fighters and rocket launchers in civilian areas, while 21% blame Israel for bombing Hezbollah targets in those areas.

A poll in August 2006 by ABC News and the Washington Post found that an overwhelming majority of the 1,002 people polled blames Hezbollah more than Israel "for the civilian casualties in Lebanon" during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. Another August 2006 poll by CNN shows that an overwhelming majority of the 1,067 people polled believe that Hezbollah is "an enemy of the United States." A July 2006 USA Today gallop poll found that an overwhelming majority of the 1,005 people polled blame Hezbollah "a great deal" for the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict more than any of the other political entities asked about (the other entities were Israel, Lebanon, Iran, and Syria), 76% "disapprove of the military action Israel has taken in Lebanon", and that not a single person polled thought "the United States ... should take Hezbollah's side" during the conflict.

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. The Lebanese government confirmed it as a legitimate resistance against occupation.

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

List of entities officially designating Hezbollah as "terrorist"
Entity Part(s) designated as terrorist Reference
 United States The entire organization Hezbollah
 Canada The entire organization Hezbollah
 Israel The entire organization Hezbollah
 United Kingdom The Hezbollah External Security Organization
 Netherlands The entire organization Hezbollah
 Australia The Hezbollah External Security Organization

In a 2004 article, Dennis Ross, the Middle East envoy under the first Bush and Clinton administrations, was cited as saying that Hezbollah's resistance to the Israeli occupation, unlike its past activities aimed at Western targets, is not terrorism and that the US included Hezbollah on its list of terrorist groups for Hezbollah's past activities, not for its ongoing resistance to Israel.

The European Union does not list Hezbollah, or any group within it, a "terrorist" organization, but on 10 March 2005 the European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution recognizing "clear evidence" of "terrorist activities by Hezbollah" 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. 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. The EU Council designates Imad Mugniyah as a terrorist, claiming he is Hezbollah's "Senior Intelligence Officer".

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 "ighty-five people were killed and more than 200 others injured."

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

Some other countries have criticized Hezbollah, citing terrorist activities, without listing the organization as terrorist. For example, 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." On 29 August 2006, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema differentiated the wings of Hezbollah: "Besides their well-known responsibilities for terrorist actions, they have a political side, they are engaged in assistance." In July 2006 Russia published list of 17 terrorist groups which hasn't included Hezbollah.

Hezbollah accused of war crimes

On September 14, 2006, Amnesty International released a report accusing Hezbollah of war crimes during the 2006 conflict with Israel. Human Rights Watch have similarly accused Hezbollah of war crimes in a report issued on August 5, 2006.

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" .
  3. ^
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  5. ^ "FRONTLINE/WORLD . Lebanon - Party of God . The Story." PBS. 24 February 2007.
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  7. ^ "National Geographic News Photo Gallery: Hezbollah, Igniting Conflict." National Geographic News. 24 February 2006.
  8. ^ An open letter, The Hizballah program
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  10. Briefing: Lebanese Public Opinion
  11. Who are Hezbollah?, BBC News
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  91. In focus: Shebaa farms
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  93. Mid-East prisoners welcomed home
  94. Who are the Mid-East prisoners?
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  127. Full Text of the decision (in French)
  128. Press Release(in French)
  129. France pulls plug on Arab network
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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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  158. 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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  174. "COUNCIL DECISION of [[21 December]] 2005 implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism and repealing Decision 2005/848/EC(2005/930/EC)" (PDF). Official Journal of the European Union. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  175. United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Portal Accessed August 7, 2006
  176. French PM lashes Hezbollah 'terrorism'
  177. Italian FM: Hezbollah, Hamas are not al-Qaida
  178. Russia Outlaws 17 Terror Groups; Hamas, Hezbollah Not Included
  179. Russia names 'terrorist' groups
  180. "Israel/Lebanon Under fire: Hizbullah's attacks on northern Israel". Amnesty International. 2006-09-14. Retrieved 2006-09-14.
  181. "srael/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.

External links

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United States Department of State

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