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In addition to its military wing, Hezbollah maintains a Civilian arm, which runs Hospital s, news services, educational facilities and participates in the Lebanese Parliament and recently it was represented in the 2005 cabinet of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. ALTERNATIVE SPELLINGS AND NAMES The name حزب الله is transliterated from the Arabic in a number of ways. A scientific transliteration would be hizbu' llah. '''Hezbollah''' is used by CNN and BBC . It is also written as '''Hizbullah,''' '''Hizballah,''' '''Hizbollah,''' '''Hezbollah,''' and the literal Arabic version '''Hizb Allah,''' which is used by Al Jazeera . "Hizb" (party) is the Modern Standard Arabic pronunciation, and "Hezb" is closer to Persian and to Lebanese Dialect . The 'h' is Pharyngeal in Arabic, but a normal 'h' sound in Persian. The "-llah" ending, originally "Allah", means "(the) God". The name is derived from a Qu'ranic aayat (verse) referring to those who belong to and follow the "Party of God". 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 organizations, some of which may be little more than fronts for Hezbollah itself. These organizations include the Organization of the Oppressed, the Revolutionary Justice Organization, the Organization of Right Against Wrong, and Followers of the Prophet Muhammad {Link without Title} DESIGNATIONS Hezbollah has been labeled a terrorist organization by the in Lebanon - though accountability for the Marine barracks bombing has never been thoroughly established or proven). Hezbollah, however, denies any involvement in these attacks. The European Union has labeled Hezbollah's External Security Organization or international wing as "terrorist". On . Hezbollah has denounced some acts of terror, such as the and Islamic Jihad , Islamist groups responsible for Suicide Attacks and armed resistance in Israel. HISTORY Origins Scholars differ on when Hezbollah came to be a distinct entity. Some organizations list the official formation of the group as early as 1982, (GlobalSecurity.org, 2005) whereas Diaz and Newman maintain that Hezbollah remained an amalgamation of various violent Shi’a extremists until as late as 1985 (Diaz & Newman, 2005, p. 55). Regardless of when the name came into official use, a number of Shi’a groups were slowly assimilated into the organization, such as Islamic Jihad, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth and the Revolutionary Justice Organization (Garamone, 2006). One of the main objectives of Hizbullah at the time was to spread the Islamic Revolution. Since then, the party has publicly declared that it will suspend its attempts to create an Islamic state in Lebanon "because the conditions are not yet met" until there is no other viable alternative but to elect an Islamic government. It remained underground for a number of years and did not make a public announcement of its existence until 1985. Its earliest members operated under the auspices of the "Lebanese National Resistance," an amalgam of forces united in their opposition and resistance to the Israeli aggression and invasion. Hezbollah during the Lebanese war (1982-1990) Combat Operations After emerging during the civil war of the early 1980s as an Iranian-sponsored second resistance movement (besides s of the U.S. Embassy , which killed 63 including 17 Americans, of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut (see 1983 Beirut Barracks Bombing ), which killed 241 American servicemen, and of the French multinational force headquarters which killed 58 French troops. Seven months after the U.S. withdrew its forces from Lebanon a second attack upon the United States Embassy annex in Beirut in September 1984 killed 20 people including two Americans. {Link without Title} . Elements of the group have been "linked" to involvement in kidnapping, detention and Interrogation of American and other Western Hostage s in Lebanon by groups such as Islamic Jihad who claimed the hostage-takings were in retaliation to the detentions, hostage-taking and torture by the Israeli proxy army South Lebanon Army (SLA). There also have been (attempted) terrorist attacks against Hezbollah. According to . The Saudis for their part hired an ex- SAS contact who coordinated and carried out the failed assassination attempt that left over 80 civilians dead when the apartment building was reduced to rubble by a car bomb. The operation cost the Saudis $3 million and was conditional on it remaining a secret, which it didn't for long. Terrorism Using names like the Organization of the Oppressed on Earth and the Revolutionary Justice Organization, Hezbollah is also believed by the United States to have kidnapped and tortured to death {Link without Title} U.S. Marine Colonel William R. Higgins and the CIA Station Chief in Beirut, William Buckley , and to have kidnapped around 30 other Westerners between 1982 and 1992, including the American journalist Terry Anderson , British journalist John McCarthy , the Archbishop Of Canterbury 's special envoy Terry Waite and Irish citizen Brian Keenan . Hezbollah was accused by the US government of being responsible for the April 1983 Bombing Of The U.S. Embassy In Beirut that killed 63; of being behind the Suicide Truck Bombings that killed 241 U.S. Marines in their barracks in Beirut in October 1983; of bombing the replacement U.S. Embassy in East Beirut on September 20 , 1984 , killing 20 Lebanese and two American soldiers; and of carrying out the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome. Hezbollah denies involvement in these attacks and no evidence has come forth since. The South Lebanon period (1990-2000) The continued existence of Hezbollah's military wing after 1990 violates the Taif Agreement that ended the Lebanese Civil War , which requires the "disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias" and requires the government to "deploy the Lebanese army in the border area adjacent to Israel." The Lebanese government did not try to disarm the Hezbollah during the 1990-2000 period, justifying its position by the fact that Hezbollah was a legitimate national resistance force, fighting for the liberation of the south, then occupied by Israel. Conflict in South Lebanon South Lebanon was occupied by Israel between 1982 and 2000. Hezbollah, along with the mainly leftist and secular groups in the Lebanese National Resistance Front, fought a guerilla war against Israel and the Israeli proxy South Lebanon Army . The National Resistance Front militias disarmed in accordance with the Taif Accords, but Hezbollah remained defiant claiming until all Lebanese soil is liberated and Israel expelled, resistance against occupation will continue. They had become by far the largest and most powerful and effective of the resistance organizations. The fighting culminated during Operation Grapes Of Wrath in April 1996 when Israel launched an assault and air-campaign against Hezbollah. The campaign failed and resulted in the Israelis killing more than 150 civilians and refugees in an aerial bombardment of a United Nations base at Qana . In January 2000, Hezbollah assassinated the commander of the South Lebanon Army's Western Brigade, Colonel Aql Hashem, at his home in the security zone. Hashem had been responsible for day to day operations of the SLA. {Link without Title} In May 2000, Israel finally withdrew its army from south Lebanon. This was widely considered a victory for Hezbollah and boosted its popularity hugely in Lebanon. The expulsion of Israel did not end the conflict because Hezbollah is still contesting Israel's control of the Shebaa Farms region. Hezbollah's role in the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon gained the organization much respect in Lebanon and the wider arab and Islamic world, particularly among the country's large Shi'a community. The Shi'a is the single largest religious group in Lebanon, probably comprising at least 48% of the three million citizens (see Demographics Of Lebanon ). The President Of Lebanon , Emile Lahoud , said: "For us Lebanese, and I can tell you the majority of Lebanese, Hezbollah is a national resistance movement. If it wasn't for them, we couldn't have liberated our land. And because of that, we have big esteem for the Hezbollah movement." {Link without Title} . However, others in Lebanon, particularly the minority Christian community, privately criticize the movement as extremist and divisive. General Michel Aoun , a prominent Christian parliamentarian and former General, has repeatedly called for Hezbollah's disarmament. Saad Hariri and his Sunni bloc also favor disarmament, though with more equivocation than Aoun. Walid Jumblatt , the paramount Druze leader, supports Hezbollah retaining its arms, though at times he has suggested that Hezbollah could be folded into the Lebanese military. Overall, most prominent Lebanese politicians have profoundly resisted international pressure to disarm Hezbollah, saying that Hezbollah is an internal Lebanese issue. The common fear among Lebanese is that the army might disintegrate if the attempt were made to disarm Hezbollah without its consent. Alleged Hezbollah terrorist involvement Hezbollah has been suspected or accused of complicity in the following attacks. Hezbollah, however, denies any involvement. The Argentinean government says it has gathered enough evidents that prove Hezbollah complicity in one of these attacks ( AMIA Bombing ).
Hezbollah after the Israeli withdrawal On , a 28 sq. km. area, which is still occupied by Israel, to be Lebanese territory, and on that basis has continued to engage Israeli forces in that area. The UN recognizes the Shebaa farms as part of the Golan Heights, and thus occupied Syrian (and not Lebanese) territory. Israeli aircraft continue to fly over Lebanese territory, eliciting condemnation from the ranking UN representative in Lebanon. Hezbollah's retaliatory anti-aircraft fire, doubling as small caliber artillery, has on some occasions landed within Israel's northern border towns, inciting condemnation from the UN Secretary-General [http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=449]. On November 7 , 2004 , Hezbollah responded to what it described as repeated Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace by flying an Unmanned Drone Aircraft over northern Israel .[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3990773.stm] Hezbollah abducted three IDF Soldier s during an October 2000 attack in Shebaa Farms, and sought to obtain the release of 14 Lebanese prisoners, some of whom had been held since 1978. On January 25 , 2004 , Hezbollah successfully negotiated through German mediators Israel agreed on an exchange of prisoners. The prisoner swap was carried out on January 29 : 30 Lebanese and Arab prisoners, the remains of 60 Lebanese militants and civilians, 420 Palestinian prisoners, and maps showing Israeli mines in South Lebanon were exchanged for an Israeli businessman and army reserve colonel kidnapped in 2001 and the remains of the three IDF soldiers mentioned above, who were killed either during the Hezbollah operation, or in its immediate aftermath. On , 2005 Palestinian Authority officials blamed Hezbollah of attempting to derail the recent truce between Israel and Palestine by offering increased funding and bonuses to the militant cells it operates in Israel for any attack they carry out [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=1&u=/ap/20050209/ap_on_re_mi_ea/hezbollah_threat . UN resolution 1559 On September 2 , 2004 , the UN Security Council adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1559 , coauthored by France and the United States. Echoing the Taif Agreement , the resolution "calls upon all remaining foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon" and "for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias." Lebanon is currently in violation of Resolution 1559 over its refusal to disband the military wing of Hezbollah. Syria was also in violation of the resolution until recently because of their military presence in Lebanon On October 7 , 2004 the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan reported to the Security Council regarding the lack of compliance with Resolution 1559. Mr. Annan concluded his report by saying: "It is time, 14 years after the end of hostilities and four years after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, for all parties concerned to set aside the remaining vestiges of the past. The withdrawal of foreign forces and the disbandment and disarmament of militias would, with finality, end that sad chapter of Lebanese history." {Link without Title} The January 20 , 2005 UN Secretary-General's report on Lebanon stated that "The continually asserted position of the Government of Lebanon that the Blue Line is not valid in the Shab'a Farms area is not compatible with Security Council resolutions. The Council has recognized the Blue Line as valid for purposes of confirming Israel’s withdrawal pursuant to resolution 425 (1978). The Government of Lebanon should heed the Council’s repeated calls for the parties to respect the Blue Line in its entirety." {Link without Title} On January 28 , 2005 UN Security Council Resolution 1583 called upon the Government of Lebanon to fully extend and exercise its sole and effective authority throughout the south, including through the deployment of sufficient numbers of Lebanese armed and security forces, to ensure a calm environment throughout the area, including along the Blue Line, and to exert control over the use of force on its territory and from it. {Link without Title} On January 23 , 2006 The UN Security Council called on the Government of Lebanon to make more progress in controlling its territory and disbanding militias, while also calling on Syria to cooperate with those efforts. In a statement read out by its January President, Augustine Mahiga of Tanzania, the Council also called on Syria to take measures to stop movements of arms and personnel into Lebanon {Link without Title} . Hezbollah activities in the al-Aqsa Intifada See Also: al-Aqsa Intifada , 2001]] In December 2001 three Hezbollah operatives were caught in Jordan while attempting to bring in BM-13 Katyusha rockets into the West Bank. Syed Hassan Nasrallah secretary general of Hezbollah, responded that "It is every freedom loving peoples right and duty against occupation to send arms to Palestinians from any possible place." {Link without Title} During , Karin A ). On activists. {Link without Title} On June 23 , 2004 , another allegedly Hezbollah-funded Suicide Bombing attack was foiled by the Israeli Security Forces . {Link without Title} . In February 2005 the Palestinian Authority accused Hezbollah of attempting to derail the truce signed with Israel. Palestinian officials and former militants described how Hezbollah promised an increase in funding for any occupation resistance group able to carry out an attack on Israeli military targets {Link without Title} . Since the May 2000 Israeli withdrawal, Hezbollah has continued fighting the IDF around the disputed 10 km&2- Shebaa Farms area on the Lebanese-Syrian border. Although the UN regards Shebaa Farms — 14 farms on the western slope of Mount Hermon, near the village of Shebaa — as Syrian territory, The Lebanese government and Hezbollah considers the area a part of Lebanon. The Shebaa farms were taken by Israel from Syria during the 1967 War . Syria was asked to notify the UN that it considered the Shebaa farms to be part of Lebanon, but no official statement was ever sent. This has led some specialists to believe that Hezbollah’s attempt to recapture the area was a Syrian-backed pretext to keep Israel under military pressure. Some argue that Hezbollah is being used by Syria and Iran as a Proxy against Israel. {Link without Title} Hezbollah and the "Cedar Revolution" After the assassination of Rafik Hariri in February 2005 Hezbollah strongly supported Syria through demonstrations. It is claimed that Hezbollah is "opposed" to the Cedar Revolution which resulted in Syria's withdrawal. Hezbollah, however, won the biggest number of representatives in its history during the national parliamentary elections of May 2005 and was asked to join the Government In July 2005 in the name of national unity. Hezbollah still holds on to its weapons and the subject remains extremely controversial in Lebanon. Hezbollah activities following the "Cedar Revolution" During the months following (Hezbollah's main backer) Syria's April 2005 withdrawal from Lebanon, international and domestic pressure has mounted on Hezbollah to dismantle its military wing and become solely a political party. On ) {Link without Title} . On denounced the attack as "aimed at destabilizing security and diverting attention from efforts exerted to solve the internal issues prevailing in the country" {Link without Title} . Post-Lebanese election After the 2005 Elections , Hezbollah held 23 seats (up from eight previously) in the 128-member Lebanese Parliament. It also participated for the first time in the Lebanese government that was formed in July 2005. Hezbolla has two ministers in the government, and a third is Hezbollah-endorsed. It is primarily active in the Bekaa Valley , the southern suburbs of Beirut , and southern Lebanon. The group is headed by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and is financed largely by Iran and Syria, though it also raises funds itself through charities and commercial activities. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES Hezbollah is an active participant in the political life and processes of Lebanon, and its scope of operation is far beyond its initial militant one. In 1992, it participated in elections for the first time, winning 12 out of 128 seats in parliament. It won 10 seats in 1996, and 8 in 2000. In the General Election of 2005, it won 23 seats nationwide, and an Amal -Hezbollah alliance won all 23 seats in Southern Lebanon. Since the end of the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon on May 22 2000 , Hezbollah has been involved in activities like building School s, clinics, and Hospital s. FOREIGN RELATIONS in front of a flag of Lebanon and a Hezbollah flag, January 30 , 2004 ]] Hezbollah claims that it forbids its fighters entry into Iraq for any reason, and that no Hezbollah units or individual fighters have entered Iraq to support any Iraqi faction fighting America. However, on April 2 , 2004 , Muqtada Al-Sadr announced his intention to form chapters of Hezbollah and Hamas in Iraq {Link without Title} . He is not known to have consulted Hezbollah or Hamas before making this statement. Hezbollah has been accused of having links to is said to be working with Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi in Iraq . {Link without Title} Many have suggested a broader alliance between Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. [http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/16spec1.htm Such claims are doubted since Al-Qaeda's Wahhabist ideology considers Shiia Muslims infidels, which it has demonstrated in suicide bombings and attacks on Shiia targets in Iraq. Hezbollah has publicly denied having any ties with al-Qaeda. [http://english.people.com.cn/200207/01/eng20020701_98923.shtml] In 2004 the Dutch internal security agency AIVD , concluded: :"Investigations have shown that Hezbollah’s terrorist wing, the Hezbollah External Security Organization, has been directly and indirectly involved in terrorist acts. It can also be concluded that Hezbollah’s political and terrorist wings are controlled by one coordinating council. This means that there is indeed a link between these parts of the organization. The Netherlands has changed its policy and no longer makes a distinction between the political and terrorist Hezbollah branches. The Netherlands informed the relevant EU bodies of its findings." {Link without Title} It is widely believed that Hafez Al-Assad and Hezbollah were closely linked; this did not significantly affect his relations with the rest of the world. Bashar Al-Assad , his son and successor, has been subjected to sanctions by the U.S. due to (among other things, such as occupying Lebanon) his continued support for Hezbollah, which it views as a terrorist organization. However, on March 3 , 2005 , the Bush administration stated that it would consider Hezbollah legitimate if it disarmed, but also said that this did not represent a change in their view of the organization, which is unlikely to do so. Those who consider Hezbollah to be a terrorist organization consider its sponsors (in particular and Hezbollah that Israel claims were sponsored by Syria. An Israeli official said that those attacks are a "message to Syria to stop sponsoring terrorism". IDEOLOGY The organization views an Islamic Republic , on the Iranian model, as the ideal and eventual form of state. However, as their conception of an Islamic republic requires the consent of the people, and Lebanon remains a religiously and ideologically heterogeneous society, their political platform revolves around more mundane issues. According to their published political platform in 2003, Hezbollah claims to favor the introduction of an Islamic government in Lebanon by peaceful democratic means. According to the United States Department of State and reports submitted to Defense Technical Information Center (among other United States agencies) as late as 2001, the organization is seeking to create an Fundamentalist Iran ian-style Islamic Republic and removal of all non- Islam ic influences. Hezbollah supports the destruction of the state of in order to promote this goal. MEDIA OPERATIONS Hezbollah operates a satellite television station from Lebanon , '' Al-Manar '' TV ("the Lighthouse") as well as a radio station, ''al-Nour'' ("the light"). ''Qubth Ut Alla'' ("The Fist of God") is the monthly magazine of Hezbollah's paramilitary wing. Al Manar broadcasts news in Arabic, English, French and Hebrew and is widely watched both in Lebanon and in other Arab countries. Its transmission in ; BBC report ). SEE ALSO
NOTES LITERATURE
EXTERNAL LINKS, RESOURCES, AND REFERENCES Official site
UN Resolutions regarding Lebanon
''See also: History Of Lebanon '' United States Department of State ''see also: United States Department Of State ''
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