Hezbollah Totally Explained

Everything about Hezbollah totally explained

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. Most of the Shia consider Hezbollah's weaponry a necessary and justified element of resistance, while less than half of the other religious communities support the idea that Hezbollah should keep its weapons after the 2006 Lebanon war.

Accusations of terrorism, bomb attacks and kidnappings

Hezbollah is accused of being responsible for a number of attacks and kidnappings carried out since its founding in the early 1980s. These include:

April 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing

1983 Beirut barracks bombing, In the American Conservative Robert Pape details 38 of the bombers as 8 Muslim, 27 Communists/Socialists and 3 Christian.

the 1992 Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to Nasrallah, Hezbollah refused any participation in operations outside Lebanese and Israeli lands before 2008.

Conflict with Israel

Hezbollah has been involved in several cases of armed conflict with Israel:

During the 1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict, Hezbollah waged a guerrilla campaign against Israeli forces occupying Southern Lebanon. It ended with Israeli withdrawal in accordance with 1978's United Nations Security Council Resolution 425. With the collapse of their supposed allies, the SLA, and the rapid advance of Hezbollah forces, they withdrew suddenly on May 24, 2000 six weeks before the announced 7 July."

On July 25, 1993, following the killing of seven Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, Israel launched Operation Accountability (known in Lebanon as the Seven Day War), during which the IDF carried out their heaviest artillery and air attacks on targets in southern Lebanon since 1982. The declared aim of the operation was to eradicate the threat posed by Hezbollah and to force the civilian population north to Beirut so as to put pressure on the Lebanese Government to repress Hezbollah. The fighting ended when an unwritten understanding was agreed to by the warring parties. Apparently, the 1993 understanding provided that Hezbollah combatants wouldn't fire rockets at northern Israel, while Israel wouldn't attack civilians or civilian targets in Lebanon.

In April 1996, the Israeli armed forces launched Operation Grapes of Wrath, which was intended to wipe out Hezbollah's base in southern Lebanon. International condemnation greeted the massacre on 18 April 1996 of over 100 Lebanese refugees in a UN base at Qana, in what the Israeli military said was a mistake. Finally, following several days of negotiations, the two sides signed the Grapes of Wrath Understandings on April 26, 1996. A cease-fire was agreed upon between Israel and Hezbollah, which would be effective on April 27, 1996. Both sides agreed that civilians shouldn't be targeted, which meant that Hezbollah would be allowed to continue its military activities against IDF forces inside Lebanon.

In 2000, Hezbollah attacked 3 Israeli soldiers possibly injuring or killing them and went on to abduct them.Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has however claimed that Hezbollah abducted the soldiers, and then killed them. The bodies of the slain soldiers were exchanged for Lebanese prisoners in 2004.

Hezbollah's desire for Israeli prisoners that could be exchanged with Israel led to Hezbollah's abduction of Israeli soldiers, which triggered the 2006 Lebanon War.

The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel. The principal parties were Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israeli military. The conflict started on July 12, 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect on August 14, 2006. Hezbollah was responsible for thousands of Katyusha rocket attacks against Israeli civilian towns and cities in northern Israel, The conflict began when Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israeli border towns as a diversion for an anti-tank missile attack on two armored Humvees patrolling the Israeli side of the border fence, killing three, injuring two, and seizing two Israeli soldiers. According to The Guardian, "In the fighting 1,200 Lebanese and 158 Israelis were killed. Of the dead almost 1,000 Lebanese and 41 Israelis were civilians."

Armed strength

Hezbollah hasn't revealed its armed strength. It has been estimated by Mustafa Alani, security director at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre, that Hezbollah's military force is 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 km (18 mi) and carries a 15 kg (33 lb) 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, enabling it to strike the Israeli port of Haifa, and the Zelzal-1, with an estimated range, which can reach Tel Aviv. Fajr-3 missiles have a range of and a warhead, and Fajr-5 missiles, which extend to, also hold warheads. A small number of Saeghe-2s (Iranian-made version of M47 Dragon) were also used in the war.
   For air defense, Hezbollah has anti-aircraft weapons that include the ZU-23 artillery and the 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.
   During the 2006 Lebanon War, 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's armaments have 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". 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're certain that we can reach them." (sic) 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.

Targeting policy

Hezbollah hasn't been involved in any suicide bombing since Israel withdrew from Lebanon. 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. In a 2006 interview with the Washington Post, Nasrallah condemned violence against American civilians. alleged that 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." 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's no difference between a soldier and a civilian, for they're all invaders, occupiers and usurpers of the land."

Attacks on Hezbollah leaders

Hezbollah has also been the target of bomb attacks and kidnappings. These include:

In the 1985 Beirut car bombing, Hezbollah leader Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah was targeted, but the assassination attempt failed. It has been alleged that the CIA was responsible for this attack.

On July 28, 1989, Israeli commandos kidnapped Sheikh Abdul Karim Obeid, the leader of Hezbollah. This action led to the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 638, which condemned all hostage takings by all sides.

In 1992, Israeli helicopters attacked a motorcade in southern Lebanon, killing the Hezbollah leader Abbas al-Musawi, his wife, son, and four others.

Media operations

Hezbollah operates a satellite television station, Al-Manar TV ("the Lighthouse"), a radio station al-Nour ("the Light"), and a monthly magazine "Bakeyato Allah" ("The Rest of God [Imam-Mahdi]"). Al-Manar broadcasts from Beirut, Lebanon. The station was launched by Hezbollah in 1991 with the help of Iranian funds. 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" and an integral part of Hezbollah's plan to spread its message to the entire Arab world. The United States 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 programs are worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Hezbollah Central Press Office, Al Jarha Association, and Jihad Al Binaa Developmental Association. Jihad Al Binna's Reconstruction Campaign 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 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 program. Hezbollah currently operates at least four hospitals, twelve clinics, twelve schools and two agricultural centres that provide farmers with technical assistance and training. It also has an environmental department and an extensive social assistance program. Medical care is also cheaper than in most of the country's private hospitals and free for Hezbollah members". 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 [inSouth Beirut] see Hezbollah as a political movement and a social service provider as much as it's a militia, in this traditionally poor and dispossessed Shiite community."

Funding

Hezbollah's financial support is a matter of controversy. Critics argue that it is, or has been, massively supported with tens of millions of dollars annually from the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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.
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

Hezbollah has close relations with Iran. It also has ties with the leadership in Syria, specifically with President Hafez al-Assad (until his death in 2000) and his son and successor Bashar al-Assad. Although Hezbollah and Hamas are not organizationally linked, Hezbollah provides military training as well as financial and moral support to the Sunni Palestinian group. Furthermore, Hezbollah is a strong supporter of the ongoing Al-Aqsa Intifada. Hezbollah's leaders deny links to al-Qaeda, present or past. Also, some al-Qaeda leaders, like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Wahhabi clerics, consider Hezbollah to be apostate. But United States intelligence officials speculate that there has been contact between Hezbollah and low-level al-Qaeda figures who fled Afghanistan for Lebanon.

Outside views

Public opinion

In much of the Arab world, Hezbollah is seen as a legitimate resistance organization that has defended its land against an Israeli occupying force and has consistently stood up to the Israeli army.
   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 Gaza Strip and West Bank residents indicated that 79.6% had "a very good view" of Hezbollah, and most of the remainder had a "good view".
   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.
   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. Another August 2006 poll by CNN showed that 69% of the 1,047 Americans polled believed that Hezbollah is unfriendly towards, or an enemy of, the United States. |- | |The entire organization Hezbollah | |- | |The entire organization Hezbollah | |- | |The entire organization Hezbollah | |- | |The Hezbollah External Security Organization | |- | |The entire organization Hezbollah | |- |} In 1999, Hezbollah was placed on the US State Department terrorism list. After Hezbollah's condemnation of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the USA, it was removed from the list, but it was later returned to the list. In 2002, US State Department official Christopher Ross was cited as explaining that while "the Hezbollah party and some of its members carried out terrorist acts in the past", "the acts that it carried out against the Israeli forces in South Lebanon were not terrorist acts." The European Union doesn't list Hezbollah, or any group within it, as a "terrorist" organization, but on March 10, 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. 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."
   The Quartet’s fourth member, the United Nations, doesn't maintain such a list.
   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." On August 29, 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." Germany doesn't maintain an independent national list of terrorist organizations, choosing instead to adopt the common EU list; however, German officials indicate that they'd likely support a designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

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