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August 20, 2006

Hezbollah

Wikipedia

Hezbollah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Hezbollah[1](Arabic: حزب الله ḥizbu-llāh,[2] meaning “party of God”) is a Shia Islamist organization in Lebanon comprising a militia, a political party, and an extensive program of social development.[3] Formed in 1982 to fight the incipient occupation by Israel,[3] It was officially founded on February 16, 1985 when Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin declared the group's manifesto. [4] It originally sought to bring the Islamic Revolution to Lebanon,[5] and wanted to transform Lebanon's multi-confessional state into an Iranian-style Islamic state. According to a BBC analysis, "This idea was eventually abandoned and the party today is a well-structured political organisation with members of parliament".[6] Calls continue for the elimination of “the Zionist entity” (i.e. The State of Israel), a founding objective of the organization.[7] The current Secretary-General of Hezbollah is Sheikh Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who has held the office since 1992.








 

 

Contents

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Introduction

Hezbollah was formed to combat the Israeli occupation following the 1982 invasion of Lebanon,and with a goal of the elimination of the Israeli state.[8] It was officially founded on the 16th of February, 1985 when Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin declared the group's manifesto. It follows a distinct version of Islamic Shia ideology developed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.[9][7][5]

Hezbollah and Israel have participated in many military clashes against each other since 1982 [6], Hezbollah is believed to be responsible for multiple kidnappings,[10][11][12] [13] murders,[14][15][16] [17] hijackings,[18] and bombings.[19][20][21][22] against Israel. There is a wide disagreement about how these violent acts, and thus the organization as a whole, should be characterized. Israel occupied part of Lebanon during a time when many of these attacks took place, and although Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, it is still considered by Hezbollah and Lebanon, but not the UN, to occupy Sheba Farms which it captured from Syria in 1967. Additionally, Israel holds some Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails. Finally, Hezbollah and some of the Arab and Muslim world characterize Israel as an illegitimate state. For these reasons, many consider violent acts performed by the organization to be acts of Jihad. Although some Arab states (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia) have condemned Hezbollah's actions saying they harm Arab interests,[23] throughout most of the Arab and Muslim worlds Hezbollah is highly regarded as a legitimate resistance movement.[8] Some countries regard Hezbollah's violent acts to be terrorist attacks, and thus Hezbollah is considered by some states to be a "terrorist" organization. The United States, Canada, Israel and the Netherlands considers all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, while the United Kingdom and Australia consider only Hezbollah's external security organization to be a terrorist organization. Russia,[24] the European Union,[25] and several other countries including the China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, among others, do not consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The European Union does not list Hezabollah or its constituent groups in its list of terrorist organizations, but does list Hezbollah's senior intelligence officer Imad Mugniyah.[26][27]

Further information: Hezbollah#Designation as a 'terrorist organization'

One argument against labeling Hezbollah a "terrorist" organization is their wider mission as a religious, political, and social group. Hezbollah is currently one of the two main organizations representing the Shia community, Lebanon's largest religious bloc, but the only militant one.[28] It is also a recognised political party in Lebanon,[29] currently taking just over 10% of the seats (14 out of 128) in the Parliament of Lebanon. The bloc it forms with others, the Resistance and Development Bloc, 27.3% (see Lebanese general election, 2005). Hezbollah also organises an extensive social development programme which runs hospitals, news services, and educational facilities. Its Reconstruction Campaign ('Jihad al-Bina') is responsible for numerous economic and infrastructure development projects in Lebanon.[30]

History

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Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Main article: History of Hezbollah

Hezbollah was formed primarily to combat the Israeli occupation following the 1982 invasion of Lebanon[6][31]It was officially founded on February 16, 1985 when Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin declared the group's manifesto. The publication of the manifesto was timed to coincide with the anniversary of Ragheb Harb's death.[32]

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 [33] whereas Diaz and Newman maintain that Hezbollah remained an amalgamation of various violent Shi’a extremists until as late as 1985.[34] Another version states that it was formed by supporters of Sheikh Ragheb Harb, a leader of the southern Shiite resistance killed by Israel in 1984.[35] 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.[citation needed] These designations are considered to be synonymous with Hezbollah by the US,[36] Israel[9] and Canada.[37]

Hezbollah's strength was enhanced by the dispatching of one thousand[38] to fifteen hundred[39] members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the financial backing of Iran. It became the main politico-military force among the Shi'a community in Lebanon and the main arm of what became known later as the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon.[38]

They have fought with Israel for more than twenty years and tens of Hizbullah leaders and officials including the former Secretary-General,Seyyed Abbas al-Musawi have been assassinated by Israel.[40][35]

Ideology

Hezbollah follows a distinct version of Islamic Shi'a ideology (“Willayat Al-Faqih”) developed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.[9][8]

Iranian Expediency Council Secretary and former commander of the Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezai said in August 2006, "Iran is a model and example for Hizbullah. The Iranian faith, tactics and experience are being put to practice in Lebanon... Hizbullah looks to Iran for tactics and moral [support], and we are proud that our experience [serves] other Muslim countries."[41][42]

Hezbollah initially aimed to transform Lebanon into an Islamic republic; there is some speculation that this goal has been abandoned[8][6] although doubts remain.[43] 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. And this is not available in Lebanon and probably never will be."[44]

Position on Israel

Hezbollah's founding aims included resistance against the occupation of Lebanon by Israel (1978-2000). From the inception of the organization to the present [7][5][45] [46][47] the elimination of the state of Israel has been one of Hezbollah's goals. Secretary-General Nasrallah’s has stated that “Israel is an illegal usurper entity, which is based on falsehood, massacres, and illusions.”[48], and considers the elimination of Israel to be fundamental to the establishment of peace in the middle east: "There is no solution to the conflict in this region except with the disappearance of Israel."[49][50] 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.". [51]

Israel's occupation of the Shebaa Farms (along with the presence of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails) is often stated as justification for the organization's continued hostilities against Israel after Israel's withdrawl from Lebanon in 2000. Hezbollah's spokesperson Hassan Ezzedin, however, had this to say about the Farms: "If they go from Sheba'a, we will not stop fighting them. Our goal is to liberate the 1948 borders of Palestine...[Jews] can go back to Germany or wherever they came from.”[52]

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.”[48] An additional objective is the freeing of prisoners held in Israeli jails[53][54][8], some of whom have been imprisoned for eighteen years.[55] Hezbollah's desire for Israeli prisoners that could be exchanged with Israel led to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.[56]

After the successful conclusion of a "war of liberation", Hezbollah's spokesperson Hassan Ezzedin has stated that, "[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".[57]

In contrast to the above, in recent interviews Nasrallah has answered questions concerning the establishment of a Palestinian state established alongside an Israeli state in a way which suggested that the organization no longer has the intent to destroy the state of Israel. . Hezbollah’s present leadership disclaims any interest in contesting Israel’s right to exist outside of disputed territories.[5] In a 2003 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."[58] "Of course, it would bother us that Jerusalem goes to Israel... [but] let it happen. I would not say O.K. I would say nothing."[58] 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.[5] He also clarified 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.[59]

Position on Jews

Nasrallah has a history of making anti-Semitic statements (e.g. “if they [Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide”[60]). Hezbollah's website, however, marks a distinction between "Zionist ideology" and Judaism. It sees the rejection of Zionism as an attitude hold across "races, religions, and nationalities". It likens Zionism to "the concept of creating 'Israel' by the use of force and violence, by stealing the Arabs’ lands and killing Palestinians". "[O]pposing the Zionists ideology is not opposing setting a home for Jews".[61]

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 broadcast in which a speaker accused Israel of deliberately disseminating AIDS in Arab nations.[62]

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 for that matter than does Iran, Hezbollah’s self-proclaimed “model and example”[41] (see Women in Muslim societies).[63]

One member of the Hezbollah Political Council, speaking to an Online Journal correspondent in July 2006, claimed that “Hezbollah differs from many Islamic groups in our treatment of women. We believe women have the ability like men to participate in all parts of life.”[63] The Online Journal correspondent writes,

From its founding in the 1980s, Hezbollah women have headed education, medical and social service organizations. Most recently Hezbollah nominated several women to run in the Lebanese elections. It named Wafa Hoteit as a chief of Al Noor Radio (also recently bombed), and promoted 37-year-old Rima Fakhry to its highest ruling body, the Hezbollah Political Council. Part of Fakhry's duties include interpreting Islamic feminism in Sharia law for the Committee for Political Analysis.[63]

Hezbollah’s inclination towards secular liberal values should not be overstated, however. For example, its official stance on homosexuality hews close to traditional religious teachings (see Gay rights in Lebanon: Politics).

Flag

The red lettering at the top of the Hezbollah's flag is a verse from the Quran from which its name is derivated, reading "It is only the party of god who wins."[64] The large green lettering is the name of the group — with the first letter of "Allah" reaching up to grasp a Soviet AK-47. The red lettering at the bottom reads, "The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon." Besides the AK-47, additional symbols on the flag include a globe, a book, a leaf, and a sword.

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"). Kabdat 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 France (even via satellite, not by any station based on French territory) is controversial. It has been accused of promoting religious and racial hatred (against Jews), which is a criminal offense in France. On December 13, 2004, the French Conseil d'État, acting on the request of the French TV authorities, issued an injunction to Eutelsat to cease the broadcasting of Al Manar in France.[65]

The Hezbollah Central Internet Bureau in 2003 released a Video Game[66] titled Special Force, intended to simulate Arab-Israeli conflicts from an Arab perspective.

Hezbollah attempts to maintain websites to run recruitment videos and post bank account numbers where supporters can donate funds.[67] These websites are also considered "an inseparable part of the psychological war"[68] and are tracked by other groups with a view to their closure.[69]

Social services

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

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

Hezbollah also organises an extensive social development programme which runs hospitals, news services, and educational facilities. Its Reconstruction Campaign ('Jihad al-Bina') is responsible for numerous economic and infrastructure development projects in Lebanon.[30][70] [71] In March of 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. The group 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."[72]. Also Hezbollah's social service agencies provide health care and schooling for poor farmers. [73]

According to CNN: "Hezbollah did everything that a government should do, from collecting the garbage to running hospitals and repairing schools."[74] 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 that delivers the goods for its followers, in this traditionally poor and dispossessed Shiite community."[74]

Hezbollah also engages in organizing youths in the universities in other activities, such as promoting recycling on campus. [75] The Washington Post reported that Hezbollah had set up a Martyr's Institute, which guarantees to provide for the living and education expenses for the families of fighters who die in battle. [76]

Social services has a central role in party's programs. In 1996’s “The Electoral Program of Hizbullah,” the organization declared its wish to improve the educational and health system.[77] Hezbollah claims to have increased its popularity through a non-sectarian approach: "We presented a new example, and this increased our popularity . . . We say that our mayors should serve the whole of the people in their towns, rather than serving just the party" said spokesman Abu Zeinab.[35]

Most experts believe that Hezbollah's social and health programmes are worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually.[72] Hezbollah mainly gets its money from donations, known as zakat is the duty of any Muslim. Lebanese Shi’ites often make contributions directly after prayers, leaving change in the two-handed Hezbollah collection tins. This party also receives considerable support from Iran and Syria. [72].

Political Activities

Political Party

Along with the Amal Movement, Hezbollah is one of the two main organizations representing the Shia community, Lebanon's largest religious bloc, but the only militant one (Amal is a political party).[78]

Elected Members

Hezbollah participates in the Parliament of Lebanon.[79] In 1992, it participated in Lebanese 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 14 seats nationwide (of 128 total), and an Amal-Hezbollah alliance won all 23 seats in Southern Lebanon. The bloc it forms with others, the Resistance and Development Bloc, took 27.3% of the seats (see Lebanese general election, 2005). Also When municipal elections were held in 1998 this party won control of about 15 percent of contested municipalities. With a proven track record by the second round of elections, in spring 2004, the party won control of 21 percent of the municipalities. [35]

Role in Government

Hezbollah is a minority partner in the current Cabinet, holding two (and endorsing a third) cabinet positions[80] [81] in the Lebanese government of July 2005.

Mohamed Fneish was appointed Energy and Water Minister in the cabinet and has been quoted as saying "We are a political force that took part in the polls under the banner of defending the resistance and protecting Lebanon and got among the highest level of popular backing ... Hezbollah’s resistance (against Israel) does not in any way contradict its political role. If joining the government and parliament is a national duty, then so is defending the country.”[82]

Hezbollah's political success is regarded as a model for other Islamic parties in the Middle East like Hamas and United Iraqi Alliance; its actions are thought to provide strong clues as to how these other emerging Islamist forces might behave.[35]

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 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.[83][9][37]

Armed strength

Recruits being sworn in. Beirut, November 11, 2001. Hezbollah troops parade in uniform but do not wear it on the battlefield.

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Recruits being sworn in. Beirut, November 11, 2001. Hezbollah troops parade in uniform but do not wear it on the battlefield.[84]

See also: Hezbollah rocket force

See also: Hezbollah Domestic Weapons Production

The strength of Hezbollah's forces are disputed, and has been variously estimated as "several thousand"[85] and several thousand supporters and a few hundred devotee operatives.[86] The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates Hezbollah forces to 600-1000 active fighters (with 3,000 - 5,000 available and 10,000 reservists), 10,000 - 15,000 rockets of the Katyusha, Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 type. They also estimate a stockpile of 30 missiles of the Zelzal type.[87] As Haaretz reports Hezbollah is not a small guerrilla organization. It is a trained, skilled, well-organized, highly motivated infantry that is equipped with the cream of the crop of modern weaponry from the arsenals of Syria, Iran, Russia and China, and which is very familiar with the territory on which it is fighting.[88]

The military wing of Hezbollah is considered to be the most capable non-state armed group in the Middle East. "Islamic Resistance guerrillas are reckoned to be amongst the most dedicated, motivated and highly trained of their kind. Any Hezbollah member receiving military training is likely to do so at the hands of IRGC [the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps], either in southern Lebanon or in camps in Iran. The increasingly sophisticated methods used by IRGC members indicates that they are trained using Israeli and US military manuals; the emphasis of this training is on the tactics of attrition, mobility, intelligence gathering and night-time manoeuvres."[89]

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. It is claimed that this unit also gathers information on behalf of Iran [citation needed], and is also known to conduct SIGINT operations against IDF communications.[90]

Preventive Security is the organization's internal security formation, and is responsible for counter-intelligence and communication security, as well as operating its prisons and interrogation centers.[citation needed]

According to Michael Eisenstadt, of the pro-Israeli 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.[91]

Stance on the use of terrorist tactics

Hezbollah is believed to be responsible for multiple kidnappings[92][93][94][95], murders[92][94][40], hijackings[40], and bombings[40][86][96][97] yet there is a wide disagreement as to whether these tactics define the movement. Because they used them to force occupiers to withdraw from Lebanon "even Lebanese who did not agree with the militia’s fundamentalist ideology have seen them as freedom fighters, trying to liberate their country from a foreign military occupation."[98]

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 Pentagon, neither favoring nor opposing the act.[99][100]

It denounced the Armed Islamic Group massacres in Algeria, Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya attacks on tourists in Egypt,[101] and the murder of Nick Berg.[102] 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. It is not acceptable to harm them.”[99]

Hezbollah has disclaimed the use of some terrorist tactics, particularly those that result in the deaths of non-Israelis. For example, although the group first became known for pioneering the use of suicide bombings in the region, its clerics have never been entirely comfortable with the tactic,[103] and it has not been directly involved in a suicide bombing since 1999.[104]

In June 2002, shortly after the Israeli government launched Operation Defensive Shield, which culminated in the Battle of Jenin, 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." Although Hezbollah has denounced attacks on Western civilians, it makes an exception in the case of Israel. 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."[105]

Foreign and domestic relations

The former head of the German intelligence service BND, August Hanning, during the press conference in Beirut, regarding the German negotiated prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah. January 30, 2004 see also Elchanan Tenenbaum.[citation needed]

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The former head of the German intelligence service BND, August Hanning, during the press conference in Beirut, regarding the German negotiated prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah. January 30, 2004 see also Elchanan Tenenbaum.[citation needed]

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 the United States. However, on April 2, 2004, Muqtada al-Sadr announced his intention to form chapters of Hezbollah and Hamas in Iraq.[106] He is not known to have consulted Hezbollah or Hamas before making this statement.[citation needed]

It is widely believed that Hafez al-Assad, who was president of Syria from 1971 to 2000, 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, United States President George W. Bush and his 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.[citation needed]

In an interview on Al-Arabiya TV in Dubai, former Hezbollah Secretary-General Subhi Al-Tufeili said [107] Hezbollah definitely fosters its relations with the Syrians, but Hezbollah's real leadership is 'the rule of the jurisprudence'.

Alleged links to al-Qaeda

United States intelligence officials and other observers believe there has been contact between Hezbollah and low-level al-Qaeda figures who fled Afghanistan for Lebanon.[108][109][110][111][112] Some have suggested a broader alliance between Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.[113]

On the other hand, others point out that al-Qaeda’s Sunni Wahhabist ideology is largely incompatible with Hezbollah’s relatively liberal brand of Shia Islam; in fact, some Sunni leaders consider Hezbollah to be apostate.[114] Al-Qaeda has demonstrated its distaste for Shi’as in suicide bombings and attacks on Shi’a civilian targets in Iraq.[115] Hezbollah denies any ties to al-Qaeda,[116] and many reliable sources report that there exists no evidence of a connection between Hezbollah and al-Qaeda.[117][118] Zarqawi has issued an audio recording in which he called Hezbollah an “enemy of Sunnis” and a “shield” for Israel,[119] for protecting Israel by preventing Palestinian attacks from Lebanon.

Nasrallah denies links to al-Qaeda, present or past, stating in a 2002 interview that the two organizations work in different areas and face different enemies. Hezbollah’s aim has been the “confrontation of the Zionist plan,” said Nasrallah, while bin Laden has focused on Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Bosnia, and Chechnya. “So we are talking about two different areas and battles facing two completely different enemies. This was the reason why there wasn’t any contact.”[120]

As part of a surge of intersectarian support for Lebanon’s Muslims during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s deputy leader, called for Muslims to rise up in a holy war against Zionists and join the fighting in Lebanon.[121] But Mohammed Fneish, Lebanon’s Energy Minister, one of the two Hezbollah members in government, responded "Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah are two different groups. Al-Qaeda believes in killing innocents. Hezbollah is involved in a legitimate resistance (against Israel)."[122]

Position of the UN

UN Security Council Resolution 1559, calls for "the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militia",[123] echoing the Taif Agreement that ended the Lebanese Civil War, but does not explicitly include Hezbollah[124][125] although Kofi Annan has advanced this interpretation.[126][127] The Lebanese Government[128] and Hezbollah dispute the application of this resolution to Hezbollah, referring to it as a "resistance movement" and not a militia. Israel has lodged complaints about Hezbollah's actions with the UN.[129] Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Qassem has said that its forces might become a "reservist army" within the Lebanese army, though this suggestion is not universally supported within the organisation.[130]

The UN’s Deputy Secretary-General, Mark Malloch Brown, contests characterisations of the Lebanese militia as a terrorist organisation in the mould of al-Qaeda.[131] While acknowledging that “Hezbollah employs terrorist tactics,”[132] he says that it is unhelpful to call it a terrorist organization; the United States and the international community, in his view, would do well to respect it as a legitimate political party. Brown also criticized Hizbullah, "It is making no effort to hit military targets; it's just a broadside against civilian targets,".[133]

Relationship to the Lebanese government

The government of Lebanon has accepted Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya as a legitimate resistance organisation.[128] The Prime Minister of Lebanon 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.".[134]

Relationship to Hamas and Palestinian national movement

According to CRS report for U.S. congress "Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, suggested that the Hezbollah operation might provide a way out of the crisis in Gaza because Israel had negotiated with Hezbollah indirectly in the past although it is refusing to negotiate with Hamas now. He said that the only way the soldiers would be returned would be through a prisoner exchange. Although Hezbollah and Hamas are not organizationally linked, Hezbollah has acted in some ways as a mentor or role model for Hamas, which has sought to emulate the Lebanese group’s political and media success. Hamas’s kidnaping of the Israeli soldier follows a different Hezbollah example. Hezbollah has been claimed to provide terrorist training for Hamas, and the two groups share the goal of driving Israel from occupied territories and ultimately from Israel proper; both maintain close ties with Iran."[135]

According to an Israeli military source, Hezbollah assists Hamas with bomb production: "They know how to make them more concentrated, what kind of screw to use, how to pack more explosives into less space."[136]

Nasrallah has declared his support for the ongoing al-Aqsa intifada.[137]

Hezbollah has engaged in joint operations with the Sunni[138] Palestinian militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement.[139]

Assistance from abroad

Hezbollah allegedly receives financial and political assistance, as well as weapons and training, from the Islamic Republic of Iran.[140] 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. [135] [141][142] Some estimates of Iran's aid are as high as $200-million annually.[143]

Mohammed Raad, at one time leader of Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, said money from Iran came only through private charities to be used for health care, education and the support of war widows. Hezbollah's main sources of income, he said, are the party's investment portfolios and wealthy Shiites.[143]

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