Hezbollah
- For other uses, see (disambiguation).
Hezbollah (Arabic حزب الله, meaning Party of God) is a militant Shia political party in Lebanon. Hezbollah began as a guerrilla group fighting against the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon. It maintains an active militia, known as the Islamic Resistance. Since the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, the Islamic Resistance has skirmished with the Israel Defense Forces around Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms (which, in contrast to the UN, Hezbollah considers Lebanese territory) and near the Lebanese-Israeli border many times.
In addition to its military wing, Hezbollah maintains a civilian arm, which runs hospitals, schools, orphanages, a television station and holds 12 seats in the Lebanese Parliament. Hezbollah is primarily active in the Bekaa Valley, the southern suburbs of Beirut, and southern Lebanon. The group is headed by "Sayed Hassan Nasrallah".
| Table of contents |
|
2 Names 3 History 4 Entrance in political arena 5 Foreign relations 6 Ideology 7 Media operations 8 See also 9 External links, Resources, and References |
Hezbollah has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States [1] the United Kingdom [1], Canada class="external">[1Designations
As a result of its perceived role in making Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah has gained widespread respect there. The Christian President of Lebanon, Emile Lahoud, said: "For us Lebanese, and I can tell you a 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." [1]. However, the failure to dismantle Hezbollah stands in violation of the Taif Agreement which stipulates the end of armed militias in Lebanon. Further, the failure to position the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) along the border with Israel also violates Taif. The Lebenese Governments apparently maintains that they will not let the LAF become border guards for their enemy, Israel (the countries are still officially at war). This has highlighted the argument that Hezbollah is being used by both Syria and Iran as a proxy against Israel. [[1].
Hezbollah is written in many ways. Besides being written as Hezbollah (used by CNN and BBC), it is also written as Hizbullah, Hizballah, Hizbollah, Hezbullah and Hizb Allah (As used by Al-Jazeera).
Hezbollah is also known as Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War), Islamic Jihad Organization, Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine, Ansar al-Allah (Followers of God), Al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah (Islamic Resistance), Organization of the Oppressed, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, Revolutionary Justice Organization, Organization of Right Against Wrong, and Followers of the Prophet Muhammed). [source: Canada's United Nations Suppression of Terrorism Regulations (SCHEDULE 1), SOR/2001-360, Registration: 2 October, 2001][1]
Hezbollah was formed from numerous other Lebanese Shia groups shortly after Israel's 1982 invasion of the mainly Shia southern part of Lebanon. Its organization was greatly aided by the arrival of 1,500 Revolutionary Guards from Iran, only three years after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran, as an Islamic republic -- especially a Shia one -- remains a close ally, financial backer, arms supplier, influence, and model for Hezbollah. Syria is also alleged to support Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is known or suspected to have been involved in numerous attacks on Western targets in Lebanon during the 1980's, including the suicide bombings of the U.S. Embassy, which killed 63 including 17 Americans, of the US Marine barracks in Beirut (see Marine Barracks Bombing), which killed 241 American servicemen, and of the French multinational force headquarters which killed 58 French troops. The attack upon the United States embassy annex in Beirut in September 1984 killed 20 people including 2 Americans. American forces were at the time where part of a multinational stabilization force in Lebanon, but was viewed by Hezbollah (and its sponsor Iran) as an 'aggressor'. Elements of the group have been linked to involvement in kidnapping, detention and torture of American and other Western hostages 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 South Lebanese Army, principly in the SLA/Israeli prison and torture chamber at Khiam.
Hezbullah has stated repeatedly the primary reason for their victory in S. Lebanon was their internal control of the IDF's Lebanon Liaison Unit, the Air Force, and overall control of Unit 504, Unit 8200, various Sayarets,the Northern Command and Northern Region Police & Shin Bet.
Until the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah fought the SLA and IDF. Both the IDF and Hezbollah developed commandos that specialized in warfare appropriate for the terrain of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah claimed to have modeled their Unit 13 after the IDF Navy Commandos, and claim a 1997 failed attack by IDF SEAL unit was ambushed by Unit 13. The IDF claimed that the attack failed when the SEALs stepped on a landmine, triggering the detonation of a explosive charge they carried.
Hezbullah had learned of the coming IDF Seal Raid from an addicted officer looking for drugs, who broke into the room which held the raid plans at base Atlit.
Date and location of raid was known in advance. The Hesbullah Sea Reconnaissance Unit easily & secretly tracked the Israeli patrol boat up to the point it released the rubber boats with IDF Seals.
Once landed, Hesbullah scouts, one a woman, followed behind and easily tracked the 16 IDF Seals who did not follow noise discipline. The Seals got lost & one of the scouts circled around the Seals making noise to get them to follow.
The L-shaped ambush was set up behind across a road & behind a low fence. Rather than crossing single file, the Seals crossed enmasse. Once in the killing zone, Hezbullah Unit 13 remotely set off the mines and began raking the dying Seals with machine-gun fire from each end of the L-shaped ambush, an old trick they learned from American Seals who used it in VietNam.
Using the remaining wounded Seals as bait, Hezbullah settled down to wait for rescue helicopters while sending for shoulder=fired anti-aircraft missiles from a depot quite a few km's away.
Unit 13 downplays the success of this action in translations of the Hezbullah Special Forces Magazine Qubth-ut-Alla (The Fist of God) for they did not succeed in downing the IDF rescue helicopters.
Unit 13 Hunter Killer Anti-Commando Firqat was the first wildly sucessful offensive force trained & turned out by the United Nations Partisan Forces in Lebanon (UNPFIL). C Squadron, Abu Musa SAS would follow and almost equal Unit 13's exploits.
Hezbollah ambushes of IDF troops sometimes occurred less than 100 meters from Israel's border. Difficulties in providing reinforcements and resupply by land in part due to Hezbollah's successful guerrilla attacks, the IDF took to the air and began using helicopters to resupply its troops in Lebanon. Hezbullah's close relationship with the Lebanon Liaison Unit and with Unit 504 and Unit 8200 from the time of Pinhas Bukhris helped Hezbullah receive early warning of impending operations.
Hezbollah AA units "Saladins Falcons" equipped with SA-7, SA-14, SA-18 and Stinger missiles caused IDF helicopters to switch tactics and fly high and use flares in order to avoid heat-seeking missiles. Not a single IDF helicopter or warplane was brought down by these 1970's vintage Soviet weapons.
A collision of 2 IDF helicopters on 4 Feb. 1997, loaded with reinforcement troops and ammunition for the Sojod outpost caused the death of 73 IDF soldiers. This incident tilted Israeli public opinion further in favor of a pullout from Lebanon. The IDF concentrated on Air Force operations in the remainder of 1999 until their withdrawal in May 2000 and no longer carried out further passive patrolling operations.
Hezbullahs tank sniper teams using shoulder-fired missiles destroyed many Merkava tanks. Most of the anti-tank missiles were purchased from various dealers approved by Amos Yaron & Yossi Ben Hanan, from a list they provided Hezbullah of 300 arms dealers who bought surplus from IDF, including TOW missiles and even the new Gil/Spike anti-tank missiles.
Eager to learn what the Gil/Spike would do to the Merkava Tank, Yossi Ben Hanan authorized sale of Gil/Spike missiles by one of his arms dealers to a 3rd party for Hezbullah. The Gil/Spike missile pulverized the Merkava and satisfied Ben-Hanans curiosity.
On March 1, 1999 IDF Brig. General Erez Gerstein was killed when his car passed by a road-side bomb. Hours later the IAF struck Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek hitting ammunition depots and command posts. Hezbullah claimed it had been assured the Air Force would not harm any of their missile and rocket installations, artillery batteries, barracks and weapons storage areas through agreements Hezbullah arranged with Eitan Ben Eliahu and Dan Halutz.
Ambulances were rushed to the scene but Hezbollah insisted that no casualties occurred. Hezbullah claims they provided list of false targets in Lebanon to Eitan Ben Eliahu and Dan Halutz so that no harm came to Hezbullah, even though the Air Force claimed direct hits. This event greatly increased Israeli public pressure for a Lebanon pullout and helped Ehud Barak win the following elections.
Following the 1996 Grapes-of-Wrath agreement (which followed Opperation Grapes of Wrath and the Qana massacre) between the IDF and Hezbollah the conflict reduced in intensity, though Katyusha attacks on northern Israeli towns led to IDF tank shelling and helicopter missile fire. Apart from this, the fighting continued as 'low intensity warfare', with sniper fire, machine gunning, rocket fire, missiles and mortars. While the war of attrition waged, 'normal' life still continued in south Lebanon. Hezbollah's mutually beneficial arrangements with the Lebanon Liaison Unit in Marjaoun, date from the earliest days when Meir Dagan was its commander and culminating with the last Liaison Unit Commander Brig. General Benny Gantz, who led the Liaison unit out of Lebanon during its withdrawal in May 2000.
Meir Dagan worked closely with Hezbullah Intelligence and would once again rush to Hezbullah Intelligence's aid when Dagan spuriously claimed in Feb. 2004, his unlocked parked car containing his company cellphone and a large number of highly classified phone numbers and a large number of classified company papers detailing spy networks against Hezbullah was "allegedly" burgled from his unguarded & unlocked company vehicle.
Dagans lame & unbelievable excuse for loss of his cellphone & large volume of classified papers was identical to that of Gaby Ashkinazys even thinner excuse. Ashkinazy "claimed" he lost his computer and floppy disks. More recently an identical excuse of a female police psychologist who "alleged" she lost her computer and car.
In all 3 cases Dagan, Ashkinazy & police officer were working closely with Hezbullah Intelligence to defeat the IDF & Israel.
Yet another intelligence coup for Hezbullah Intelligence was intercepting the visual control room of an IDF missile launch, also intercepted by Israel news media.
In 1999-2000 special actions of the Hezbollah Abu Ruhm Special Forces Unit against the Israeli sponsored South Lebanese Army forces assisted by the Abu Burkah Special Forces Firqat resulted in assassinations of key officers in the SLA intelligence services.
During the period 1982 - 2000 Hezbollah lost hundreds of fighters to IDF action and deserted many of their bodies in the field. Hezbollah media, however, avoided any mention of casualties in order to strengthen their propaganda campaign.
Aside from fighting the IDF in Lebanon Hezbollah may have been involved in international terrorism. In 1992 and 1994, Hezbollah is claimed to have carried out the Israeli Embassy Bombing and the AMIA Bombing in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eight days after the AMIA Bombing the Israeli Embassy in London was car bombed by two Palestinians linked to Hezbollah.
In January 2000, Hezbollah assassinated the commander of the South Lebanon Army Western Brigade, Colonel Aql Hashem, at his home in the security zone. Hashem had been responsible for day to day operations of the SLA.[1]
In May 22nd 2000, Israel withdrew from Lebanon to the UN-agreed Israeli border, and their pullout was certified by the UN as complete[1]. However, Hezbollah claims the Shebaa Farms area, which is still occupied by Israel, to be Lebanese territory, and on that basis has continued to attack Israel (For more details see: History of Lebanon.)
Hezbollah snatched the bodies of three IDF soldiers 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 and Israel agreed on a 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 captured in 2001 and the remains of the three IDF soldiers mentioned above.
In return for unlimited gambling privileges at Liban Casino in Beirut, Hezbullah claims that Artillery Colonel Elhanan Tenenbaum told Hezbullah all he knew concerning placement of artillery on Lebanese borders, including the make-up of Israels army, tank and artillery corps, with detailed intelligence on the complete range of Israeli missiles including the Arrow and laser Nautilis system as well as the GreenTree radar.
In the landmark April 2004 issue of Qubth ut Alla, (Fist of God) Hezbullahs Special Forces monthly magazine, entitled "If you can't beat them, buy them-How Hezbullah defeated the IDF," reads like a who's who of IDF-Hezbullah cooperation and contains photos of senior IDF officers cavorting with Hezbollah leaders in the S. Lebanon security zone and fully details how Hezbullah assisted by key senior IDF officers worked in tandem to force IDF withdrawal in 2000.
Hezbollah has continued to shell the northern border region of Israel with mortars and Katyusha artillery rockets, inciting condemnation from the UN Secretary-General [1].
In 7 May 2004 an IDF unit patroling near the Gladiola outpost on the Israeli side of the border was lured into a mechanical mine ambush by Hezbullahs Unit 13 who detonated a remote-controlled bomb resulting in one member dying and 11 being wounded. Four days later the US imposed sanctions on Syria, among other reasons, for its support of Hezbollah[1].
Four years after Israel withdrew its troops and fifteen years after the Taif Agreement stipulated the dismantling of all militias in Lebanon, Hezbolla still draws its legitimacy from its 'Islamic Resistance' military wing, and blocks the Lebanese Armed Forces(LAF) from deploying along the border with Israel (see: History of Lebanon.)
During 2002, 2003 and 2004, the Israeli Security Forces thwarted numerous suicide bombing attacks, some of which Israel claims were planned and funded by Hizbullah and should have been carried out by Tanzim activists. Israeli officials accused Hizbullah of aiding Palestinian terrorism, including in weapon smuggling (see also: Santorini, Karin A).
After the Maxim restaurant massacre (October 4, 2003) the Israeli Air Force bombed terrorist facilities in Ein-Saheb, Syria, as a warning to Assad, which is blamed by Israel for sponsering Hizbullah.
On June 16, 2004, two Palestinian girls - aged 14 and 15 were arrest by the IDF for plotting a suicide bombing. [1] According to IDF statement, the two minors were recurited by Tanzim (Fatah's armed wing) activists, guided by Hizbullah. [1]
On June 23, 2004, another Hizbullah-funded suicide bombing attack was foiled by the Israeli security forces. [1]
Today, 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 now holds 8. Since the end of the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon on May 22 2000, the Hezbollah has been involved in activities like building schools, clinics, hospitals.
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 [1]. He is not known to have consulted Hezbollah or Hamas before making this statement.
Hezbollah has no known links to Al-Qaida. Though Hezbollah has a Shi'ite ideology, this does not exclude it from co-operation with Sunni groups. However, Al-Qaida and the Taliban, which are respectively a Wahhabi and a Deobandi group, have long histories of conflict with Shia groups and with Iran in particular, Hezbollah's strongest backer. Hezbollah is closely allied with Iran and has a complex relationship with Syria. Hezbollah is strongly anti-Zionist, anti-West, and anti-Israeli.
Contrary to American misconceptions, no Hezbullah fighters have infiltrated into Iraq. The Hezbullah military wing is a closed caste of high tech superbly-trained Islamic commando warriors who deliberately keep their ranks small and compartmentalized. Hezbullah fighters are constantly training for the next Israeli incursion into Lebanon and would not be risked for a foreign misadventure in Iraq.
Although it is widely believed that Hafez al-Assad and Hezbollah were closely related, he managed to avoid international criticism. Bashar al-Assad, his son and successor, has been subjected to sanctions by the US due to (among other things, such as "occupying Lebanon") his continued support for Hezbollah.
Those who consider Hezbollah to be a terrorist organization consider its sponsors (in particular Iran, Syria, and Lebanon) to stand in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1373. The UN has no official list of organizations to which Resolution 1373 applies[1]. Israel has lodged continuous complaints[1] about Hezbollah's actions. Israel has bombed several Syrian targets in retaliation for terrorist and guerrilla attacks by Islamic Jihad 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". The USA has imposed economic sanctions on Syria for their support of terrorism.
Hezbollah views an Islamic republic, on the Iranian model, as the most desirable form of governance. However, it sees this republic as emerging from the consent of the vast majority, and, as Lebanon is a multi-religious state, this could not happen in the near future.
The organization holds an Islamic republic 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 favors 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 Iranian-style Islamic republic and removal of all non-Islamic influences.
Hezbollah supports the destruction of the state of Israel[1] and co-operates with other militant Islamic organizations such as Hamas in order to promote this goal.
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. They are watched widely by West Bank and Gazan Palestinians as well as Lebanese.
Anti-Israel movements |
Arab-Israeli conflict |
Axis of evil |
Council on American-Islamic Relations |
Foreign relations of Iran |
Foreign relations of Lebanon |
History of Lebanon |
Imad Mugniyah |
Islam |
Islam as a political movement |
Islamic Terrorism |
Islamism |
Katyusha |
List of terrorist groups |
Politics of Lebanon |
Qassam rocket |
Special Force (computer game) |
War on Terrorism |
William Francis Buckley
Names
History
Combat Operations
Prior to 2000
2000 and Later
Hizbullah activities in the al-Aqsa Intifada
Entrance in political arena
Foreign relations
Ideology
Media operations
See also
External links, Resources, and References
Official site
United States Department of State
see also: United States Department of State
Information
Specific attacks