Hezbollah
(
Arabic
:
??? ????
,
romanized:
?izbu 'll?h
, meaning
Party of God
) is a
Shia Islamist
political party
and
paramilitary
organization
based in
Lebanon
.
[5]
[6]
[7]
It was formed in Lebanon in 1982, during the
Lebanese Civil War
. The leader of Hezbollah is currently
Hassan Nasrallah
.
Hezbollah's main goals during the
Lebanese Civil War
were to fight against
Western
influences and protect Lebanon's
Shia Muslim
population. Its members are mostly
Shia Muslims
. The group also supports
Arab
nationalism
. It wants freedom for the
Palestinian people
in
Palestine
. Because of this, it believes that the
State of Israel
should not exist, and fights against it. Over the years, the Hezbollah militia has fought a
guerrilla war
against the
Israeli Army
along the border in
southern Lebanon
. It often attacks Israel's military positions by firing
rockets
across Israel's northern border.
Hezbollah is supported by
Syria
,
Iran
,
Russia
,
Lebanon
,
Houthis
and
Hamas
.
[8]
[9]
Hezbollah was officially founded in 1985, following the
1982 Lebanon War
. Lebanese
Shia
clerics who had received education in Najaf came together to form Hezbollah as a movement of
resistance
against Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982. They were influenced by
Ayatollah Khomeini
's model established after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
[10]
The party's founders adopted "Hezbollah" as the name chosen by Khomeini which means 'Party of God'. Hezbollah is also part of the movement spreading the
Islamic Revolution
beyond Iran.
[11]
To destroy Hezbollah bases, Israel has responded in different ways; for example, air
strikes
on sites in Lebanon and sending
ground troops
into Southern Lebanon. In 2000, Israel withdrew its troops from the "security zone" in Southern Lebanon, but not from a sliver of land called Shebba Farms. This fertile area was kept under Israeli
occupation
. The border stayed relatively quiet until July 2006, except for targeted
assassinations
and
kidnappings
by Israel. In July, Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers. This led to the
2006 Lebanon War
, in which Hezbollah rockets reached deep into Israel.
Several foreign governments consider Hezbollah a
terrorist
group.The global majority including
Russia
and
China
do not. Among those who consider it to be a terrorist group are the
United States
,
[12]
Bahrain
,
Canada
,
Japan
,
the Netherlands
and
Israel
.
[13]
The
European Union
and the
United Kingdom
consider Hezbollah's military branch to be a terrorist group, but not the political party.
[14]
[15]
Iran and Lebanon considers Hezbollah to be a legitimate
resistance
movement. This view is shared by
Syria
,
Iran
and all other countries in the
Arab world
.
[5]
Russia considers Hezbollah as a legitimate sociopolitical organization
[16]
while
China
remains neutral, and maintains contacts with Hezbollah. Other countries that do not consider Hezbollah a terror organization includes
Cuba
,
Iraq
,
North Korea
, and others. Hezbollah has received armed and logistics support from the government of
Iran
and its leader
Hassan Nasrallah
maintains close ties with the Iranian supreme leader
Ali Khamenei
. Hezbollah forces in Syria were also commanded by the now deceased Iranian general
Qasem Soleimani
. Hezbollah is currently participating in the
Syrian civil war
fighting alongside Syrian government forces of
Bashar al-Assad
. Since October 2023, Hezbollah has been engaged in a border war with
Israel
in southern
Lebanon
.
- ↑
Elie Alagha, Joseph (2011).
Hizbullah's Documents: From the 1985 Open Letter to the 2009 Manifesto
. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 15, 20.
ISBN
978-90-8555-037-2
.
- ↑
Shehata, Samer (2012).
Islamist Politics in the Middle East: Movements and Change
. Routledge. p. 176.
ISBN
978-0-415-78361-3
.
- ↑
Husseinia, Rola El (2010).
"Hezbollah and the Axis of Refusal: Hamas, Iran and Syria"
.
Third World Quarterly
.
31
(5): 803?815.
doi
:
10.1080/01436597.2010.502695
.
S2CID
219628295
.
- ↑
Levitt, Matthew (2013).
Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God
.
Hezbollah's anti-Western militancy began with attacks against Western targets in Lebanon, then expanded to attacks abroad intended to exact revenge for actions threatening its or Iran's interests, or to press foreign governments to release captured operatives.
- ↑
5.0
5.1
Jamail, Dahr (20 July 2006).
"Hezbollah's transformation"
. Asia Times. Archived from
the original
on 25 January 2019
. Retrieved
23 October
2007
.
- ↑
"A Tweet too far: US editor latest victim of Internet Inquisition"
. RT. Archived from
the original
on 13 July 2012
. Retrieved
19 October
2010
.
- ↑
"Hezbollah (a.k.a. Hizbollah, Hizbu'llah)"
. Council on Foreign Relations. 13 September 2008. Archived from
the original
on 13 September 2008
. Retrieved
15 September
2008
.
- ↑
Rosenfeld, Jesse (11 January 2016).
"Russia Is Arming Hezbollah, Say Two of the Group's Field Commanders"
.
The Daily Beast
. Retrieved
20 February
2024
.
- ↑
Saad, Amal (23 January 2024).
"The Houthis are not a group that can be bombed into extinction ? here's why"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
20 February
2024
.
- ↑
Daher, Joseph (2016).
Hezbollah: The Political Economy of Lebanon's Party of God
. Pluto Press.
doi
:
10.2307/j.ctt1gk07vx
.
ISBN
978-0-7453-3693-0
.
JSTOR
j.ctt1gk07vx
.
- ↑
"About Hezbollah | Hezbollah"
.
hezbollah.org
. Retrieved
9 September
2023
.
- ↑
"Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)"
.
United States Department of State
. 11 October 2005. Archived from
the original
on 12 July 2006
. Retrieved
16 July
2006
.
"Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations ... 14. Hizballah (Party of God)".
- ↑
"Summary of Terrorist Activity 2004"
. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 5 January 2005
. Retrieved
5 September
2013
.
- ↑
"EU places Hezbollah military wing on terror blacklist"
. The Jerusalem Post. 22 July 2013
. Retrieved
22 July
2013
.
- ↑
"Proscribed terrorist organisations"
(PDF)
. Home Office. 23 November 2012
. Retrieved
17 May
2013
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ↑
staff, T. O. I.; Agencies.
"Russia says Hezbollah, Hamas not terror groups"
.
www.timesofisrael.com
. Retrieved
2 March
2019
.
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