Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah commander Ibrahim al-Hajj was reported killed in action near Mosul. ===Latin America operations=== Hezbollah operations in South America began in the late 20th century, centered around the Arab population which had moved there following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the 1985 Lebanese Civil War.
Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, and their withdrawal was verified by the United Nations as being in accordance with resolution 425 of 19 March 1978, however Lebanon considers the Shebaa farms—a 26-km² (10-mi²) piece of land captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 war and considered by the UN to be Syrian territory occupied by Israel—to be Lebanese territory.
Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, and their withdrawal was verified by the United Nations as being in accordance with resolution 425 of 19 March 1978, however Lebanon considers the Shebaa farms—a 26-km² (10-mi²) piece of land captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 war and considered by the UN to be Syrian territory occupied by Israel—to be Lebanese territory.
Israel withdrew in accordance with 1978's United Nations Security Council Resolution 425. The 1982–1983 Tyre headquarters bombings The April 1983 U.S.
Russia does not view Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization" but as a "legitimate socio-political force". After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the idea of Hezbollah arose among Lebanese clerics who had studied in Najaf, and who adopted the model set out by Ayatollah Khomeini after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
The second objective was to gather all Muslims into an "ummah", under which Lebanon would further the aims of the 1979 Revolution of Iran.
These designations are considered to be synonymous with Hezbollah by the US, Israel and Canada. === 1980s === Hezbollah emerged in South Lebanon during a consolidation of Shia militias as a rival to the older Amal Movement.
Unlike its uncompromising revolutionary stance in the 1980s, Hezbollah conveyed a lenient stance towards the Lebanese state. In 1992 Hezbollah decided to participate in elections, and Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran, endorsed it.
Hezbollah was largely formed with the aid of the Ayatollah Khomeini's followers in the early 1980s in order to spread Islamic revolution and follows a distinct version of Islamic Shi'a ideology (Valiyat al-faqih or Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists) developed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the "Islamic Revolution" in Iran.
government holds Hezbollah responsible for a number of attacks and hostage takings targeting Americans in Lebanon during the 1980s, including the bombing of the U.S.
Russia does not view Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization" but as a "legitimate socio-political force". After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the idea of Hezbollah arose among Lebanese clerics who had studied in Najaf, and who adopted the model set out by Ayatollah Khomeini after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
In the 2018 Lebanese general election, Hezbollah held 12 seats and its alliance won the election by gaining 70 out of 128 seats in the Parliament of Lebanon. == History == ===Foundation=== In 1982, Hezbollah was conceived by Muslim clerics and funded by Iran primarily to harass the Israeli invasion of Lebanon .
Various sources list the official formation of the group as early as 1982 whereas Diaz and Newman maintain that Hezbollah remained an amalgamation of various violent Shi'a extremists until as late as 1985.
Hezbollah played a significant role in the Lebanese civil war, opposing American forces in 1982–83 and opposing Amal and Syria during the 1985–88 War of the Camps.
However, Hezbollah's early primary focus was ending Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon following Israel's 1982 invasion and siege of Beirut.
Hezbollah's secret services collaborate with the Lebanese intelligence agencies. In the summer of 1982, Hezbollah's Special Security Apparatus was created by Hussein al-Khalil, now a "top political adviser to Nasrallah"; while Hezbollah's counterintelligence was initially managed by Iran's Quds Force, the organization continued to grow during the 1990s.
Its strength was reduced in late 2013 from 500 to 200–250 due to residents complaints about some fighters of the group exacerbating tensions with the local community. === The beginning of its military activities: the South Lebanon conflict === 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.
In 1982, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was based in Southern Lebanon and was firing Katyusha rockets into northern Israel from Lebanon.
Israel withdrew in accordance with 1978's United Nations Security Council Resolution 425. The 1982–1983 Tyre headquarters bombings The April 1983 U.S.
All Shia foreign advisors and fighters withdrew from Bosnia at the end of conflict. === Conflict with Israel === On 25 July 1993, following Hezbollah's 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.
Iran is said to have given $400 million between 1983 and 1989 through donation.
Israel withdrew in accordance with 1978's United Nations Security Council Resolution 425. The 1982–1983 Tyre headquarters bombings The April 1983 U.S.
Embassy bombing (by the Islamic Jihad Organization), The 1983 Beirut barracks bombing (by the Islamic Jihad Organization), that killed 241 U.S.
Embassy in Beirut in April 1983 and the bombing of the U.S.
Marine barracks in October 1983, which together killed 258 Americans.
Another version states that it was formed by supporters of Sheikh Ragheb Harb, a leader of the southern Shia resistance killed by Israel in 1984.
In addition, Hezbollah has a weekly publication, Al Ahd, which was established in 1984.
From 1985 to 2000, Hezbollah participated in the South Lebanon conflict against the South Lebanon Army (SLA) and Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which finally led to the rout of the SLA and the retreat of the IDF from South Lebanon in 2000.
Various sources list the official formation of the group as early as 1982 whereas Diaz and Newman maintain that Hezbollah remained an amalgamation of various violent Shi'a extremists until as late as 1985.
Hezbollah played a significant role in the Lebanese civil war, opposing American forces in 1982–83 and opposing Amal and Syria during the 1985–88 War of the Camps.
Although Hezbollah originally aimed to transform Lebanon into a formal Faqihi Islamic republic, this goal has been abandoned in favor of a more inclusive approach. === 1985 manifesto === On 16 February 1985, Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin issued Hezbollah's manifesto.
The ideology has since evolved, and today Hezbollah is a left-wing political entity focused on social injustice. Translated excerpts from Hezbollah's original 1985 manifesto read: === Attitudes, statements, and actions concerning Israel and Zionism === From the inception of Hezbollah to the present, the elimination of the State of Israel has been one of Hezbollah's primary goals.
Some translations of Hezbollah's 1985 Arabic-language manifesto state that "our struggle will end only when this entity [Israel] is obliterated".
Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah commander Ibrahim al-Hajj was reported killed in action near Mosul. ===Latin America operations=== Hezbollah operations in South America began in the late 20th century, centered around the Arab population which had moved there following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the 1985 Lebanese Civil War.
These include: In the 1985 Beirut car bombing, Hezbollah leader Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah was targeted, but the assassination attempt failed. On 28 July 1989, Israeli commandos kidnapped Sheikh Abdul Karim Obeid, the leader of Hezbollah.
Iran is said to have given $400 million between 1983 and 1989 through donation.
These include: In the 1985 Beirut car bombing, Hezbollah leader Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah was targeted, but the assassination attempt failed. On 28 July 1989, Israeli commandos kidnapped Sheikh Abdul Karim Obeid, the leader of Hezbollah.
It receives military training, weapons, and financial support from Iran and political support from Syria. Since 1990, Hezbollah has participated in Lebanese politics, in a process which is described as the Lebanonisation of Hezbollah, and it later participated in the government of Lebanon and joined political alliances.
At the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990, despite the Taif Agreement asking for the "disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias," Syria, which controlled Lebanon at that time, allowed Hezbollah to maintain their arsenal and control Shia areas along the border with Israel. === After 1990 === In the 1990s, Hezbollah transformed from a revolutionary group into a political one, in a process which is described as the Lebanonisation of Hezbollah.
Hezbollah's secret services collaborate with the Lebanese intelligence agencies. In the summer of 1982, Hezbollah's Special Security Apparatus was created by Hussein al-Khalil, now a "top political adviser to Nasrallah"; while Hezbollah's counterintelligence was initially managed by Iran's Quds Force, the organization continued to grow during the 1990s.
Ansar Allah, a Palestinian group closely associated with Hezbollah, claimed responsibility. The 1994 London Israeli Embassy attack, injuring 29, in the United Kingdom. The 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, killing 19 US servicemen. In 2002, Singapore accused Hezbollah of recruiting Singaporeans in a failed 1990s plot to attack U.S.
Hezbollah's operations outside of Lebanon, including its participation in bombings of Israeli and Jewish targets in Argentina during the 1990s and more recent training and liaison activities with Shiite insurgents in Iraq, have cemented the organization's reputation among U.S.
Hezbollah launched the station in 1991 with the help of Iranian funds.
Hezbollah (; حزب الله , literally "Party of Allah" or "Party of God", also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992.
Unlike its uncompromising revolutionary stance in the 1980s, Hezbollah conveyed a lenient stance towards the Lebanese state. In 1992 Hezbollah decided to participate in elections, and Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran, endorsed it.
He had been PM during 1992–1998 and 2000–2004.
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. On 12 February 2008, Imad Mughnieh was killed by a car bomb in Damascus, Syria. On 3 December 2013, senior military commander Hassan al-Laqis was shot outside his home, two miles (three kilometers) southwest of Beirut.
All Shia foreign advisors and fighters withdrew from Bosnia at the end of conflict. === Conflict with Israel === On 25 July 1993, following Hezbollah's 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.
Apparently, the 1993 understanding provided that Hezbollah combatants would not fire rockets at northern Israel, while Israel would not attack civilians or civilian targets in Lebanon. In April 1996, after continued Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, the Israeli armed forces launched Operation Grapes of Wrath, which was intended to wipe out Hezbollah's base in southern Lebanon.
The organization also includes a military security component, as well as an External Security Organization (al-Amn al-Khariji or Unit 910) that operates covertly outside Lebanon. Successful Hezbollah counterintelligence operations include thwarting the CIA's attempted kidnapping of foreign operations chief Hassan Ezzeddine in 1994; the 1997 manipulation of a double agent that led to the Ansariya Ambush; and the 2000 kidnapping of alleged Mossad agent Elhanan Tannenbaum.
Hezbollah operatives boasted of involvement. The 1994 AMIA bombing of a Jewish cultural centre, killing 85, in Argentina.
Ansar Allah, a Palestinian group closely associated with Hezbollah, claimed responsibility. The 1994 AC Flight 901 attack, killing 21, in Panama.
Ansar Allah, a Palestinian group closely associated with Hezbollah, claimed responsibility. The 1994 London Israeli Embassy attack, injuring 29, in the United Kingdom. The 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, killing 19 US servicemen. In 2002, Singapore accused Hezbollah of recruiting Singaporeans in a failed 1990s plot to attack U.S.
Hezbollah also denounced the massacres in Algeria by Armed Islamic Group, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya attacks on tourists in Egypt, the murder of Nick Berg, and ISIL attacks in Paris. Although Hezbollah has denounced certain attacks on civilians, some people accuse the organization of the bombing of an Argentine synagogue in 1994.
Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, Marcelo Martinez Burgos, and their "staff of some 45 people" said 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 August 2012, the United States State Department's counter-terrorism coordinator Daniel Benjamin warned that Hezbollah may attack Europe at any time without any warning.
Ansar Allah, a Palestinian group closely associated with Hezbollah, claimed responsibility. The 1994 London Israeli Embassy attack, injuring 29, in the United Kingdom. The 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, killing 19 US servicemen. In 2002, Singapore accused Hezbollah of recruiting Singaporeans in a failed 1990s plot to attack U.S.
Apparently, the 1993 understanding provided that Hezbollah combatants would not fire rockets at northern Israel, while Israel would not attack civilians or civilian targets in Lebanon. In April 1996, after continued Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, the Israeli armed forces launched Operation Grapes of Wrath, which was intended to wipe out Hezbollah's base in southern Lebanon.
Finally, following several days of negotiations, the two sides signed the Grapes of Wrath Understandings on 26 April 1996.
A cease-fire was agreed upon between Israel and Hezbollah, which would be effective on 27 April 1996.
He went on to say that in 1996 Hezbollah apprehended an agent working for Israel by the name of Ahmed Nasrallah—no relation to Hassan Nasrallah—who allegedly contacted Hariri's security detail and told them that he had solid proof that Hezbollah was planning to take his life.
The organization also includes a military security component, as well as an External Security Organization (al-Amn al-Khariji or Unit 910) that operates covertly outside Lebanon. Successful Hezbollah counterintelligence operations include thwarting the CIA's attempted kidnapping of foreign operations chief Hassan Ezzeddine in 1994; the 1997 manipulation of a double agent that led to the Ansariya Ambush; and the 2000 kidnapping of alleged Mossad agent Elhanan Tannenbaum.
From 1985 to 2000, Hezbollah participated in the South Lebanon conflict against the South Lebanon Army (SLA) and Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which finally led to the rout of the SLA and the retreat of the IDF from South Lebanon in 2000.
Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, and their withdrawal was verified by the United Nations as being in accordance with resolution 425 of 19 March 1978, however Lebanon considers the Shebaa farms—a 26-km² (10-mi²) piece of land captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 war and considered by the UN to be Syrian territory occupied by Israel—to be Lebanese territory.
The organization also includes a military security component, as well as an External Security Organization (al-Amn al-Khariji or Unit 910) that operates covertly outside Lebanon. Successful Hezbollah counterintelligence operations include thwarting the CIA's attempted kidnapping of foreign operations chief Hassan Ezzeddine in 1994; the 1997 manipulation of a double agent that led to the Ansariya Ambush; and the 2000 kidnapping of alleged Mossad agent Elhanan Tannenbaum.
In the mid-1990s, Hezbollah was able to "download unencrypted video feeds from Israeli drones," and Israeli SIGINT efforts intensified after the 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon.
With the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, the organization was disbanded. In 2009, the Resistance Brigades were reactivated, mainly comprising Sunni supporters from the southern city of Sidon.
With the collapse of the SLA, and the rapid advance of Hezbollah forces, Israel withdrew on 24 May 2000 six weeks before the announced 7 July date." Hezbollah held a victory parade, and its popularity in Lebanon rose.
Both sides agreed that civilians should not be targeted, which meant that Hezbollah would be allowed to continue its military activities against IDF forces inside Lebanon. ==== 2000 Hezbollah cross-border raid ==== On 7 October 2000, three Israeli soldiers—Adi Avitan, Staff Sgt.
He had been PM during 1992–1998 and 2000–2004.
It also has ties with the leadership in Syria, specifically President Hafez al-Assad (until his death in 2000) supported it.
Hezbollah attributed the attack to Syrian opposition. == Targeting policy == After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Hezbollah condemned al-Qaeda for targeting civilians in the World Trade Center, but remained silent on the attack on The Pentagon.
Ansar Allah, a Palestinian group closely associated with Hezbollah, claimed responsibility. The 1994 London Israeli Embassy attack, injuring 29, in the United Kingdom. The 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, killing 19 US servicemen. In 2002, Singapore accused Hezbollah of recruiting Singaporeans in a failed 1990s plot to attack U.S.
In 2002, Hezbollah was operating openly in Ciudad del Este.
According to certain sources, IJO was identified as merely a "telephone organization", and whose name was "used by those involved to disguise their true identity." Hezbollah reportedly also used another name, "Islamic Resistance" (al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya), for attacks against Israel. A 2003 American court decision found IJO was the name used by Hezbollah for its attacks in Lebanon, parts of the Middle East and Europe.
The Hezbollah Central Internet Bureau released a video game in 2003 entitled Special Force and a sequel in 2007 in which players are rewarded with points and weapons for killing Israelis.
Al-Manar was designated as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity," and banned by the United States in December 2004.
The bodies of the slain soldiers were exchanged for Lebanese prisoners in 2004. ==== 2006 Lebanon War ==== The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel.
Eighty percent of Christians polled supported Hezbollah, along with 80 percent of Druze and 89 percent of Sunnis. In a poll of Lebanese adults taken in 2004, 6% of respondents gave unqualified support to the statement "Hezbollah should be disarmed".
Hezbollah participates in the Parliament of Lebanon. ===Political alliances=== Hezbollah has been one of the main parties of the March 8 Alliance since March 2005.
Although Hezbollah had joined the new government in 2005, it remained staunchly opposed to the March 14 Alliance.
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.
Hezbollah and the IDF fought each other again in the 2006 Lebanon War. Its military strength has grown so significantly since 2006 that its paramilitary wing is considered more powerful than the Lebanese Army.
After the 2006–08 Lebanese protests and clashes, a national unity government was formed in 2008, with Hezbollah and its opposition allies obtaining 11 of 30 cabinet seats, enough to give them veto power.
In 2006, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak stated, "When we entered Lebanon … there was no Hezbollah.
In addition, during its 2006 war, it apologized only for killing Israel's Arabs (i.e., non-Jews). In November 2009, Hezbollah pressured a private English-language school to drop reading excerpts from The Diary of Anne Frank, a book of the writings from the diary kept by the Jewish child Anne Frank while she was in hiding with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.
Medical care is also cheaper than in most of the country's private hospitals and free for Hezbollah members. According to CNN, "Hezbollah did everything that a government should do, from collecting the garbage to running hospitals and repairing schools." In July 2006, during the war with Israel, when there was no running water in Beirut, Hezbollah was arranging supplies around the city.
On 1 December 2006, these groups began a series of political protests and sit-ins in opposition to the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. In 2006, Michel Aoun and Hassan Nasrallah met in Mar Mikhayel Church, Chiyah, and signed a memorandum of understanding between Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah organizing their relation and discussing Hezbollah's disarmament with some conditions.
Hezbollah also collaborated with the Lebanese government in 2006 to detect Adeeb al-Alam, a former colonel, as an Israeli spy.
Also, the organization recruited IDF Lieutenant Colonel Omar al-Heib, who was convicted in 2006 of conducting surveillance for Hezbollah.
These weapons have been used against IDF soldiers, causing many of the deaths during the 2006 Lebanon War.
Leaked cables from American diplomats suggest that the United States has been trying unsuccessfully to prevent Syria from "supplying arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon", and that Hezbollah has "amassed a huge stockpile (of arms) since its 2006 war with Israel"; the arms were described as "increasingly sophisticated." Gates added that Hezbollah is possibly armed with chemical or biological weapons, as well as anti-ship missiles that could threaten U.S.
The 2006 military conflict with Israel has increased the controversy.
A Lebanese public opinion poll taken in August 2006 shows that most of the Shia did not believe that Hezbollah should disarm after the 2006 Lebanon war, while the majority of Sunni, Druze and Christians believed that they should.
The bodies of the slain soldiers were exchanged for Lebanese prisoners in 2004. ==== 2006 Lebanon War ==== The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel.
The war continued until 14 August 2006.
Geneive Abdo opined that Hezbollah's support for al-Assad in the Syrian war has "transformed" it from a group with "support among the Sunni for defeating Israel in a battle in 2006" into a "strictly Shia paramilitary force". In August 2012, the United States sanctioned Hezbollah for its alleged role in the war.
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.
A poll in August 2006 by ABC News and the Washington Post found that 68% of the 1,002 Americans polled blamed Hezbollah, at least in part, for the civilian casualties in Lebanon during the 2006 Lebanon War, compared to 31% who blamed Israel to some degree.
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. In 2010, a survey of Muslims in Lebanon showed that 94% of Lebanese Shia supported Hezbollah, while 84% of the Sunni Muslims held an unfavorable opinion of the group. Some public opinion has started to turn against Hezbollah for their support of Syrian President Assad's attacks on the opposition movement in Syria.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the step "important and even amazing". A day before the move by the Arab League, Hezbollah leader Nasrallah said that "Saudi Arabia is angry with Hezbollah since it is daring to say what only a few others dare to say against its royal family". ==== In Lebanon ==== In an interview during the 2006 Lebanon War, then-President Emile Lahoud stated "Hezbollah enjoys utmost prestige in Lebanon, because it freed our country ...
even though it is very small, it stands up to Israel." Following the 2006 War, other Lebanese including members of the government were resentful of the large damage sustained by the country and saw Hezbollah's actions as unjustified "dangerous adventurism" rather than legitimate resistance.
The Hezbollah Anti-Terrorism Act surgically targets this cancer and will strengthen the position of Lebanese who oppose Hezbollah." In a Sky News interview during the 2006 Lebanon war, British MP George Galloway said that Hezbollah is "not a terrorist organization". Former Swiss member of parliament, Jean Ziegler, said in 2006: "I refuse to describe Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
The Hezbollah Central Internet Bureau released a video game in 2003 entitled Special Force and a sequel in 2007 in which players are rewarded with points and weapons for killing Israelis.
After the 2006–08 Lebanese protests and clashes, a national unity government was formed in 2008, with Hezbollah and its opposition allies obtaining 11 of 30 cabinet seats, enough to give them veto power.
In August 2008, Lebanon's new cabinet unanimously approved a draft policy statement that recognizes Hezbollah's existence as an armed organization and guarantees its right to "liberate or recover occupied lands" (such as the Shebaa Farms).
The agreement also discussed the importance of having normal diplomatic relations with Syria and the request for information about the Lebanese political prisoners in Syria and the return of all political prisoners and diaspora in Israel. After this event, Aoun and his party became part of the March 8 Alliance. On 7 May 2008, Lebanon's 17-month-long political crisis spiraled out of control.
At the end, rival Lebanese leaders reached consensus over Doha Agreement on 21 May 2008, to end the 18-month political feud that exploded into fighting and nearly drove the country to a new civil war.
At the end of the conflicts, National unity government was formed by Fouad Siniora on 11 July 2008, with Hezbollah controlling one ministerial and eleven of thirty cabinet places. In 2018 Lebanese general election, Hezbollah general secretary Hassan Nasrallah presented the names of the 13 Hezbollah candidates.
With possible help from Iran and the Russian FSB, Hezbollah augmented its electronic counterintelligence capabilities, and succeeded by 2008 in detecting Israeli bugs near Mount Sannine and in the organization's fiber optic network. == Armed strength == Hezbollah does not reveal its armed strength.
and Israeli ships in the Singapore Straits. 15 January 2008, bombing of a U.S.
Beginning in 2008 the United States Drug Enforcement Agency began with Project Cassandra to work against Hezbollah activities in regards to Latin American drug trafficking.
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. On 12 February 2008, Imad Mughnieh was killed by a car bomb in Damascus, Syria. On 3 December 2013, senior military commander Hassan al-Laqis was shot outside his home, two miles (three kilometers) southwest of Beirut.
policy makers as a capable and deadly adversary with potential global reach." The United Kingdom was the first government to attempt to make a distinction between Hezbollah's political and military wings, declaring the latter a terrorist group in July 2008 after Hezbollah confirmed its association with Imad Mughniyeh.
In addition, during its 2006 war, it apologized only for killing Israel's Arabs (i.e., non-Jews). In November 2009, Hezbollah pressured a private English-language school to drop reading excerpts from The Diary of Anne Frank, a book of the writings from the diary kept by the Jewish child Anne Frank while she was in hiding with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.
In 2009, Hezbollah apprehended Marwan Faqih, a garage owner who installed tracking devices in Hezbollah-owned vehicles. Hezbollah's counterintelligence apparatus also uses electronic surveillance and intercept technologies.
With the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, the organization was disbanded. In 2009, the Resistance Brigades were reactivated, mainly comprising Sunni supporters from the southern city of Sidon.
Embassy vehicle in Beirut. In 2009, a Hezbollah plot in Egypt was uncovered, where Egyptian authorities arrested 49 men for planning attacks against Israeli and Egyptian targets in the Sinai Peninsula. The 2012 Burgas bus bombing, killing 6, in Bulgaria.
Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have condemned Hezbollah's actions, saying that "the Arabs and Muslims can't afford to allow an irresponsible and adventurous organization like Hezbollah to drag the region to war" and calling it "dangerous adventurism", After an alleged 2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt, the Egyptian regime of Hosni Mubarak officially classified Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
The same leadership that directs the parliamentary and government work also leads jihad actions in the struggle against Israel." In 2010, Iran's parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani said, "Iran takes pride in Lebanon's Islamic resistance movement for its steadfast Islamic stance.
According to reports released in February 2010, Hezbollah received $400 million from Iran.
Israeli commander Gui Zur called Hezbollah "by far the greatest guerrilla group in the world". In 2010, Hezbollah was believed to have 45,000 rockets.
One of the most effective weapons deployed by Hezbollah has been the C-802 anti-ship missile. In April 2010, U.S.
The conflict is believed to have killed 1,191–1,300 Lebanese citizens including combatants and 165 Israelis including soldiers. ==== 2010 gas field claims ==== In 2010, Hezbollah claimed that the Dalit and Tamar gas field, discovered by Noble Energy roughly west of Haifa in Israeli exclusive economic zone, belong to Lebanon, and warned Israel against extracting gas from them.
One particular form of involvement is money laundering. === Other === In 2010, Ahbash and Hezbollah members were involved in a street battle which was perceived to be over parking issues, both groups later met to form a joint compensation fund for the victims of the conflict. == Attacks on Hezbollah leaders == Hezbollah has also been the target of bomb attacks and kidnappings.
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. In 2010, a survey of Muslims in Lebanon showed that 94% of Lebanese Shia supported Hezbollah, while 84% of the Sunni Muslims held an unfavorable opinion of the group. Some public opinion has started to turn against Hezbollah for their support of Syrian President Assad's attacks on the opposition movement in Syria.
In 2011 Iran earmarked $7 million to Hezbollah's activities in Latin American. Hezbollah has relied also 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.
By 2011, Hezbollah counterintelligence began to use software to analyze cellphone data and detect espionage; suspicious callers were then subjected to conventional surveillance.
Lebanese MP Antoine Zahra said that the issue is another item "in the endless list of excuses" meant to justify the continued existence of Hezbullah's arsenal. ==== 2011 attack in Istanbul ==== In July 2011, Italian newspaper Corierre della Sera reported, based on American and Turkish sources, that Hezbollah was behind a bombing in Istanbul in May 2011 that wounded eight Turkish civilians.
Saad Hariri responded that the UN should investigate these claims. On 30 June 2011, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, established to investigate the death of Hariri, issued arrest warrants against four senior members of Hezbollah, including Mustafa Badr Al Din.
On 10 April 2013, Bahrain blacklisted Hezbollah as a terrorist group, being the first Arab state in this regard. While Hezbollah has supported popular uprisings in Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Tunisia, Hezbollah publicly sided with Iran and Syria during the 2011 Syrian uprising.
Hezbollah is a terrorist organization." In 2011, a bipartisan group of members of Congress introduced the Hezbollah Anti-Terrorism Act.
Since 2012, Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian civil war has seen it join the Syrian government in its fight against the Syrian opposition, which Hezbollah has described as a Zionist plot and a "Wahhabi-Zionist conspiracy" to destroy its alliance with Bashar al-Assad against Israel.
In 2012, Al-Manar aired a television special praising an 8-year-old boy who raised money for Hezbollah and said: "When I grow up, I will be a communist resistance warrior with Hezbollah, fighting the United States and Israel, I will tear them to pieces and drive them out of Lebanon, the Golan and Palestine, which I love very dearly." == Secret services == Hezbollah's secret services have been described as "one of the best in the world", and have even infiltrated the Israeli army.
Embassy vehicle in Beirut. In 2009, a Hezbollah plot in Egypt was uncovered, where Egyptian authorities arrested 49 men for planning attacks against Israeli and Egyptian targets in the Sinai Peninsula. The 2012 Burgas bus bombing, killing 6, in Bulgaria.
Turkish intelligence sources denied the report and said "Israel is in the habit of creating disinformation campaigns using different papers." ==== 2012 planned attack in Cyprus ==== In July 2012, a Lebanese man was detained by Cyprus police on possible charges relating to terrorism laws for planning attacks against Israeli tourists.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Iran assisted the Lebanese man with planning the attacks. ==== 2012 Burgas attack ==== Following an investigation into the 2012 Burgas bus bombing terrorist attack against Israeli citizens in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian government officially accused the Lebanese-militant movement Hezbollah of committing the attack.
Geneive Abdo opined that Hezbollah's support for al-Assad in the Syrian war has "transformed" it from a group with "support among the Sunni for defeating Israel in a battle in 2006" into a "strictly Shia paramilitary force". In August 2012, the United States sanctioned Hezbollah for its alleged role in the war.
General Secretary Nasrallah denied Hezbollah had been fighting on behalf of the Syrian government, stating in a 12 October 2012, speech that "right from the start the Syrian opposition has been telling the media that Hizbullah sent 3,000 fighters to Syria, which we have denied".
Nasrallah said that Hezbollah fighters have died in Syria doing their "jihadist duties". In 2012, Hezbollah fighters crossed the border from Lebanon and took over eight villages in the Al-Qusayr District of Syria.
Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, Marcelo Martinez Burgos, and their "staff of some 45 people" said 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 August 2012, the United States State Department's counter-terrorism coordinator Daniel Benjamin warned that Hezbollah may attack Europe at any time without any warning.
In 2012, British "Foreign Minister William Hague urged the European Union to place Hezbollah's military wing on its list of terrorist organizations." The United States also urged the EU to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
In light of findings implicating Hezbollah in the bus bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria in 2012, there was renewed discussion within the European Union to label Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist group.
Following the 2012 Presidential elections the new government recognized Hezbollah as a "real political and military force" in Lebanon.
Its strength was reduced in late 2013 from 500 to 200–250 due to residents complaints about some fighters of the group exacerbating tensions with the local community. === The beginning of its military activities: the South Lebanon conflict === 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.
On 16–17 February 2013, Syrian opposition groups claimed that Hezbollah, backed by the Syrian military, attacked three neighboring Sunni villages controlled by the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Five days later, it said it destroyed a convoy carrying Hezbollah fighters and Syrian officers to Lebanon, killing all the passengers. In January 2013, a weapons convoy carrying SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah was destroyed allegedly by the Israeli Air Force.
There is no space or place for Hezbollah in Syria." Support for Hezbollah among the Syrian public has weakened since the involvement of Hezbollah and Iran in propping up the Assad regime during the civil war. On 12 May 2013, Hezbollah with the Syrian army attempted to retake part of Qusayr.
In Lebanon, there has been "a recent increase in the funerals of Hezbollah fighters" and "Syrian rebels have shelled Hezbollah-controlled areas." On 25 May 2013, Nasrallah announced that Hezbollah is fighting in the Syrian Civil War against Islamic extremists and "pledged that his group will not allow Syrian militants to control areas that border Lebanon".
In 2013, Hezbollah was accused of infiltrating South America and having ties with Latin American drug cartels.
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. On 12 February 2008, Imad Mughnieh was killed by a car bomb in Damascus, Syria. On 3 December 2013, senior military commander Hassan al-Laqis was shot outside his home, two miles (three kilometers) southwest of Beirut.
Russia has considered Hezbollah a legitimate sociopolitical organization, and the People's Republic of China remains neutral and maintains contacts with Hezbollah. In May 2013, France and Germany released statements that they will join other European countries in calling for an EU-blacklisting of Hezbollah as a terror group.
On 22 July 2013, the European Union declared the military wings of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization; effectively blacklisting the entity. The United States, France (only for the military wing), the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada, the Netherlands, and Israel have classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
On 10 April 2013, Bahrain blacklisted Hezbollah as a terrorist group, being the first Arab state in this regard. While Hezbollah has supported popular uprisings in Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Tunisia, Hezbollah publicly sided with Iran and Syria during the 2011 Syrian uprising.
In the televised address, he said, "If Syria falls in the hands of America, Israel and the takfiris, the people of our region will go into a dark period." === Involvement in Iranian-led intervention in Iraq === Beginning in July 2014, Hezbollah sent an undisclosed number of technical advisers and intelligence analysts to Baghdad in support of the Iranian intervention in Iraq (2014–present).
He died a few hours later on 4 December. On 18 January 2015, a group of Hezbollah fighters was targeted in Quneitra, with the Al-Nusra Front claiming responsibility.
In early 2015, the US Director of National Intelligence removed Hezbollah from the list of "active terrorist threats" against the United States while Hezbollah remained designated as terrorist by the US, and by mid 2015 several Hezbollah officials were sanctioned by the US for their role in facilitating military activity in the ongoing Syrian Civil War.
In 2016, it was alleged that money gained from drug sales was used to purchase weapons in Syria.
In this attack, for which Israel was also accused, Jihad Moghnieh, son of Imad Mughnieh, five other members of Hezbollah and an Iranian general of Quds Force, Mohammad Ali Allahdadi, were killed. On 10 May 2016, an explosion near Damascus International Airport killed top military commander Mustafa Badreddine.
Following Hezbollah's aid in Assad government's victory in Qusayr, anti-Hezbollah editorials began regularly appearing in the Arabic media and anti-Hezbollah graffiti has been seen in southern Lebanon. In March 2016, Gulf Cooperation Council designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization due to its alleged attempts to undermine GCC states, and Arab League followed the move, with reservation by Iraq and Lebanon.
Either the entire organization or only its military wing has been designated a terrorist organization by several countries including the European Union and since 2017 by most member states of the Arab League, with the exception of Iraq and Lebanon, where Hezbollah is the most powerful political party.
In 2017, Hezbollah had 130,000 rockets and missiles in place targeting Israel, according to Israeli Minister Naftali Bennett.
In the 2018 Lebanese general election, Hezbollah held 12 seats and its alliance won the election by gaining 70 out of 128 seats in the Parliament of Lebanon. == History == ===Foundation=== In 1982, Hezbollah was conceived by Muslim clerics and funded by Iran primarily to harass the Israeli invasion of Lebanon .
At the end of the conflicts, National unity government was formed by Fouad Siniora on 11 July 2008, with Hezbollah controlling one ministerial and eleven of thirty cabinet places. In 2018 Lebanese general election, Hezbollah general secretary Hassan Nasrallah presented the names of the 13 Hezbollah candidates.
On 22 March 2018, Nasrallah issued a statement outlining the main priorities for the parliamentary bloc of the party, Loyalty to the Resistance, in the next parliament.
In 2018, Infobae reported that Hezbollah was operating in Colombia under the name Organization of External Security.
The United Kingdom listed Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization until May 2019 when the entire organisation was proscribed, and the United States lists the entire group as such.
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