Hezbollah: A key player in Lebanon, the region
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which Israel accused yesterday of digging cross-border “attack tunnels”, has grown considerably as a domestic political player and a regional military power since its foundation three decades ago. The Israel army announced the launch of an operation dubbed “Northern Shield” to destroy the alleged tunnels.
‘Resisting’ Israel
Hezbollah, whose name means “Party of God” in Arabic, was founded during the Lebanese civil war after Israel overran the capital Beirut in 1982. Created at the initiative of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the group gained its moniker as “the Resistance” by fighting Israeli troops who occupied southern Lebanon until 2000. It is the only faction to have retained its weapons after Lebanon’s 15-year conflict ended in 1990.
In 2006, Israel and Hezbollah clashed in a monthlong war that killed 1,200 Lebanese-mostly civiliansand 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL is supposed to monitor the border area with Israel in coordination with the Lebanese armed forces, but Hezbollah regularly showcases its military preparedness for any new war with Israel. In September, as fears grew that Iran was seeking to transfer some of its military influence from Syria to Lebanon, Hezbollah said it had successfully acquired precision missiles.
A regional force
The group intervened in Syria two years after war broke out there in 2011, providing key military backing to the Damascus regime, also an ally of Iran. Hezbollah has lost many hundreds of fighters, including senior commanders, since it deployed some of its forces in the neighboring country. It is believed to have between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters in Syria. The conflict is winding down in many parts of Syria, but the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah has said its fighters will remain until further notice. Further afield in the Middle East, the Shiite group has also supported Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Yemen. Nasrallah said last year he had sent “a large number of commanders and cadres” to help the powerful Hashed Al-Shaabi paramilitary forces battle the Islamic State jihadist group in Iraq. Hezbollah is also accused of providing weapons to pro-Iran Houthi rebels in Yemen, which the group has denied.
Yellow flags
Hezbollah was founded in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, but has since become predominant in all Shiite areas, including in the capital’s southern suburbs and the south of the country near Israel. The movement runs an extensive social services network-complete with schools, hospitals and a wide range of charitable organizations. This, coupled with its branding as the party of “resistance” against Israel, means it enjoys fierce support among the country’s Shiites, who make up around a third of the population. Its trademark yellow flags and huge portraits of its charismatic leader adorn areas of the country where it is popular. The group is remarkably organized but is often accused of rejecting all opposition in areas under its control.
Hezbollah in government
Hezbollah first entered parliament with the end of Lebanon’s civil war and began steadily imposing itself as a political player, with its first ministers in 2005. Parliamentary elections in May saw the Shiite movement and its political allies secure enough political support to ensure its military arsenal would not be challenged. With its military activities outside Lebanon potentially slowing down, the movement appears bent on converting its dominance to the domestic political arena. More than six months after the polls, observers say the failure to form a government is partly caused by the group’s new insistence on a line-up that reflects its gains.
Global pressure
The United States has considered Hezbollah a “terrorist” organization for years, blaming it for a series of bombings and hijackings in the 1980s, including one targeting US Marines in Beirut. The United States has targeted the party with tough sanctions, and the European Union blacklisted the group’s military wing in 2013. The administration of US President Donald Trump has ramped up sanctions against Hezbollah, with its latest raft of measures last month targeting Nasrallah’s son Jawad, among other individuals. Hezbollah is also accused of involvement in assassinating Lebanon’s former premier Rafiq Hariri in 2005, with several of its members charged by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. — AFP