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Hezbollah

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Hezbollah
Party of God
Founded1982 (officially)
HeadquartersBeirut, Lebanon
IdeologyShia Islamism
Anti-imperialism
[1][2][3]
Anti-Westernism[4]
Anti-Zionism
ReligionShia Islam
International affiliationAxis of Resistance
ColoursYellow, Green
Parliament of Lebanon
13 / 128
Website
See List of official sites.

Hezbollah (Arabic: حٍُِٓـزْبٍُ اٌلٌٍُلَّٰهَُِّْ, romanized: Ḥizbu 'llāh, 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 Naim Qassem.

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]

History

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Founding

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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]

Opposition

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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.

References

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  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ Shehata, Samer (2012). Islamist Politics in the Middle East: Movements and Change. Routledge. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-415-78361-3.
  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.
  4. ↑ 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. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ "A Tweet too far: US editor latest victim of Internet Inquisition". RT. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  7. ↑ "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.
  8. ↑ Rosenfeld, Jesse (11 January 2016). "Russia Is Arming Hezbollah, Say Two of the Group's Field Commanders". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "About Hezbollah | Hezbollah". hezbollah.org. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "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)".
  13. ↑ "Summary of Terrorist Activity 2004". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 5 January 2005. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  14. ↑ "EU places Hezbollah military wing on terror blacklist". The Jerusalem Post. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "Proscribed terrorist organisations" (PDF). Home Office. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2013.[permanent dead link]
  16. ↑ staff, T. O. I.; Agencies. "Russia says Hezbollah, Hamas not terror groups". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2 March 2019.

Other websites

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hezbollah.
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