Hezbollah, the party of god, often referred to as a state within a state, or, in the case of the gaza strip, hamas, the radical wing of the palestinian movement that refuses to. Hezbollah also continued to fight a sustained guerrilla campaign against israel in southern lebanon until israels withdrawal in 2000. Within days, hezbollah s 11man leadership council elected mussawis successor, sheikh hassan nasrallah. Third, the group also seeks to prevent the emergence of a sunnidominated regime in. Blanfords story opens with the historical marginalization of lebanese shia, the violent israeli incursions into lebanon. Hezbollahs hand is strengthened sheikh muhammad hussein fadlallah at a recent hezbollah gathering. This is not only a reallife thriller but a story with huge implications for the future of the region. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. According to kalb, the lack of proportionality of the israeli respons e to the hezbollah operation was one of the hottest. The model of a hybrid threat marcin andrzej piotrowski built by local shia muslims with support from iran, hezbollah the lebanese party of god is a model of an organisation that uses hybrid warfare methods in its struggle against israel. A dense, gray ash cloud engulfed the area as emergency.
Hezbollah originated within the shia block of lebanese society. The impact of hezbollahs involvement in syria has been felt not just on the. Hezbollah activists run western union offices and share the profits with hezbollah. Fadlallah is one of hezbollah s original founders, and continues to serve as the organizations. In april 2020, germanys interior ministry outlawed all hezbollah activities within the federal republic. Inside hezbollahs thirtyyear struggle against israel by nicholas blanford. Within days, hezbollahs 11man leadership council elected mussawis successor, sheikh hassan nasrallah. The untold story of the attack in benghazi, by fred burton and samuel m. The shiite community in lebanon and the background for hezbollahs emergence. A short history by augustus richard norton1 for greater depth and insight into hezbollah s leadership. Nicholas blanford, hezbollah marks major triumph as. The story from within by naim qassem hizbullah hezbollah. Still facing that, hezbollah has become now clearer in its choices, more determined in its will and more confident in its lord, people and itself.
Hezbollah has become a real alternative to the weak structures of the lebanese state. The impact of hezbollahs involvement in syria has been felt not just on the battlefield. Hezbollah also finds support from within some christian areas of lebanon that are hezbollah strongholds. The organizer of the group is a journalist who was close to hezbollah a decade ago, having been the host of a program on al manar, the hezbollah television channel, while another, also a.
On 4 june 20 open democracy, a digital commons on human rights and democracy 20, reports that. Matthew levitt i the washington institute for near east. Amid the fighting in lebanon, one name keeps coming up. Hezbollah s hand is strengthened sheikh muhammad hussein fadlallah at a recent hezbollah gathering. Inside hezbollahs thirtyyear struggle against israel blanford. It was formed in lebanon in 1982, during the lebanese civil war. How wikileakers, cypherpunks, and hacktivists aim to free the worlds information, by andy greenberg under fire. The global footprint of lebanons party of god is the first thorough examination of hezbollahs covert activities beyond lebanons borders, including its financial and logistical support networks and its criminal and terrorist operations worldwide hezbollahlebanons party of godis a multifaceted organization. The role of hezbollah in lebanese domestic politics augustus richard norton hezbollah is the product of a quarter century of history. The politics of the western hostage crisis basingstoke.
Hezbollahs own military capabilities and readiness would suffer without access to this military and financial assistance. According to a united states cia world factbook estimate, shias comprise 28. The story from within until now with regards to the ebook weve got hizbullah hezbollah. Hezbollahs standing within lebanon as well as on security and stability within the country. The same day german police raided four hezbollahcontrolled mosque associations in berlin, dortmund, bremen and munster. The fourstory galeria page shopping center in ciudad del este, paraguay, was locally considered the central headquarters for hezbollah members and served as a source of fundraising for hezbollah in the tba, the u. Azani currently serves as deputy executive director of the international policy institute. Despite the classification of hezbollah as a terrorist group by several states, hezbollah is recognized as a legitimate political party within lebanon. Years later, on july 12, 2006, hezbollah, in an attempt to pressure israel into releasing three lebanese jailed in israeli prisons, launched a military operation against israel, killing a number of israeli soldiers and abducting two as prisoners of war. Hezbollah and israel fought each other in the 2006 lebanon war. Growing sectarian tensions have directly impacted security and stability in lebanon. Hezbollah has evolved significantly from its origins as a guerilla group in the early 1980s into a major political and military force. National security interests in the middle east prepared testimony of daniel byman professor and senior associate dean, edmund a.
The story from within deputy secretarygeneral naim qassem provides an hizbullah proved to the world inside hezbollah. Hezbollah party of god in arabic has multiple identities, mr. According to the united states and israel, hezbollahs members are iranianbacked terrorists. It has kept saying that syria s part of the same axis of resistance to israel, and that the aim of. Hezbollah receives military training, weapons, and financial support from iran and political support from syria. Hezbollahs paramilitary wing is the jihad council, and its political wing is the loyalty to the resistance bloc party in the lebanese parliament. Hezbollah has suffered serious casualties in syria, but also feels emboldened by its battlefield successes and may seek to flex its muscles globally. The leader of hezbollah is currently hassan nasrallah. After 15 years exposure to the western medias demonisation of hezbollah,i visited lebanon in 1999,and was suprised to see hezbollah flags on display. The story from within by naim qassem naim qassem offers an insiders view of the workings of the party from its inception until now, providing a comprehensive guide to the mandate of one of the middle easts major political forces. Since its inception, hezbollah has leveraged a worldwide networks of supportersfrom formal operatives to informal sympathizersto provide financial, logistical, and sometimes even operational support.
The role of hezbollah in lebanese domestic politics. Treasury department noted when the center was blacklisted in december 2006. Organizational development, ideological evolution, and a relevant threat model a thesis submitted to the faculty of the school of continuing studies and of the graduate school of arts and sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of masters of arts in liberal studies by michael t. A short history by augustus richard norton1 for greater depth and insight into hezbollahs leadership. It does not aim to cover all features of this organization, but rather focus on the transformation, in the opinon of author, from fundamentalist group to resistence and moderate potical actor. Nevertheless, hezbollah failed to hold up to its publicised goal of respecting the sociopolitical integrity of lebanon and protecting the country against israeli aggression as hezbollah started nesting in southern lebanon, creating what many analysts have dubbed a state within a state. The new hezbollah manifesto november 2009 hezbollahs new political document aims to define the political vision of the party. Hezbollah financing in angola counter extremism project.
The statements of sayyed hassan nasrallah nasrallah, sayyed. The book examines the hezbollah movement from a multidisciplinary, comprehensive, historical, and systematic perspective to explain how it has evolved since its inception in the early 1980s to the present. Mar 22, 2016 daniel byman testifies before the house committee on foreign affairs subcommittee on the middle east and north africa on hezbollah s growing threat against u. The purpose of this article is to probe at the reasons why hezbollah was able to achieve its current status in the lebanese government while it still maintains a powerful, well armed military. Nicholas noe is founder and editorinchief of the beirutbased news. Originating from the advent of civil war in lebanon and the iranian revolution of 1979, hezbollah is a radical shiite muslim political party and militant group fighting against israel and western occupation and influence within lebanon. Hezbollahs influence in lebanon counter extremism project.
Fadlallah is one of hezbollahs original founders, and continues to serve as the organizations. Hezbollah simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. He takes account of iranian influence,but stresses the importance of lebanese nationalism in the organisation. Hezbollahs political wing, however, continued to raise funds in the country.
More than a year into obamas second term, many national security officials still disagreed with kelly and asher about whether hezbollah fully controlled a global criminal network, especially in drug trafficking and distribution, or merely profited from crimes by its supporters within the global lebanese diaspora. The story from within by naim qassem2 norton writes with great clarity on the roots of hezbollah and t. The changing face of terrorism provides detailed history of hizbullah, especially insightful, when it comes to the lebanese context and politics. The blast decimated the fourstory, concrete, steel reinforced structureconsidered one of the strongest buildings in lebanon at the time. It was initially a splinter group from the larger shia amal hope movement, with leaders inspired by the islamic revolution in iran and supported by that countrys government after 1979. As an alternative, the kindle ebook is available now and can be read on any. Power points defining the syriahezbollah relationship. June 20, in the capital beirut, a protest against hezbollahs involvement in the syrian civil war turned violent with one demonstrator shot dead 9 june 20. The four story galeria page shopping center in ciudad del este, paraguay, was locally considered the central headquarters for hezbollah members and served as a source of fundraising for hezbollah in the tba, the u. Oct 23, 20 the blast decimated the fourstory, concrete, steel reinforced structureconsidered one of the strongest buildings in lebanon at the time. The book examines the hezbollah movement from a multidisciplinary, comprehensive. It includes our visions and stances and the aspirations, expectations and fears that preoccupy us. The changing face of terrorism offers a history of hezbollah that is now outdated, so as with hamas this should not be the only book you read, but it provides a good starting point for learning about the basic origins and mission of hezbollah offering a look at the clanistic regional politics of lebanon.
Hezbollah first came to my conciousness in the early 1980s,partly due to kidnappings of westerners in lebanon,also as their role in the antiisraeli resistance in southern lebanon became clearer. It is a social and religious movement representing the countrys shiite community and one of the dominant. This content was written by a student and assessed as part of a university degree. From the beginning, hezbollah has tried to link the fight in syria to israel, she said. In lebanon, it is a democratically elected party within the lebanese parliament, backed not just by shiites, but by christians and secular muslims. Without the ability to operate within syria, iranian support to hezbollah becomes much more difficult and risks interdiction. The history of hezbollah, from israel to syria lebanon news. Matthew levitt i the washington institute for near east policy. Naim qassem, as the deputy secretarygeneral of hezbollah, offers his unique perspective on the militant groups history, politics and aspirations. Samii, 2008 this alliance made both states natural partners in future endeavors, and in 1982 when israel invaded lebanon, syria saw itself at an incredible disadvantage but it had a partner. Nortons history is a good corrective to the stereotypes of hezbollah. The global footprint of lebanons party of god, by matthew levitt this machine kills secrets. The history of hezbollah, from israel to syria lebanon. The leader of hezbollah is currently hassan nasrallah hezbollahs main goals during the civil war were to fight against western influences and create an islamic state in lebanon.
The media as a weapon in asymmetrical conflict marvin kalb and carol saivetz harvard international journal of presspolitics 2007 12. Based on content analysis of global media and interviews with many diplomats and journalists, this article describes the trajectory of the media from objective observer to fiery advocate, becoming in fact a weapon of modern warfare. The article also shows how an open society, israel, is victimized by its own openness and how a closed sect, hezbollah, can retain almost total control of the. Hezbollah has been active in america for decades the. Hezbollah, and hamas is especially noteworthy in its potential to turn gaza into a genuine southern front against israel.
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