The transformation of Hezbollah
from domestic party to regional
power – Part 1
• MARWA OSMAN
• TUESDAY 2 JUN 20
Hezbollah which literally means the Party of God is a Shia Islamic political party and
militant group based in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council,
and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese
parliament with 13 seats out of 128. Hezbollah together with its allies on top of which
is the largest Christian Maronite bloc in the country, the Free Patriotic Movement,
won at least 70 of the parliament’s 128 seats in the last election.
Since the assassination of Abbas al-Musawi by Israel in 1992, the group has been
headed by Hassan Nasrallah, its Secretary-General.
Hezbollah was founded in 1985, three years after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in
1982.
Hezbollah’s 1985 manifesto listed its objectives as expelling American, French and
any of their allied forces from Lebanon and putting an end to any occupation or
colonialist power on the Lebanese land. Hezbollah also vowed to punish the Israeli
agents in Lebanon, particularly the right-wing infamous Christian Phalangists, who
committed horrendous crimes against Muslims and Christians alike.
Hezbollah has engaged in guerilla warfare against the Israeli occupation army in
south Lebanon, and as a result, Israel was forced to leave Lebanon on May 25th 2000,
and the South Lebanon Army, which was a pro-Israeli militia, collapsed and
surrendered. Consequently, Hezbollah liberated hundreds of Lebanese prisoners
from the Israeli detention centers and Lebanon officially celebrates this day as the
day of Resistance and Liberation.
Hezbollah considered Syria and Iran partners in the victory for their consistent
political and military support, which enabled the Lebanese militant group to resist
and push back the occupation army.
Hezbollah’s military strength has grown significantly since 2000 and its paramilitary
wing is considered more powerful than the Lebanese Army. The main reason for this
situation is because the US, France, the UK and their allies in the region either do not
sell sophisticated weapons to the Lebanese army or ask the latter to sign written
accords that bans the use of the weaponry against Israel, even if Israel attacks
Lebanon.
On the other hand, Iran offered all sorts of weapons to the Lebanese army but the
pro-American block in the Lebanese parliament, namely the 14 of March coalition,
vetoed the matter.
In July 2006, Hezbollah conducted a cross raid to kidnap Israeli soldiers and
exchange them with Lebanese detainees. The raid ended up in killing eight Israeli
soldiers and kidnapping two.
Hezbollah demanded the release of Lebanese detainees held by Israel in exchange
for the release of the abducted soldiers. Israel refused and responded with airstrikes
and artillery fire and launched an all-out war against Lebanon bombing Lebanese
towns, villages and infrastructure, including the civilian airport in Beirut, but made
little headway in ground operations.
Hezbollah engaged in a 33-day war, firing a hail of rockets into Israel and destroying
many Israeli tanks.
The conflict is believed to have killed between 1,200 and 1,300 Lebanese people and
165 Israelis. It severely damaged Lebanese civil infrastructure and displaced
approximately one million Lebanese and 300,000–500,000 Israelis.
On August 11, 2006, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved
resolution 1701 in an effort to end the hostilities. The resolution was approved by
both the Lebanese and Israeli governments the following day. Israeli occupation
forces withdrew from the Lebanese territories they invaded by during the war by
October 2006.
According to the Israeli Winograd Commission report, the 2006 July war was
regarded as a “missed opportunity” and that “Israel initiated a long war, which
ended without a defined military victory”.
The report continued to state that “a semi-military organization of a few thousand
men resisted, for a few weeks, the strongest army in the Middle East, which enjoyed
full air superiority, size and technology advantages.”
On the other hand, Hezbollah and its allies said this war “shattered the myth of the
invincibility of the Israeli army”.
In 2012, after a year to the proxy war in Syria, Hezbollah waged a war against the
radical Islamist armed groups occupying the borders between Syria and Lebanon.
And as such, Hezbollah officially joined the Syrian war and expanded its role later to
fighting ISIS and Al-Nusra terrorists. It is worth mentioning that Hezbollah liberated
many Christian towns and villages in Syria, and therefore, the Lebanese group
boosted its reputation among the Christians of the Middle East but lost some of its
popular support among the Sunni Muslims, who chose to support the radicals in
Syria.
Hezbollah which is considered a terrorist organization by the US and recently by
Germany is no more the small domestic group of the 1980s and it is not only a
paramilitary group fighting against the Israeli occupation army. It is rather a regional
power, which extended its influence to Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Militarily, Hezbollah acquired valuable fighting experience while taking part in the
war against terrorism in Syria. The group has learned offensive tactics, whereas in
past wars it had been arrayed mostly in a defensive posture against Israeli troops.
Consequently, there is grave concern within the decision-making circles in Israel
about the possibility of any war with Lebanon, which will certainly lead to a military
confrontation with an enemy who has been fighting for years against the most
ferocious and powerful terrorist organizations in Syria. Therefore, we ask: Will Israel
venture into another war against Lebanon or Syria, or will the growing power and
experience of Hezbollah deter Tel Aviv?
Arabic subtitles: Hibatullah Rayes Ali
https://www.syriana-analysis.com/watch-the-transformation-of-hezbollah-from-domestic-party-
to-regional-power-part-1/
TAGS: HEZBOLLAHSYRIA
Marwa Osman
Marwa Osman is a PhD located in Beirut, Lebanon. University Lecturer at the Lebanese
International University and Maaref University and former host of the political show “The
Middle East Stream” broadcasted on Al-Etejah English Channel. Member of the Blue Peace
Media Network and political commentator on issues of the Middle East on several
international and regional media outlets including RT, Press TV, Al Manar and Al Alam. Writer
in several news websites including Khamenei.ir, Modern Diplmacy, Shafaqna, Italian Insider.
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