Hezbollah (Israel)

Background Information

Hezbollah was formed in 1982 as a direct response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The organization upon its creation subsumed many Lebanese Islamic groups, and with the help of Iran quickly became a very well trained, funded, and advanced military force.[1] Though the group has a number of different goals, including political sovereignty in Lebanon, its chief mission to this day is still to eradicate Israel.[2] Throughout the 1980’s, Hezbollah made popular the use of suicide bombings as a terrorist tactic. The group continued to be in direct conflict with Israel thought the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000. After 2000, the group continued to conduct terrorist attacks and grow stronger. Direct resistance with Israel peaked again in 2006 when Hezbollah members entered Israel and kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. This led to more than a month of intense fighting between the two sides.

 

Funding

It is no secret that Iran has had the largest influence on Hezbollah since the country helped create the organization in 1982. Since then, Iran has trained, given weapons, and even funded an estimated $100 million dollars annually to the Lebanese group. Other sources even believe that Iran, more recently, is funding Hezbollah around $200 million a year. It is also known that Hezbollah has become deeply tied to the Syrian government, which supplies the terrorist group with rockets, other weapons, headquarters, and assistance with its endeavors.[3]

 

Other human rights violations

Hezbollah has been behind some of the most disastrous suicide bombings in history. During the 80’s and 90’s, the group was responsible for multiple bombings that took the lives of 50+ people per bombing, include on instance in 1983 when they killed 241 American Peacekeepers. Hezbollah in 1985 hijacked a commercial flight and help 39 Americans on board as hostages for weeks. The group has committed multiple bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations during their early years.[4] In the 2006 Israel conflict, Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel in a 34-day span. The conflict left 1,125 Lebanese dead, most of them civilians, along with 119 Israeli soldiers and 45 Israeli civilians.[5]

 

 

 

[1] START, 2010-2014

 

[2] CNN, 2011

 

[3] The Washington Institute, 2005

 

[4] START, 2010-2014

 

[5] BBC, 2013

 

BBC. (2013). “Profile: Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement”. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-10814698

 

CNN (2011). “The Inner Workings of Hezbollah”. Retrieved from: http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/03/inside-the-hezbollah/

 

University of Maryland. (2010-2014). National Consortium for the study of Terrorism and Response to Terrorism (START): Hezbollah. Retrieved from: http://www.start.umd.edu/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=3101

 

The Washington Institute. (2005). “Hezbollah Finances: Funding the Party of God”. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/hezbollah-finances-funding-the-party-of-god