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{{Infobox_Social_Political_Party |
party_name = Hezbollah |
colorcode = #FFF000 |
party_logo = ]<br>(]) |
leader = ] ] |
foundation = 1985 |
ideology = ] |
religion = ] |
nationality = ] |
website = Varies. See ]. |}}
<!--Please do _not_ insert the POV word "terrorist" here as per ]. Changes without respect of the guideline will be promptly reverted. Thanks!-->

'''Hezbollah'''<ref>Other ] include '''Hizbullah''', '''Hizbollah''', '''Hezballah''', '''Hizballah''', '''Hisbollah''', and '''Hizb ]'''.</ref> ({{lang-ar|حزب الله}} ''{{ArabDIN|ḥizbu-llāh}}'',<ref>In ] the stress is most commonly placed on the final syllable, as suggested in the ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'' (this is in accord with the Farsi pronunciation, of Iran); in the Arabic of Hezbollah's theatre of operations it is most commonly placed on the second syllable. ''Hizb'' (party) is the ] pronunciation, and ''hezb'' is closer to ] (Farsi) and ]. The name is derived from a ]ic '']'' (verse) referring to those who belong to and follow the "party of God" .</ref> meaning "party of ]") is a ] ] ] and political organization based in ]. It follows a distinct version of ]ic Shia ideology developed by ] ], leader of the ].<ref name="mfaGOV960411">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1990_1999/1996/4/HIZBULLAH+-+11-Apr-96.htm
|author=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
|title=Hizbullah
|date=1996-04-11
|accessdate=2006-08-17}}</ref><ref name="hzb-letter">{{cite web
|title=The Hizballah Program: An Open Letter
|date=1985-02-16
|publisher=Institute for Counterterrorism
|url=http://www.ict.org.il/Articles/Hiz_letter.htm
|accessdate=2006-10-25
}} The Jerusalem Quarterly, number Forty-Eight, Fall 1988, Early Hezbollah manifesto, in which it formally declares its existence</ref>

Hezbollah began to take shape during the ]; on February 16, 1985 ] ] publicly declared the group's manifesto, which included three goals: the eradication of ] ] in Lebanon, the transformation of Lebanon's ] state into an ], and the complete destruction of the state of ].<ref>{{cite web
|title=The Hizballah Program: An Open Letter
|date=1985-02-16
|publisher=Institute for Counterterrorism
|url=http://www.ict.org.il/Articles/Hiz_letter.htm
|accessdate=2006-08-24
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.zone-h.org/content/view/13936/28/
|first=Robert
|last=Preatoni
|publisher=Zone-H
|title= The war Israel cannot win
|date=2006-08-01}}
</ref> Nowadays although Hezbollah believes in an ] like Iran, it finds it an inaccessibile goal in Lebanon.<ref></ref> Nasrallah is trying to tone down the stark Shiite identity of his movement and replace it with Lebaneseness.<ref></ref> Hezbollah remains committed to the destruction of Israel. Hezbollah receives arms, training, and financial support from Iran, and from many other Arab sympathizers<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8411|title=Iran 'central banker of terror'|author=JEANNINE AVERSA|publisher=Associated Press|date=28 August 2006|Accessed ] 2006}}</ref> and has "operated with Syria's blessing."<ref name="bbc-hi-me-1908671">{{cite web|title=Who are Hezbollah?|date=2002-04-04|publisher=] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1908671.stm |accessdate=2006-08-11}}</ref><ref name="CFR.org">{{cite web|title=Hezbollah (a.k.a. Hizbollah, Hizbu'llah)|date=2002-07-17|publisher=] |url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/9155/ |accessdate=2006-10-06}}</ref> Hezbollah, which started only with a militia, has grown to an organization which has seats in the ] government, a radio and a ], and programs for ].<ref name="deeb-hzb-a-primer">
{{cite web
|title=Hizballah: A Primer
|last=Deeb
|first=Lara
|date=2006-07-31
|publisher=Middle East Report
|url=http://www.merip.org/mero/mero073106.html
|accessdate=2006-07-31}}
</ref>

Since 1992 the organization has been headed by ] ] ], its ].

], the ], the ], ], the ] and ] consider Hezbollah, or its external security arm, a ] organization. All other countries do not list it as a terrorist organization and most in the Arab world considers it a ] organization. The ] does not list it as a terrorist organization.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206774,00.html|title=U.N.'s Malloch Brown Questions Hezbollah's 'Terror' Designation|publisher=FOx News|accessdate=2006-08-07}} "the European Union does not list Hezbollah, ... as a terrorist organization."</ref> The terrorist label is controversial and highly political; as many Arab and Muslim states support Hezbollah's goals and consider it a legitimate political organization.<ref></ref><ref></ref> ] does not consider Hezbollah to be a threat to its nation's security, and therefore does not list it as a terrorist organization.<ref>
{{cite news
|title=Hezbollah not on Russia's "terrorist" list
|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5980836,00.html
|publisher=]
|date-2006-07-28
|accessdate=2006-08-10}}
</ref> Hezbollah's supporters justify its violence against Israeli civilians<ref> '']</ref> as reciprocal to Israeli ] and in retaliation of bombing of Lebanese civilians and occupation of ].<ref>[http://hrw.org/reports/1996/Israel.htm CIVILIAN PAWNS
Laws of War Violations and the Use of Weapons on the Israel-Lebanon Border]</ref><ref>[http://hrw.org/reports/1997/isrleb/Isrleb.htm ISRAEL/LEBANON
"OPERATION GRAPES OF WRATH"]</ref><ref></ref><ref></ref>

==Introduction and background==
Hezbollah is one of two main political parties representing the ]; Lebanon's largest religious bloc. It participates in government.<ref></ref> In the elections for ], it won over 10% of the seats (14 out of 128) and the ] it forms with others, the ], 27.3% (see ]).
Hezbollah organises an extensive social development programme. Hezbollah also runs hospitals, news services, and educational facilities. <ref name="irinnews52494">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52494&SelectRegion=Middle_East
|title=LEBANON: The many hands and faces of Hezbollah
|author=UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
|date=2006-03-29
|accessdate=2006-08-17}}
</ref>
Its Reconstruction Campaign ('Jihad al-Bina') is responsible for numerous economic and infrastructure development projects in Lebanon.<ref name="sachs">Sachs, Susan. The ]. March 30, 2000.</ref>

Hezbollah had its origins in the early 1980s in a milieu which included the recent ], political and secular conflict in Lebanon, and the ].<ref name="HG20Ak02">
{{cite news
|title=Hezbollah's transformation
|author=Dahr Jamail
|publisher=Asia Times Online
|date=July 20, 2006
|accessdate=August 7th, 2006
|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HG20Ak02.html}}</ref> Ending Israel's occupation of Southern Lebanon was the main focus of Hezbollah's early activities.
Israel had become militarily involved in Lebanon in ] the ] who moved into Southern Lebanon after being ]. The PLO was attacking Israel from Southern Lebanon in the lead up to the 1982 Lebanon War, and Israel had invaded and occupied Lebanon to protect its Northern border.

According to the ] and the ], "or many years, Hezbollah was synonymous with terror, suicide bombings and kidnappings.<ref name="MIPT">{{cite web|title=Who are Hezbollah?|date=2006-09-27|publisher=] |url=http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=3101 |accessdate=2006-10-06}}</ref><ref name="bbc-hi-me-1908671">{{cite web|title=Hezbollah|date=2002-04-04|publisher=] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1908671.stm |accessdate=2006-08-11}}</ref> Hezbollah is reputed to have been among the first Islamic resistance groups to use tactical ] against foreign soldiers in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17060|title= In Search of Hezbollah|author=Adam Shatz|publisher=]|date=April 29, 2004|Accessed=August 14, 2006}}</ref> Hezbollah's acts have included multiple kidnappings,<ref></ref><ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/hizattacks1.html/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2001/2/Israelis+Held+by+the+Hizbullah+-+Oct+2000-Jan+2004.htm|
|title=Hizballah Terrorist Incidents Since May 2000|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library|date=August 4, 2006|accessdate=2006-08-7|language=English}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2001/2/Israelis+Held+by+the+Hizbullah+-+Oct+2000-Jan+2004.htm|
|title=Israelis Held by the Hizbullah|publisher=Israel MFA|date=Jan 2004|accessdate=2006-08-7|language=English}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c101:H.CON.RES.190:
|publisher=]
|date=1989-08-04
|accessdate=2006-08-08
|title=Expressing the sense of the Congress over the reported murder of Lieutenant Colonel William Higgins and Hezbollah-sponsored terrorism.
|author=H. CON. RES. 190, 1st session, 101st congress}}
</ref><ref>
</ref> murders,<ref></ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/hizattacks1.html/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2001/2/Israelis+Held+by+the+Hizbullah+-+Oct+2000-Jan+2004.htm
|title=Hizballah Terrorist Incidents Since May 2000|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library|date=August 4, 2006|accessdate=2006-08-7|language=English}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/hizattacks1.html/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2001/2/Israelis+Held+by+the+Hizbullah+-+Oct+2000-Jan+2004.htm
|title=Hizballah Terrorist Incidents Since May 2000|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library|date=August 4, 2006|accessdate=2006-08-7|language=English}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c101:H.CON.RES.190:
|publisher=]
|date=1989-08-04
|accessdate=2006-08-08
|title=Expressing the sense of the Congress over the reported murder of Lieutenant Colonel William Higgins and Hezbollah-sponsored terrorism.
|author=H. CON. RES. 190, 1st session, 101st congress}}</ref><ref>
</ref>
hijackings,<ref></ref> and bombings.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref>Rex A. Hudson, , 1999.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/low/dates/stories/July/26/newsid_2499000/2499619.stm| title=On this day|publisher=BBC News|date=1994-07-26|accessdate=2006-07-26|language=English}}</ref> Hezbollah has been subject to assassination and abduction by Israel as well.<ref></ref> Hezbollah's violent acts are characterized by some countries as ] attacks; while others regard them as ] and some others regard them as ].

Supporters of Hezbollah justify Hezbollah's attacks against Israel for several reasons. Firstly, Hezbollah supporters cite the occupation of Lebanese land. Many of these attacks took place while Israel occupied the southern part of ] and held it as a security zone in spite of ]. Although Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, and their complete withdrawal was verified by the ], Lebanon now considers the ], captured by Israel from ] in the 1967 war and considered by the UN to be disputed territory between Syria and Israel, to be Lebanese territory. Additionally, Israel holds between 2 and dozens of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails for crimes committed against Israel. Finally, Hezbollah and some of the Muslim world consider Israel an illegitimate state. For these reasons, many in the Arab world consider acts performed by Hezbollah against Israel to be justified as acts of ].<ref name="Thisreen1999-1">Thisreen (Syrian newspaper) June 21, 1999, reprinted by MEMRI Accessed July 30, 2006</ref> Although some Arab states (], ], ]) have condemned Hezbollah's actions saying "that the Arabs and Muslims can't afford to allow an irresponsible and adventurous organization like Hizbullah to drag the region to war"; calling it "dangerous adventurism".<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150886029284&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
|title=Arab world fed up with Hizbullah
|date=2006-07-17
|accessdate=2006-08-17
|author='']''}}
</ref> "hroughout most of the Arab and Muslim worlds Hezbollah is regarded as a legitimate resistance movement" with an emphasis on "calls for the destruction of ]."<ref name="HG20Ak02"/><ref>http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HG20Ak02.html</ref><ref name="forbes2893194">
http://www.forbes.com/business/healthcare/feeds/ap/2006/07/20/ap2893194.html</ref><ref name="npr5554992">, ]</ref> Even 74 percent of Lebanese Christians viewed Hezbollah at the height of the war as a resistance organization.<ref>http://www.globalcomment.com/current_affairs/article_108.asp</ref>

In contrast, the United States, Israel and four other countries consider Hezbollah wholly or partly a ]. The ] does not list Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization",<ref>http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/lebanon/intro/</ref> but does list ], a senior member and founder of Hezbollah as a terrorist.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_340/l_34020051223en00640066.pdf|title=COUNCIL DECISION of ] 2005 implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism and repealing Decision 2005/848/EC(2005/930/EC)|publisher=Official Journal of the European Union}}</ref>

== Flag ==
{{Main|Flag of Hezbollah}}
The red lettering at the top of the ] is a verse from the ] from which its name is derivated, reading "It is only the party of God who wins."<ref>Ayat 56 Al-Mai'da </ref> The large green lettering is the name of the group — with the first letter of "Allah" reaching up to grasp a Soviet ]. The red lettering at the bottom reads, "The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon."
Besides the AK-47, additional symbols on the flag include a globe, a book, a leaf, and a sword.

The picture on the flag closely resembles the flag of the Iranian ].

==Ideology==
{{Mainarticle|Hezbollah Ideology}}
Hezbollah declared its existence on February 16, 1985 in "The Hizballah Program". This document<ref>{{cite web
|title=The Hizballah Program: An Open Letter
|date=1985-02-16
|publisher=Institute for Counterterrorism
|url=http://www.ict.org.il/Articles/Hiz_letter.htm
|accessdate=2006-08-24
}}</ref> was read by spokesman Sheikh ] at the ] in west Beirut and simultaneously published in ] as "The Hizballah Program, an open letter to all the Oppressed in Lebanon and the World," and a separate pamphlet. Later, a slightly shortened version was published in the ]. The document laid out the goals and ideology as follows:<ref name="mfaGOV960411">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1990_1999/1996/4/HIZBULLAH+-+11-Apr-96.htm
|author=]
|title=Hizbullah
|date=1996-04-11
|accessdate=2006-08-17}}</ref>
<blockquote>
* The solution to Lebanon's problems is the establishment of an Islamic republic as only this type of regime can secure justice and equality for all of Lebanon's citizens.

* The Hizbullah organization views as an important goal the fight against 'western imperialism' and its eradication from Lebanon. Hezbollah strives for complete American and French withdrawal from Lebanon, including all their institutions.

* The conflict with Israel is viewed as a central concern. This is not only limited to the IDF presence in Lebanon. Rather, the complete destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of Islamic rule over Jerusalem is an expressed goal.
</blockquote>
In the early ], Hezbollah underwent what a number of observers have called a process of "Lebanonization," which is reflected in acceptance of a multiconfessional Lebanon, rapprochement with a variety of non-Islamist forces, participation in ], and an emphasis on providing for the ] of its Shi'a Lebanese constituency.<ref name="Usher">],
"Hizballah, Syria, and the Lebanese Elections," ''Journal of Palestine Studies'', Vol. 26, No. 2. (Winter, 1997), pp. 59-67</ref> These tendency was expressed in religious as well as strategic terms:

<blockquote>Christians and Jews differ with Muslims concerning the interpretation of the unity of God and the personality of God. Despite that, the Qur'an commands: Turn to the principle of unity--the unity of God and the unity of mankind. We interpret this to mean that we can meet with ] on the common ground of standing up to the forces of international arrogance; we can meet ], even secular nationalists, on the common ground of Arab causes, which are also Islamic causes. Islam recognizes the Other. ... So Islam does not negate the Other; it invites the Other to dialogue.<ref name="Fadlallah">Mahmoud Soueid, "Islamic Unity and Political Change. Interview with Shaykh Muhammad Hussayn Fadlallah," ''Journal of Palestine Studies'', Vol. 25, No. 1. (Autumn, 1995), pp. 61-75.</ref></blockquote>

===Shi'a Islamism===
Hezbollah's original 1985 manifesto reads: <blockquote>We are the sons of the ] (Muslim community) - the party of God (Hizb Allah) the vanguard of which was made ]. There the vanguard succeeded to lay down the bases of a Muslim state which plays a central role in the world. We obey the orders of one leader, wise and just, that of our tutor and faqih (jurist) who fulfills all the necessary conditions: ]....We are an umma linked to the Muslims of the whole world by the solid doctrinal and religious connection of Islam, whose message God wanted to be fulfilled by the Seal of the Prophets, i.e., ]. Our behavior is dictated to us by ] laid down by the light of an overall political conception defined by the leading jurist....As for our culture, it is based on the Holy ], the ] and the legal rulings of the ] who is our source of imitation.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hezballah Program: An Open Letter
|date=1985-02-16||publisher=]|url=http://www.ict.org.il/Articles/Hiz_letter.htm |accessdate=2006-08-24}}</ref></blockquote>

Hezbollah was largely formed with the aid of the ] ]'s followers in the early eighties in order to spread ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071201557.html|first=Robin|last=Wright|publisher=Washington Post|title=Options for U.S. Limited As Mideast Crises Spread|date=2006-07-13|page=A19}}</ref> and follows a distinct version of ]ic ] ideology (“Willayat Al-Faqih”) developed by ] ], leader of the Islamic Revolution in ].<ref name="mfaGOV960411" /><ref name="HG20Ak02"/> Iranian Expediency Council Secretary and former commander of the Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezai said in August 2006, "Iran is a model and example for Hizbullah. The Iranian faith, tactics and experience are being put to practice in Lebanon... Hizbullah looks to Iran for tactics and moral , and we are proud that our experience other Muslim countries."<ref name="memri_blaarghwtf">{{cite web|url=http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=iran&ID=SP123206|publisher=The Middle East Media Research Institute|title=Iranian and Syrian Reactions to the Latest Developments in the Middle East Crisis|date=2006-08-04|accessdate=2006-08-08}}
</ref><ref>http://www.roozonline.com/01newsstory/016885.shtml (Arabic)</ref> Although Hezbollah originally aimed to transform Lebanon into an ], that this goal has been abandoned according to Hezbollah's spiritual guide ]<ref name="Fadlallah" /> and some political analysts.<ref name="HG20Ak02" /><ref name="bbc-hi-me-1908671"/> Doubts, however, remain.<ref>US Department of State Accessed August 15, 2006</ref><ref name="CFR.org"/> Nasrallah has been quoted as saying, "We believe the requirement for an Islamic state is to have an overwhelming popular desire, and we're not talking about fifty percent plus one, but a large majority. And this is not available in Lebanon and probably never will be."<ref>Adam Shatz, New York Review of Books, April 29, 2004 Accessed August 15, 2006</ref> Although Hezbollah believes in one-person-one-vote system and disagree with the ] quotas under the ], it does not intend to force a one-person-one-vote system onto the country’s Christians.<ref>Helena Cobban (April/May 2005). ''. ].</ref>

===Position on Israel===
From the inception of Hezbollah to the present<ref name="hzb-letter" /><ref name="www-ny-review-books-17060" /><ref>United Nations Document A/54/723 S/2000/55, citing Al Hayyat, ] 1999
Accessed August 17, 2006</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.unb.ca/web/bruns/9900/issue14/intnews/israel.html|author=The Brunswickan Online|title=Hizbollah promises Israel a blood-filled new year, Iran calls for Israel's end}} (Student newspaper)</ref><ref>Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada Accessed July 31, 2006</ref> the elimination of the state of Israel has been Hezbollah's primary goal. Secretary-General Nasrallah’s has stated that "Israel is an illegal usurper entity, which is based on falsehood, massacres, and illusions,"<ref name="Thisreen1999-1">Thisreen (Syrian newspaper) June 21, 1999, reprinted by MEMRI Accessed July 30, 2006</ref> and considers that the elimination of Israel will bring peace in the middle east: "There is no solution to the conflict in this region except with the disappearance of Israel."<ref>, by Andrew Markus, The Age, ], 2006</ref><ref>United Nations Document A/54/723 S/2000/55, citing Washington Post, ] 2000 Accessed August 17, 2006</ref> In an interview with the '']'', Nasrallah said "I am against any reconciliation with Israel. I do not even recognize the presence of a state that is called 'Israel.' I consider its presence both unjust and unlawful. That is why if Lebanon concludes a peace agreement with Israel and brings that accord to the Parliament our deputies will reject it; Hezbollah refuses any conciliation with Israel in principle."<ref>{{cite news | url =http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/hzblhnsr.htm | title = Said Hassan Nasrallah Q&A: What Hezbollah Will Do ||publisher = ]|date = ], 2000 | accessdate = 2006-08-08 }}</ref>

In a ] interview, Nasrallah outlined the group’s three "minimal demand: an withdrawal from ] and the ], a withdrawal from the ], and the ].”<ref name="Thisreen1999-1" /> An additional objective is the freeing of ],<ref name="www-news-bbc-l-w-me-710645">
Source states, among other things, that Hezbollah seeks the return of Lebanese prisoners from Israel: {{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/middle_east/710645.stm|publisher=]|date=2000-04-12|title=Israeli court frees Lebanese prisoners|accessdate=2006-08-08
}}</ref><ref name="www-alj-nr-a67-7-4-9-ca">{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A67F0AD3-7964-41BC-98A9-CA752CA5B89F.htm|publisher=]|date=2006-07-13|accessdate=2006-08-08|title=Israeli striles kill 40 in Lebanon}}</ref><ref name="HG20Ak02"/> some of whom have been imprisoned for eighteen years.<ref>Private website, registered to Bassam Kantar, Beirut Lebanon (WHOIS search, August 4, 2006) Accessed August 4, 2006</ref> Hezbollah's desire for Israeli prisoners that could be exchanged with Israel led to its abduction of Israeli soldiers which triggered the ].<ref>Malaysia Sun, August 4, 2006 Accessed August 18, 2006</ref>

Israel's occupation of the ], along with the presence of ], is often used as a pretext and stated as justification for the Hezbollah's continued hostilities against Israel even after Israel's verified withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. Hezbollah's spokesperson Hassan Ezzedin, however, had this to said that <blockquote>"the Hezbollah campaign to rid Shebaa of Israeli troops is a pretext for something larger. 'If they go from Shebaa, we will not stop fighting them," he told . 'Our goal is to liberate the 1948 borders of Palestine, ... The Jews who survive this war of liberation can go back to ] or wherever they came from.' He added, however, that the Jews who lived in Palestine before 1948 will be 'allowed to live as a minority and they will be cared for by the Muslim majority.'"<ref>Jeffrey Goldberg, '']''. ] 2002. Accessed ] 2006.</ref></blockquote>

In 2002, according to the BBC, Hezbollah, "said publicly that it is ready to open a second front against Israel in support of the intifada."<ref name="bbc-hi-me-1908671">{{cite web|title=Who are Hezbollah?|date=2002-04-04|publisher=] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1908671.stm |accessdate=2006-08-11}}</ref> In a 2003 interview, ] has answered questions concerning the establishment of a ] established alongside an Israeli state stating "that he would not sabotage what is finally a 'Palestinian matter.' But until such a settlement is reached, he will, he said, continue to encourage Palestinian suicide bombers."<ref name="hersh-newyorker-030728fa">{{cite news|title=The Syrian Bet|last=Hersh |first=Seymour|authorlink=Seymour Hersh|publisher=]|date=2003-07-18|url=http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/030728fa_fact|accessdate=2006-08-07}}</ref> In the same interview, Nasrallah stated that "at the end of the road no one can go to war on behalf of the Palestinians, even if that one is not in agreement with what the Palestinians agreed on," adding, "Of course, it would bother us that ] goes to ] ... let it happen. I would not say O.K. I would say nothing."<ref name="hersh-newyorker-030728fa" /> Similarly, in 2004, when asked whether he was prepared to live with a two-state settlement between Israel and Palestine, ] said he would not sabotage what is a Palestinian matter.<ref name="www-ny-review-books-17060" /> He also said that outside of Lebanon, Hezbollah will act only in a defensive manner towards Israeli forces, and that Hezbollah's missiles were acquired to deter attacks on Lebanon.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0303/16/sun.11.html | title = Interview With Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah | first = Sheila | last = Macvicar|publisher = ]|date = ], 2003 | accessdate = 2006-08-01 }}</ref>

Of course, in July 2006, Hezbollah captured two Israeli soliders sparking the ].

===Position on Jews and Judaism===
] has allegedly made the anti-Jewish statement, "if they all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide").<ref>Chayban, Badih "." ''The Daily Star'' (Beirut). ] 2002</ref> The managing editor of the Beirut ], which published the quotation, has however since called into question the accuracy of the quotation as well as the honesty of the reporter.<ref></ref> A search of the ]'s online archive shows that between August 2002 and November 2003, the newspaper published 170 reports by the journalist in question.<ref></ref>

Hezbollah's official ] marks a distinction between "Zionist ideology" and Judaism. It sees the rejection of Zionism as an attitude hold across "races, religions, and nationalities." It likens Zionism to "the concept of creating 'Israel' by the use of force and violence, by stealing the Arabs’ lands and killing Palestinians."<ref>, Archive search result page, labeled "Aljazeera, 1-1-2006."</ref>

], a Shiite scholar and assistant professor at the ], however, argues that Hezbollah is not ], but actually ]. She quotes Hassan Nasrallah as saying, "If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice, I do not say the Israeli".<ref>{{cite news | url =http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/021014fa_fact4 | title = IN THE PARTY OF GOD Are terrorists in Lebanon preparing for a larger war? | | publisher = ] | date = ], 2002 | accessdate = 2006-08-21 }}</ref> Regarding the official public stance of Hezbollah as a whole, she argues that while Hezbollah, "tries to mask its anti-Judaism for public-relations reasons..a study of its language, spoken and written, reveals an underlying truth." In her book, ''Hezbollah: Politics & Religion'', she dissects the anti-Jewish roots of Hezbollah ideology, arguing that Hezbollah "believes that Jews, by the nature of Judaism, possess fatal character flaws." Saad-Ghorayeb also argues that "Hezbollah's Koranic reading of Jewish history has led its leaders to believe that Jewish theology is evil."<ref>{{cite news | url =http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/021014fa_fact4 | title = IN THE PARTY OF GOD Are terrorists in Lebanon preparing for a larger war? ||publisher = ]|date = ], 2002 | accessdate = 2006-08-21 }}</ref>

In ] the Hezbollah-owned television station ] was banned in ] on the grounds that it was inciting racial hatred. The court cited a ] broadcast in which a speaker accused ] of deliberately disseminating ] in Arab nations.<ref>BBC News, December 14, 2004 Accessed August 18, 2006</ref> No other European country has followed France's lead.

===Position on use of armed strength to achieve aims===
Hezbollah's 1985 founding Manifesto reads: <blockquote>No one can imagine the importance of our military potential as our military apparatus is not separate from our overall social fabric. Each of us is a fighting soldier. And when it becomes necessary to carry out the Holy War, each of us takes up his assignment in the fight in accordance with the injunctions of the Law, and that in the framework of the mission carried out under the tutelage of the Commanding Jurist. ...This is why whatever touches or strikes the Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines and elsewhere reverberates throughout the whole Muslim umma of which we are an integral part.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hezballah Program: An Open Letter
|date=1985-02-16||publisher=]|url=http://www.ict.org.il/Articles/Hiz_letter.htm |accessdate=2006-08-24}}</ref></blockquote> According to ], all Muslims should defend Islamic lands through ] and fight non-Muslims to withdraw from them. Both Sunnis and Shiites accept this principle.<ref></ref>

The Qur'an states, "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not do aggression, for Allah loves not the aggressors. Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. But if they desist, then lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrongdoers." (] 190-193)<ref></ref>

===Women’s rights===
In keeping with Lebanon’s generally secular and ] ], Hezbollah recognizes and promotes ] (in the mold of the ]) somewhat more strongly than do other groups associated with Islamic ], or for that matter than does ], Hezbollah’s self-proclaimed "model and example."<ref name="memri_blaarghwtf" /><ref name="oj_article_fsm4d">
{{cite web
|url=http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1007.shtml
|title=Free speech marked for death
|first=Trish
|last=Schuh
|date=2006-07-18
|accessdate=2006-08-19}}
</ref> {{See also|Women in Muslim societies}}

One member of the Hezbollah Political Council, speaking to an ''Online Journal'' correspondent in July 2006, claimed that "Hezbollah differs from many Islamic groups in our treatment of women. We believe women have the ability like men to participate in all parts of life."<ref name="oj_article_fsm4d" /> The ''Online Journal'' correspondent writes:
<blockquote>"From its founding in the 1980s, Hezbollah women have headed education, medical and social service organizations. Most recently Hezbollah nominated several women to run in the Lebanese elections. It named Wafa Hoteit as a chief of Al Noor Radio ..., and promoted 37-year-old Rima Fakhry to its highest ruling body, the Hezbollah Political Council. Part of Fakhry's duties include interpreting Islamic feminism in Sharia law for the Committee for Political Analysis."<ref name="oj_article_fsm4d" /></blockquote>

However, Hezbollah’s inclination towards secular liberal values should not be overstated. For example, its official stance on homosexuality hews close to traditional religious teachings (see ]).

==History==
{{main|History of Hezbollah}}

===Background===
{{seealso|Israel-Lebanon conflict}}
Israel had become militarily involved in Lebanon in ] the ] who moved into Southern Lebanon after being ]. The PLO was attacking Israel from Southern Lebanon in the lead up to the ], and Israel had invaded and occupied Lebanon to protect its Northern border.

===Foundation===
Hezbollah was formed primarily to combat the ] occupation following the ].<ref name="bbc-hi-me-1908671" /><ref>

{{cite journal
| last = Stephen
| first = Zunes
| authorlink = Stephen Zunes
| coauthors =
| title = Israeli Occupation of Lebanon and the Formation of Hezbollah
| journal = Information Brief| volume = | issue = 46| pages = | publisher = | date = 2000-09-01| url = http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/carryover/pubs/20000901ib.html| doi = | id = | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref><ref name="CFR.org" /> It was officially founded on ], ] when ] ] declared the group's manifesto. The publication of the manifesto was timed to coincide with the anniversary of Ragheb Harb's death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zone-h.org/content/view/13936/28/|first=Robert|last=Preatoni|publisher=Zone-H|title= The war Israel cannot win|date=2006-08-01}}</ref>

Scholars differ as to when Hezbollah came to be a distinct entity. Some organizations list the official formation of the group as early as 1982<ref> GlobalSecurity.org, 2005 </ref> whereas Diaz and Newman maintain that Hezbollah remained an amalgamation of various violent Shi’a extremists until as late as 1985.<ref>Diaz & Newman, 2005, p. 55</ref> Another version states that it was formed by supporters of ] ], a leader of the southern Shiite resistance killed by Israel in 1984.<ref name="cobbanBR30_2">Helena Cobban, Boston Review Accessed August 14, 2006</ref> Regardless of when the name came into official use, a number of Shi’a groups were slowly assimilated into Hezbollah, such as ], Organization of the Oppressed on Earth and the Revolutionary Justice Organization.{{citation needed}} These designations are considered to be synonymous with Hezbollah by the US,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/fto/2801.htm|title=Background Information on Foreign Terrorist Organizations|author=U.S Department of State|date=1999-10-01|accessdate=2006-07-25}}</ref> Israel<ref name="mfaGOV960411" /> and ].<ref name="canadag20030213-137">
{{cite web
|url=http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partII/2003/20030213-x/html/sor53-e.html
|author=Canada Gazette|title=Canada Gazette Vol. 137, no 1
|date=2003-02-12
|accessdate=2006-07-25}}
</ref>

They have fought with Israel for more than twenty years and as a result tens of Hizbullah leaders and officials including the former ],] ] have been assassinated by Israel.<ref name="bbc-819200" /><ref name="cobbanBR30_2"/>

== Political activities ==
{{Mainarticle|Hezbollah political activities}}
===Political party===
Along with the ], Hezbollah is one of the two main parties representing the ] community, Lebanon's largest religious bloc, but the only remaining militant one (Amal is now only a political party).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/dispatches/lebanon.syria/seelye2.html|title=Lebanon's religious mix|first=Kate|last=Seelye|publisher=] ]|date=2005-04-01|accessdate=2006-07-28}}</ref> Hezbollah claims to have increased its popularity through a non-sectarian approach: "We presented a new example, and this increased our popularity . . . We say that our mayors should serve the whole of the people in their towns, rather than serving just the party" said spokesman Abu Zeinab.<ref name="cobbanBR30_2" />

===Elected members===
Hezbollah participates in the ].<ref></ref> In 1992, it participated in Lebanese elections for the first time, winning 12 out of 128 seats in parliament. It won 10 seats in 1996, and 8 in 2000. In the ] of 2005, it won 14 seats nationwide (of 128 total), and an ]-Hezbollah alliance won all 23 seats in Southern Lebanon. The ] it forms with others, the ], took 27.3% of the seats (see ]).
Also When municipal elections were held in 1998 this party won control of about 15 percent of contested municipalities. With a proven track record by the second round of elections, in spring 2004, the party won control of 21 percent of the municipalities.<ref name="cobbanBR30_2"/>

===Role in government===
Hezbollah is a minority partner in the current Cabinet, holding two (and endorsing a third) cabinet positions<ref></ref><ref></ref> in the ].

Mohamed Fneish was appointed Energy and Water Minister in the cabinet and has been quoted as saying "We are a political force that took part in the polls under the banner of defending the resistance and protecting Lebanon and got among the highest level of popular backing ... Hezbollah’s resistance (against Israel) does not in any way contradict its political role. If joining the government and parliament is a national duty, then so is defending the country.”<ref>Gulf Times (]) </ref>

Hezbollah's political success is regarded as a model for other Islamic parties in the ] like ] and ]; its actions are thought to provide strong clues as to how these other emerging Islamist forces might behave.<ref name="cobbanBR30_2" />

=== Lebanese government positions ===
The government of Lebanon's position on Hezbollah's disarmament is unclear.<ref name="cnn-2005-05-07">
{{cite news|publisher=]|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/05/06/lebanon.report/index.html |title=Hezbollah disarmament unclear|date=May 7, 2005|accessdate=August 5, 2006}}</ref> On August 5, 2006 the Prime Minister of Lebanon said that "the continued presence of Israeli occupation of Lebanese lands in the ] region is what contributes to the presence of Hezbollah weapons. The international community must help us in (getting) an Israeli withdrawal from Shebaa Farms so we can solve the problem of Hezbollah's arms".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/business/healthcare/feeds/ap/2006/07/20/ap2893194.html|title=Israelis, Hezbollah Clash Again in Lebanon|publisher=]|date=July 20, 2006|accessdate=August 7, 2006}}</ref> On the one hand it wants to solve the problem of Hezbollah's arms; but on the other hand it cannot politically do so.

== Military activities ==
{{Mainarticle|Hezbollah military activities}}
Hezbollah has a military branch known as ''Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya'' ("The Islamic Resistance"), and is the possible sponsor of a number of lesser-known militant groups, some of which may be little more than fronts for Hezbollah itself. These groups include the Organization of the Oppressed, the Revolutionary Justice Organization, the Organization of Right Against Wrong, and Followers of the Prophet Muhammad.<ref></ref><ref name="mfaGOV960411" /><ref name="canadag20030213-137" />

] called for the disarmament of militia with the ] at the end of the ]. Hezbollah's denounced and protested it. Its refusal to disarm has after the more recent conflict with Israel become controversial. Some still consider it a violation of the resolution and agreement and others now consider it a necessary and justified element of resistance. The official position of the Lebanese government is unclear, with conflicting statements given. The Italian newspaper ] recently quoted Prime Minister Saniora was saying that, "Hezbollah has created, a 'state within a state,' adding: 'The entire world must help us disarm Hezbollah. But first we need to reach a cease-fire.'. According to a Forbes article, Saniora later denied these remarks, saying he "told the paper that 'the continued presence of Israeli occupation of Lebanese lands in the Chebaa Farms region is what contributes to the presence of Hezbollah weapons. The international community must help us in (getting) an Israeli withdrawal from Chebaa Farms so we can solve the problem of Hezbollah's arms'.<ref></ref>
Hezbollah denounced.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/dispatches/lebanon.syria/seelye2.html
|title=Lebanon's religious mix
|first=Kate
|last=Seelye
|publisher=] Frontline World
|date=2005-04-01
|accessdate=2006-07-28}}
</ref> The former prime minister of Lebanon, ], stated that "in our terminology Hezbollah is not a militia, it is a resistance and we believe there is a difference between resistance and militia".<ref name="cnn-2005-05-07">
{{cite news|publisher=]|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/05/06/lebanon.report/index.html |title=Hezbollah disarmament unclear|date=May 7, 2005|accessdate=August 5, 2006}}</ref> ], a Lebanese lawmaker, recently spoke against Hezbollah's failure to disarm saying, "We can't have an illegal army at the heart of our state, all weapons must be held by the Lebanese government".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=2&cid=1157913679699&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull|date=22 September 2006|publisher=Jerusalem Post|title=Nasrallah hails 'victory' in first appearance since July| author=AP and JP Post staff|}}</ref>

=== Armed strength ===
]. Beirut, ], 2001.]]
{{see also|Hezbollah rocket force}}

The strength of Hezbollah's forces are disputed, and has been variously estimated as "several thousand"<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/fto/2801.htm|date=1999-10-08|accessdate=2006-07-25|title=Background Information on Foreign Terrorist Organizations|publisher=U.S Department of State}}</ref> and several thousand supporters and a few hundred devotee operatives.<ref name="NPSnavy2004">{{cite web|url=http://library.nps.navy.mil/home/tgp/hizbalah.htm|title=Country Reports on Terrorism, 2004|publisher=U.S Department of State|date=2005-04-01|accessdate=2006-07-25}}</ref> The ] estimates Hezbollah forces to 600-1000 active fighters (with 3,000 - 5,000 available and 10,000 reservists), 10,000 - 15,000 rockets of the ], ] and ] type. They also estimate a stockpile of 30 missiles of the ] type.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iiss.org/whats-new/iiss-in-the-press/July-2006/strength-of-israel-lebanon-and-hezbollah
|title=Agence France Presse - Lebanese army faces no-win situation
|author=The International Institute For Strategic Studies
|date=2006-07-21|accessdate=2006-08-01}}</ref>
As ] reports Hezbollah is not a small guerrilla group. It is a trained, skilled, well-organized, highly motivated infantry that is equipped with the cream of the crop of modern weaponry from the arsenals of ], ], ], and the ], and which is very familiar with the territory on which it is fighting.<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2006%20Opinion%20Editorials/July/31%20o/Rice's%20New%20ME%20Birth%20pangs%20Deliver%20Daughter%20of%20the%20Mountain%20By%20K%20Gajendra%20Singh.htm|first=Gajendra|last=Singh|date=2006-07-31|accessdate=2006-08-07
|title=Rice's New ME Birth pangs Deliver Daughter of the Mountain|publisher=]}}</ref>

Hezbollah military is considered to be the most capable non-state armed group in the ]. According to ]: <blockquote>"Islamic Resistance guerrillas are reckoned to be amongst the most dedicated, motivated and highly trained of their kind. Any Hezbollah member receiving military training is likely to do so at the hands of IRGC ]], either in southern Lebanon or in camps in Iran. The increasingly sophisticated methods used by IRGC members indicates that they are trained using Israeli and US military manuals; the emphasis of this training is on the tactics of attrition, mobility, intelligence gathering and night-time manoeuvres."<ref>. '']''. ] 2006. Accessed ] 2006</ref></blockquote>.

According to Kevin Simpson from Socialism Today<blockquote>"the reason for their courage and effectiveness is that all their fighters are fighting to save their jobs, lands and houses and those of future generations."<ref> ]</ref></blockquote>

Hezbollah's strength was enhanced by the dispatching of one thousand<ref name="lebarmy6915">{{cite web|url=http://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/article.asp?ln=en&id=6915|author=Nizar Abdel-Kader|publisher=Lebanese Army Magazine|title=Iraq and the Future of Gulf Security Cooperation: A Lebanese perspective|accessdate=2006-07-25}}</ref> to fifteen hundred<ref>Third World Quarterly, Vol 14, No 2, 1993, reprinted at Al Mashriq Accessed 2006-07-26</ref> members of the ] and the financial backing of Iran. It became the main politico-military force among the Shi'a community in Lebanon and the main arm of what became known later as the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon.<ref name="lebarmy6915" />

It is claimed that Hezbollah's militia is supported by Iran and Syria.

=== Intelligence capabilities ===
According to Israeli and American sources, Hezbollah has three units charged with intelligence operations.

One unit is responsible for intelligence activities against Israel, primarily by recruiting and running agents in order to gather information about Israeli military bases and other potential targets. It is claimed that this unit also gathers information on behalf of Iran,{{fact}} and is also known to conduct ] operations against IDF communications.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArtVty.jhtml?sw=yossi+melman&itemNo=741443 |title=The Prying Game|first=Yossi|last=Melman|publisher=Haaretz|date=2006-07-21}}</ref>

<!--''Preventive Security'' is Hezbollah's internal security organization, and is responsible for counter-intelligence and communication security, as well as operating its own prisons and interrogation centers.{{fact}}-->

According to Michael Eisenstadt, of the ], Hezbollah also has a unit called ''Unit 1800'' which aids ] engaged in their operations, by providing funding, direction, weapons, and bomb-building instructions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/07/14/DI2006071400876.html?nav=topnav|last=Eisenstadt|first=Michael|publisher=Washington Post|date=2006-07-17|accessdate=2006-08-02|title=Israeli Offensive Widens}}</ref>

===Stance on what is a legitimate military target===

Hezbollah has not been directly involved in a suicide bombing since 1999 and has publicly denounced some of these attacks. After the ], Hezbollah condemned Al Qaeda for targeting the civilian ], but remained silent on the attack on the ], neither favoring nor opposing the act.<ref name="wp_inside_the_mind"> {{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/14/AR2006071401401.html|title=Inside the Mind of Hezbollah|first=Robin|last=Wright|publisher=The Washington Post|accessdate=2006-08-01}}</ref><ref>Adam Shatz, New York Review of Books, April 29, 2004 Accessed August 15, 2006</ref>
Hezbollah also denounced the ] ] in ], ] attacks on tourists in ],<ref>Hezbollah's condemnation of murder of civilians in Egypt and Algeria is described in Saad-Ghorayeb, p. 101.</ref>
and the murder of ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3710057.stm|title=Muted Arab reaction to Berg beheading|first=Sebastian|last=Usher|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=2006-07-27}}</ref>
Nasrallah, in a ] interview with the ''Washington Post'', condemned violence against American civilians: “f there are American tourists, or intellectuals, doctors, or professors who have nothing to do with this war, they are innocent, even though they are Americans, and it is forbidden. It is not acceptable to harm them.”<ref name="wp_inside_the_mind" />

Although Hezbollah has denounced certain attacks on Western civilians, it makes an exception when the victims are Jews.{{verify source}} Their most common civilian targets are Israelis, however they have been known{{verify source}}<!-- this seems not to be a stated stance of Hezbollah rather an outside view and so should be merged below --> to target Jews and Jewish institutions abroad as well. Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman alleged Hezbollah and their contacts in Iran were responsible for the ] of a Jewish cultural center in ], in which "ighty-five people were killed and more than 200 others injured."<ref name="Argentine"> ''CNN.com'', 2006-10-26, 'Prosecutor Alberto Nisman told a news conference that the decision to attack the center "was undertaken in 1993 by the highest authorities of the then-government of Iran." He said the actual attack was entrusted to the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah.'</ref> In June 2002, shortly after the Israeli government launched ], which culminated in the ], Nasrallah gave a speech in which he defended and praised suicide bombings of Israeli civilians, including women and children; by members of Palestinian groups for "creating a deterrence and equalizing fear." Nasrallah stated that "in occupied Palestine there is no difference between a soldier and a civilian, for they are all invaders, occupiers and usurpers of the land;"<ref>Adam Shatz, New York Review of Books, April 29, 2004 Accessed August 15, 2006</ref> making no distinction between killing soldiers or murdering women and children.

Journalist Paul Martin, writing in ], quoted ] as saying, "I encourage Palestinians to take suicide bombings worldwide. Don't be shy about it." However the ] reported that it was unable to find any record of the speech and suggested that it had been fabricated.<ref>{{cite news | url =http://www.cbc.ca/story/news/national/2002/12/12/hezbollah_rxn021212.html | title = Hezbollah says Canada was duped into calling them terrorists ||publisher = ]|date = ], 2002 | accessdate = 2006-09-03 }}</ref>

In addition, Hezbollah's television station ] airs programming designed to inspire suicide attacks in ], the ] and ].<ref>{{cite news | url =http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/021014fa_fact4 | title = IN THE PARTY OF GOD
Are terrorists in Lebanon preparing for a larger war? | | publisher = ]|date = ], 2002 | accessdate = 2006-08-21 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url =http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/jorisch200412220812.asp | title = Terrorist Television
Hezbollah has a worldwide reach | | publisher = ]|date = ], 2004 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url =http://www.meib.org/articles/0304_l1.htm | title = Al-Manar and the War in Iraq | | publisher = Middle East Intelligence Bulliten | date = April, 2003 | accessdate = 2006-08-24 }}</ref>

==Media operations==
Hezbollah operates a satellite television station from ], '']'' TV ("the Lighthouse") as well as a radio station, '']'' ("the Light"). ''Kabdat Alla'' ("The Fist of God") is the monthly magazine of Hezbollah's paramilitary wing.

] broadcasts news in Arabic, English, French and Hebrew and is widely watched both in Lebanon and in other Arab countries. Its transmission in ] (even via satellite, not by any station based on French territory) is controversial. It has been accused of promoting religious and racial hatred (against ]s), which is a criminal offense in France. On ], ], the French '']'', acting on the request of the French TV authorities, issued an injunction to ] to cease the broadcasting of Al Manar in France.<ref>See:
*
* (in ])
* </ref>

The ] in 2003 released a <ref>Memri.org</ref> titled ], intended to simulate Arab-Israeli conflicts from an Arab perspective.

Materials aimed at children<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3297896,00.html|title=Hizbullah presents: How to recruit children|author=Roee Nahmias|publisher=ynetnews.com|date=31 August 2006|accessed=4 September 2006}}</ref> are an aspect of Hezbollah's media operations.

Hezbollah attempts to maintain websites to run recruitment videos and post bank account numbers where supporters can donate funds.<ref>Time, August 8, 2006 Accessed August 15, 2006</ref> These websites are also considered "an inseparable part of the psychological war"<ref>Haaretz, August 3, 2006 Accessed August 15, 2006</ref> and are tracked by other groups with a view to their closure.<ref>Internet Haganah Accessed August 15, 2006</ref>

==Social services==
]
Hezbollah also organizes extensive social development programs, running hospitals, news services, and educational facilities. Its Reconstruction Campaign (']') is responsible for numerous economic and infrastructure development projects in Lebanon.<ref>JoMarie Fecci, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs: </ref>
In March of 2006 an IRIN news report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted:
"Hezbollah not only has armed and political wings - it also boasts an extensive social development programme. Hezbollah currently operates at least four hospitals, 12 clinics, 12 schools and two agricultural centres that provide farmers with technical assistance and training. It also has an environmental department and an extensive social assistance programme. Medical care is also cheaper than in most of the country's private hospitals and free for Hezbollah members".<ref name="irinnews52494">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52494&SelectRegion=Middle_East
|title=LEBANON: The many hands and faces of Hezbollah
|author=UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
|date=2006-03-29
|accessdate=2006-08-17}}
</ref> Also Hezbollah's social service agencies provide health care and schooling for poor farmers.<ref>Washington Post, July 22, 2006 Accessed 2006-07-25</ref>

According to CNN: "Hezbollah did everything that a government should do, from collecting the garbage to running hospitals and repairing schools."<ref name="cnn20060724-1">{{cite news|author=CNN|date=2006-07-25|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/24/schuster.hezbollah/index.html|title=Hezbollah's secret weapon|accessdate=2006-07-25}}</ref>
In July 2006, during the war with Israel, when there was no running water in ], Hezbollah was arranging supplies around the city. "People here see Hezbollah as a political movement and a social service provider as much as it is a militia, in this traditionally poor and dispossessed Shiite community."<ref name="cnn20060724-1"/> The ] reported that Hezbollah had set up a Martyr's Institute, which guarantees to provide for the living and education expenses for the families of fighters who die in battle.<ref name="WPBestGuerrilla">{{cite web| author= Edward Cody and Molly Moore| date=2006-08-14| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/13/AR2006081300719.html?nav=rss_world|title=The Best Guerrilla Force in the World| publisher=The Washington Post}}</ref> Also after the war it competes Lebanon government to reconstruct destroyed area. According to analysts like American University Professor Judith Swain Harik, ] has won the initial battle of hearts and minds in large part because they are the most experienced in the reconstruction field in Lebanon. <ref></ref>

Social services have a central role in the party's programs. In 1996’s “The Electoral Program of Hizbullah,” the party declared its wish to improve the educational and health system.<ref>Al Mashriq Accessed 2006-07-25</ref> Most experts believe that Hezbollah's social and health programmes are worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually.<ref></ref>

==Funding==
Hezbollah mainly gets its money from donations. Lebanese Shi’ites often make '']'' contributions directly after prayers, leaving change in the two-handed Hezbollah collection tins. Also Hezbollah receives financial and political assistance, as well as weapons and training, from the ].<ref name="irinnews52494">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52494&SelectRegion=Middle_East
|title=LEBANON: The many hands and faces of Hezbollah
|author=UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
|date=2006-03-29
|accessdate=2006-08-17}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD122006|author=]|date=2006-07-31|accessdate=2006-08-12|title=Iranian Assistance to Hizbullah - Iran Revolutionary Guards}}</ref><ref name="WPBestGuerrilla" /> The US estimates that Iran was giving Hezbollah about $60-$100 million per year in financial assistance but that assistance declined as other funding was secured, primarily from ].<ref name="CRSreport1" /><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.meib.org/articles/0201_l2.htm
|title=Hezbollah's Global Finance Network: The Triple Frontier
|accessdate=7th August, 2006
|date=January, 2002}}
</ref><ref>CNN, November 7, 2001 Accessed August 17, 2006</ref> Some estimates of Iran's aid are as high as $200-million annually.<ref name="wpa12336">Washington Post, December 20, 2004 Accessed August 8, 2006</ref>

Mohammed Raad, at one time leader of Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, said money from Iran came only through private charities to be used for health care, education and the support of war widows. Hezbollah's main sources of income, he said, are the party's investment portfolios and wealthy Shiites.<ref name="wpa12336"/>

Hezbollah has also received Iranian-supplied weaponry, including 11,500 missiles already in place in ]. Three thousand Hezbollah militants have undergone training in ], which included ] warfare, firing missiles and ], operating unmanned drones, ] and conventional war operations. Finally, 50 ]s have been trained in Iran in the past two years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.asharqalawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=5651|title=Iran Provider of Hezbollah's Weaponry |publisher=Asharq Alawsat |date=],]}}</ref>

Mahmoud Ali Suleiman, the Hezbollah operative captured in August 2006 by the IDF for his role in the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12, admitted during his interrogation that he received weapons-training and religious instruction in Iran. He told his interrogators that he rode in a civilian car to Damascus, from where he flew to Iran. Other than the Russian-made Katyusha, Hezbollah's reported artillery cache is entirely Iranian-made.<ref></ref>

On ], ], ], a defense industry magazine, reported that Hezbollah asked Iran for "a constant supply of weapons to support its operations against Israel" in the ]. The report cited Western diplomatic sources as saying that Iranian authorities promised Hezbollah a steady supply of weapons `"for the next stage of the confrontation".<ref name="yahoo-20060804">{{cite news|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060804/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_fighting_hezbollah_s_missiles|title=Missiles neutralizing Israeli tanks|accessdate=7th August, 2006|date=4th August, 2006}}</ref>

] long denied supplying Hezbollah with weapons,<ref name="HG20Ak02"/><ref></ref> despite persistent reports to the contrary.<ref>AFP via Yahoo! News, August 4, 2006 Accessed August 5, 2006</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2005/64337.htm | title = Country Reports on Terrorism: State Sponsors of Terror Overview | accessdate = 2006-07-17 | author = Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism | date = 2006-04-28}}</ref><ref name="yahoo-20060804"/><ref></ref> However, "Mohtashami Pur, a one-time ambassador to Lebanon who currently holds the title of secretary-general of the 'Intifada conference,' told an Iranian newspaper that Iran transferred the missiles to the Shi'ite militia, adding that Hezbollah has his country's blessing to use the weapons in defense of Lebanon".<ref>Haaretz, August 5, 2006 Accessed August 5, 2006</ref> The Israel Defence Forces regard Hezbollah as virtually an arm of the Iranian armed forces; a senior Israeli defence official told '']'' that "we should consider that what we are facing in Lebanon is not a militia but rather a special forces brigade of the Iranian Army."<ref>"Israel to counter Hizbullah forces", ''Jane's Defence Weekly'', ] 2006</ref>

Similar claims and denials regarding supply of weapons have been made with respect to ]<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2005/64337.htm | title = Country Reports on Terrorism: State Sponsors of Terror Overview | accessdate = 2006-07-17 | author = Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism | date = 2006-04-28}}</ref><ref name="HG20Ak02"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/13/hezballah/index.htm|title= Hezballah: Violence mixed with social mission|publisher=]|date=]|accessdate=2006-06-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2005/64337.htm | title = Country Reports on Terrorism: State Sponsors of Terror Overview | accessdate = 2006-07-17 | author = Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism | date = 2006-04-28}}</ref><ref name="switch3-castup" />

The U.S. Treasury Department has also accused Hezbollah of raising funds by counterfeiting U.S. currency.<ref name="js1720">US Treasury Department, June 10, 2004 Accessed 2006-07-26</ref> Researchers at the American ] claimed that Hezbollah raises $10-million annually in ],<ref>Naval War College Newport Papers #21 Accessed August 8, 2006</ref> which may, in some cases, be extorted.<ref name="js1720"/> Dr. Matthew Levitt told a ] of the ] that Hezbollah engages in a "wide variety of criminal enterprises" worldwide in order to raise funds.<ref>Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate Accessed August 8, 2006</ref>

Money is also received from supporters abroad. Mohammed Hammoud was convicted in the United States for "violating a ban on material support of groups designated as terrorist organizations". The amount was USD 3,500, which Hammoud claimed was to "support Hezbollah's efforts to distribute books at schools and improve public water systems."<ref>Washington Post, June 22, 2002 Accessed August 6, 2006</ref>

==Foreign relations==
{{Mainarticle|Hezbollah foreign relations}}
], ], during the press conference in Beirut, regarding the German negotiated prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah. ], ] see also ].{{fact}}]]

=== Position of the UN ===
], calls for "the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese ]",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8616.doc.htm|author=Security Council (Press Release)|title=SECURITY COUNCIL NOTES SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN LEBANON|date=2006-01-23|accessdate=2006-07-26}}</ref> echoing the ] that ended the ], but does not explicitly include Hezbollah<ref>United Nations July 24, 2006 Accessed August 5, 2006</ref><ref>United Nations, October 17, 2005 Accessed August 5, 2006</ref> although ] has advanced this interpretation.<ref>United Nations, July 22, 2006 Accessed August 5, 2006</ref><ref>United Nations, October 26, 2005 Accessed August 5, 2006</ref> The Lebanese Government<ref name="cnn-2005-05-07"/> and Hezbollah dispute the application of this resolution to Hezbollah, referring to it as a "resistance movement" and not a militia. ] has lodged complaints about Hezbollah's actions with the UN.<ref>{{cite web|
url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/85255db800470aa485255d8b004e349a/2005131e10c4ac7485256cb10053e171!OpenDocument |title=The situation in the Middle East - Measures to eliminate international terrorism|first=Arye|last=Mekel|publisher=General Assembly Security Council, United Nations|date=2003-01-14|accessdate=2006-07-26}}</ref> Hezbollah's deputy leader ] has said that its forces might become a "reservist army" within the Lebanese army, though this suggestion is not universally supported within the organisation.<ref>Jane's Sentinel Eastern Mediterranean, issue no. 19, 2006</ref>

The UN’s ], ], contests characterisations of the Lebanese militia as a terrorist organisation in the mould of ].<ref name="smh-no-peace">{{cite news|title=No peace without Hezbollah, says Beirut|publisher=Sydney Morning Herald|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/no-peace-without-hezbollah-says-beirut/2006/08/03/1154198272544.html|date=2006-08-04|accessdate=2006-08-07}}</ref>
While acknowledging that “Hezbollah employs terrorist tactics,”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206774,00.html|title=U.N.'s Malloch Brown Questions Hezbollah's 'Terror' Designation|publisher=FOx News|accessdate=2006-08-07}}</ref> he says that it is unhelpful to call it a terrorist organization; the United States and the international community, in his view, would do well to respect it as a legitimate political party. Brown also criticized Hizbullah, "It is making no effort to hit military targets; it's just a broadside against civilian targets."<ref name="wnd-un-boss">{{cite news|url=http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51372|title=U.N. boss: Hezbollah deserves U.S. respect|publisher=World Net Daily|date=2006-08-03|accessdate=2006-08-07}}</ref>

===Non-Lebanese alliances===
====Iran====
<!--img will be deleted
], Courtesy of ''MEHR NEWS AGENCY''.]]-->
In a July 20, 2006 article, the widely respected Iran and Middle East scholar, ], wrote that Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of Hezbollah under Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, told him Hezbollah follows Iran's leadership as a matter of principle:<ref></ref>

<blockquote>"On the matter of political relations with Iran, the sheikh was absolutely clear. Hizbollah regards the Iranian supreme leader, in this case ], as its ultimate authority; all major political decisions regarding Hizbollah are referred to – when not actually taken in – Iran. He gave the example of the decision taken in 1992 to enter Lebanese national politics: Hizbollah set up a commission, which prepared a report, with various options; this report was sent to Iran; it was Ayatollah Khamenei himself who took the final decision, in favour of participation."</blockquote>

==== Syria ====
It is widely believed that ], who was president of Syria from 1971 to 2000, and Hezbollah were closely linked; this did not significantly affect his relations with the rest of the world. ], his son and successor, has been subjected to sanctions by the U.S. due to (among other things, such as occupying Lebanon) his continued support for Hezbollah, which it views as a terrorist organization.

In an interview on Al-Arabiya TV in Dubai, former Hezbollah Secretary-General Subhi Al-Tufeili said<ref name="switch3-castup"></ref> Hezbollah definitely fosters its relations with the Syrians, but Hezbollah's real leadership is 'the rule of the jurisprudence'.

==== Hamas and Palestinian Movement ====
According to CRS report for ]: <blockquote>"Although Hezbollah and ] are not organizationally linked, Hezbollah provides military training as well as financial and moral support to the Palestinian group and has acted in some ways as a mentor or role model for Hamas, which has sought to emulate the Lebanese group’s political and media success. ] follows a different Hezbollah example. Moreover, two groups share the goal of driving ] from occipied territories and ultimately eliminating it; both maintain close ties with Iran."<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33566.pdf|title=Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah: The Current Conflict
|publisher=CRS Report for Congress
|date=July 21, 2006
|accessdate=8th September, 2006}}</ref></blockquote>

According to an Israeli military source, Hezbollah assists Hamas with bomb production: "They know how to make them more concentrated, what kind of screw to use, how to pack more explosives into less space."<ref>Washington Post, August 18, 2002 Accessed August 4, 2006</ref>

Nasrallah has declared his support for the ongoing ].<ref name="alghaliboun52">{{cite web|url=http://www.alghaliboun.net/english/__archives.php?filename=20050423130452|title=Address of the Secretary-General of Hizbullah “Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah” at the Tehran Convention Supporting the Intifada (Palestinian Uprising)|date=2001-04-24|accessdate=2006-07-27|publisher=Islamic Resistance in Lebanon}}</ref>

===Alleged relationships to non-Lebanese Islamist movements===
====al-Qaeda====
There is no concrete evidence of Hezbollah contact or cooperation with al-Qaida. United States intelligence officials ] there has been contact between Hezbollah and low-level al-Qaeda figures who fled ] for Lebanon.<ref>See:
* {{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/26/attack/main516585.shtml|author=CBS News|title=Terrorism Alliance?|date=2002-07-26|accessdate=2006-07-26}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/08/13/iraq.terror/|publisher=CNN World News|author=Mike Boettcher, Henry Schuster|title=New terror alliance suspected in Iraq|date=2003-08-13|accessdate=2006-07-26}}</ref><ref></ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-berman071202.asp|publisher=The National Review|title=The new front, An ominous alliance in Lebanon|date=2002-07-12|accessdate=2002-07-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.borrull.org/e/noticia.php?id=5374 |publisher=The Washtington Post/The International Herald Tribune|title=Qaeda and Hezbollah seen in alliance of terror|date=2002-07-01|accessdate=2002-07-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ict.org.il/articles/articledet.cfm?articleid=425|publisher=Institute for Counter-Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya|title=The Al-Qaida-Hizballah Connection|date=2006-02-26|accessdate=2006-07-26}}</ref> One example of evidence of the alliance was in the public testimony "by Ali Mohamed, a former U.S. Green Beret who pleaded guilty to conspiring with bin Laden to bomb U.S. embassies in Africa. ... Hezbollah, he testified, provided explosives training to al Qaeda."<ref name = "Priest">Priest, Dana and Douglas Farah. '']''. ] 2002. ] 2006.</ref> According to '']'' and the '']'', "Al Qaeda members received advice and training from Hezbollah."<ref> '']''. Fall 2004. ] 2006.</ref><ref name = "Priest" /> In a 2002 article, the ''Washington Post'' claimed: <blockquote>"The new cooperation ... includes coordination on explosives and tactics training, money laundering, weapons smuggling and acquiring forged documents, according to knowledgeable sources. This new alliance, even if informal, has greatly concerned U.S. officials in Washington and intelligence operatives abroad who believe the assets and organization of Hezbollah's formidable militant wing will enable a hobbled al Qaeda network to increase its ability to launch attacks against American targets."<ref name = "Priest" /></blockquote> Some American newspapers have suggested a broader alliance between Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and the ].<ref>See:
* {{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6581-2004Jun25.html|first=Dan|last=Eggen|publisher=Washington Post|title=9/11 Panel Links Al Qaeda, Iran |date=2004-06-26|accessdate=2006-07-26}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/16spec1.htm|first=Hamid|last=Mir|publisher=Rediff.com|title=Al Quaeda and the Iranian connection|date=2004-07-16|accessdate=2006-07-26}}</ref>

On the other hand, others point out that al-Qaeda’s Sunni ] ideology is fundamentally incompatible with Hezbollah’s relatively liberal brand of Shia Islam; in fact, some ] leaders consider Hezbollah to be ].<ref>Jerusalem Post, August 5, 2006 Accessed August 6, 2006</ref>
There is a ] which issued several years ago by ] ], a former member of the Council of Senior Ulema, ]'s highest religious body, it describes Hezbollah as "rafidhi" - a derogatory term for Shiites used by some Sunni fanatics.
<blockquote>"It is not permissible to support this rafidhi party ... or pray for its victory, and we advise Sunnis to disavow it,"</blockquote> the fatwa says.
Even during ] it was cited by some hardline Sunni Muslim clerics and others writing on Islamist website.<ref></ref>

Al-Qaeda has demonstrated its distaste for Shi’as in suicide bombings and attacks on Shi’a civilian targets in Iraq.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/407AAE91-AF72-45D7-83E9-486063C0E5EA.htm|author=Al Jazeera|title=Al-Zarqawi declares war on Iraqi Shia|date=2005-09-14|accessdate=2006-07-26|language=English}}</ref> Hezbollah denies any ties to ]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.people.com.cn/200207/01/eng20020701_98923.shtml|title=Lebanon's Hezbollah Denies Link with Al-Qaeda|author=] (China)|date=2002-07-01|accessdate=2006-07-26}}</ref> and al-Qaeda leader ] has issued an audio recording in which he called Hezbollah an "enemy of Sunnis" and a "shield" for Israel,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5040974.stm|author=]|title='Zarqawi tape' urges Sunni unrest|date=2006-06-02|accessdate=2006-07-26}}</ref><!-- rm ref to wikipedia mirror --> for protecting Israel by preventing Palestinian attacks from Lebanon. Saint Petersburg Times and ABC News and MSNBC report that there exists no evidence of a connection between Hezbollah and al-Qaeda.<ref>Jane's World Insurgency and Terrorism. Accessed July 28, 2006</ref><ref>See:
* ]: {{cite news|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/25/Worldandnation/Hezbollah__al_Qaida_m.shtml|author=]|publisher=Saint Petersburg Times|date=2006-06-25|accessdate=2006-07-26|title=Hezbollah, al-Qaida mirror tension between Shiites, Sunnis}} (mirror by ]: )
* ]: {{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11072373/|publisher=]|author=Associated Press|title=Al-Qaida in Iraq, Hezbollah waging verbal war|date=2006-06-24|accessdate=2006-07-26}}</ref> Nevertheless, the ''Washington Post'' claimed: <blockquote>"There is little dispute that al Qaeda and Hezbollah operatives work together, but some analysts reject the notion that the two groups have buried their differences, which have long been sharp because they derive their support from the two competing branches of Islam."<ref name = "Priest" /></blockquote>

Nasrallah denies links to al-Qaeda, present or past, stating in a ] interview that the two groups work in different areas and face different enemies. Hezbollah’s aim has been the "confrontation of the Zionist plan," said Nasrallah, while bin Laden has focused on Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Bosnia, and Chechnya. "So we are talking about two different areas and battles facing two completely different enemies. This was the reason why there wasn’t any contact."<ref> by A. W. Samii, Middle East Review of International Affairs, Volume 6, No. 3, September 2002 - citing Al-Majallah, March 24-30, 2002 and
Al-Watan March 19, 2002</ref>

As part of a surge of intersectarian support for Lebanon’s Muslims during the ], ], al-Qaeda’s deputy leader, called for Muslims to rise up in a holy war against Zionists and join the fighting in Lebanon.<ref>], July 27, 2006 Accessed July 29, 2006</ref> But Mohammed Fneish, Lebanon’s Energy Minister, one of the two Hezbollah members in government, responded "Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah are two different groups. Al-Qaeda believes in killing innocents. Hezbollah is involved in a legitimate resistance ."<ref></ref>

====al-Mahdi====
Hezbollah claims that it forbids its fighters entry into Iraq for any reason, and that no Hezbollah units or individual fighters have entered Iraq to support any Iraqi faction fighting the United States. <!-- relevance needs clarifying: -->On ], ], Iraqi cleric and ] founder ] announced his intention to form chapters of Hezbollah and Hamas in Iraq<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/05/international/middleeast/05SADR.html?8bl|title=THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: UNREST; A Young Radical's Anti-U.S. Wrath Is Unleashed|first=Jeffrey|last=Gettleman|publisher=]|date=2004-04-05|accessdate=2006-07-26}} " announced that he was opening Iraqi chapters of Hezbollah and Hamas"</ref>, and Mahdi senior member Abu Mujtaba claimed they were choosing 1,500 fighters to go to Lebanon.<ref> Sharon Behn, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 2006-07-24</ref>

====Other Islamist groups====
There have been American claims that Hezbollah has engaged in joint operations with the Sunni<ref>] (the ]) Accessed August 8, 2006</ref> Palestinian militant group ].<ref>Matthew A. Levitt in Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, November-December 2002 Accessed August 10, 2006</ref>

==Outside views of Hezbollah==

Governments disagree on Hezbollah’s status as a legitimate political entity, a terrorist group, or both.

Throughout most of the ] and ]s, Hezbollah is highly regarded as a legitimate ].<ref>http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HG20Ak02.html</ref> The Lebanese government confirmed it as a legitimate resistance against occupation.<ref name="forbes2893194">
http://www.forbes.com/business/healthcare/feeds/ap/2006/07/20/ap2893194.html</ref><ref name="npr5554992">, ]</ref> Even 74 percent of Lebanese Christians viewed Hezbollah as a resistance organization.<ref>http://www.globalcomment.com/current_affairs/article_108.asp</ref>
The United States, Israel, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada consider Hezbollah wholly or partly a ]. (See ''Designation as a terrorist organization'')
The ] says the ] wing of Hezbollah is a ] group, but not the political side of the organisation.<ref> BBC news, 2006-08-22</ref>
The ] does not list Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization" but does list ], Hezbollah's senior Intelligence officer and one of its founders as a terrorist, on its list of wanted terrorists.<ref>http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/lebanon/intro/</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_340/l_34020051223en00640066.pdf|title=COUNCIL DECISION of ] 2005 implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism and repealing Decision 2005/848/EC(2005/930/EC)|publisher=Official Journal of the European Union}}</ref>
In a non-binding resolution adopted by the ] on ] ], the ] urged the ] to brand Hezbollah a terrorist organization. However, the Council has so far been reluctant to do so, as France, Spain, and Britain fear that such a move would further damage the prospects for Middle East peace talks.<ref>http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/005325.php</ref>
European legislators branded the radical Lebanese Hezbollah group a terrorist organization and urged EU governments to place Hezbollah on their terrorist blacklists, as the bloc did with the Palestinian Hamas group in 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=10923|title=EU lawmakers label Hezbollah 'terrorist’ group}}</ref>
“] Parliament considers that clear evidence exists of terrorist activities by Hezbollah. The ] should take all necessary steps to curtail them," legislators said in a non-binding resolution adopted during a session in Strasburg, France.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=10923|title=EU lawmakers label Hezbollah 'terrorist’ group}}</ref>

In a 2004 article, Dennis Ross, the Middle East envoy under the first Bush and Clinton administrations, was cited as saying that Hezbollah's resistance to the Israeli occupation, unlike its past activities aimed at Western targets, is not terrorism and that the US included Hezbollah on its list of terrorist groups for Hezbollah's past activities, not for its ongoing resistance to Israel.<ref>Adam Shatz, New York Review of Books, April 29, 2004 Accessed August 15, 2006</ref>

] prosecutors hold Hezbollah and their financial supporters in Iran responsible for the ] of a Jewish cultural center, described by the ] as "the worst terrorist attack on Argentine soil," in which "ighty-five people were killed and more than 200 others injured."<ref name="Argentine"/><!-- cleanup: remove duplication from stance section above -->

===Public opinion===
While al-Qaeda is known throughout the Arab world as a terrorist outfit, Hezbollah is just as widely seen as a legitimate resistance organization that has defended its land against the Israeli occupying force, and consistently stood up to the Israeli army.<ref></ref>

According to a poll released by the "Beirut Center for Research and Information" on ] during ], 87 percent of Lebanese support Hezbollah's fight with Israel, a rise of 29 percent on a similar poll conducted in February. More striking, however, is the level of support for Hezbollah's resistance from non-Shiite communities. Eighty percent of Christians polled supported Hezbollah along with 80 percent of ] and 89 percent of ]s,<ref name="www-csmon-is-st-m-b-h-b">{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0728/p06s01-wome.html|first=Nicholas|last=Blanford|publisher=Christian Science Monitor|title=Israeli strikes may boost Hizbullah base|date=2006-07-28|accessdate=2006-07-29}}</ref><ref name="www-beirutcenter-692-mi-46">{{cite web|url=http://www.beirutcenter.info/default.asp?contentid=692&MenuID=46|publisher=Beirut Center For Research & Information|title=Poll finds support for Hizbullah's retaliation|date=2006-07-29|accessdate=2006-08-08}}</ref> while according to another poll, from July 2005, 74 percent of ] viewed Hezbollah as a resistance organization.<ref></ref>

In a poll of Lebanese adults taken in 2004, 6% of respondents gave unqualified support to the statement "Hezbollah should be disarmed". 41% reported unqualified disagreement.<ref>Angus Reid Global Scan, citing Zogby International / Information International / The Arab American Institute, April 25, 2005 Accessed August 14, 2006</ref>

A poll of Palestinians taken in the Gaza Strip indicated that 79.6% had "a very good view" of Hezbollah.<ref>Angus Reid Global Scan, citing An-Najah National University, July 29, 2006 Accessed August 14, 2006</ref>

Polls of Jordanian adults in December, 2005 and June, 2006, showed that 63.9% and 63.3%, respectively, considered Hezbollah to be a legitimate resistance organization.<ref>Angus Reid Global Scan, citing Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, July 14, 2006 Accessed August 14, 2006</ref> In the December, 2005, poll only 6% of Jordanian adults considered Hezbollah to be terrorist.<ref>Angus Reid Global Scan, citing Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, January 11, 2006 Accessed August 14, 2006</ref>

]/] Poll. Aug. 3-6, 2006. N=1,002 adults in the US. MoE ± 3 (for all adults). 46% said Israel and Hezbollah are both responsible for the conflict in Lebanon, 39% said Hezbollah is most to blame, while only 7% said Israel is. 6% were unsure, and 1% felt otherwise. The same poll found that 58% blamed Hezbollah for the civilian casualties in Lebanon for locating its fighters and rocket launchers in civilian areas, while 21% blame Israel for bombing Hezbollah targets those areas. 10% said both, 9% were unsure, and 2% felt neither were to blame.<ref></ref>

A worldwide online poll conducted by ] and sponsored by ]Direct.com in ] found that of the over 50,000 voters (mostly American), 96% say that Israel should not negotiate with Hezbollah or their demands. Only 4 percent said yes.<ref></ref>

===Designation as a terrorist organization===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
|+ '''List of entities officially designating Hezbollah as "terrorist"
!Entity
!Part(s) designated as "terrorist"
!Reference
|-
|{{flagcountry|US}}
|The entire organization Hezbollah
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)|accessdate=2006-07-16|date=2005-10-11|publisher=]}} "Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations . . . 14. Hizballah (Party of God)".</ref>
|-
|{{flagcountry|Canada}}
|The entire organization Hezbollah
|<ref>See:
*{{cite web|url=http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/eng/documents/advisories/docs/entstld.txt|title=Reference list|publisher=Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada|accessdate=2006-07-25}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.psepc.gc.ca/prg/ns/le/cle-en.asp|title=Listed entities pursuant to the Anti-Terrorism Act (2001, c. 41)|accessdate=2006-07-16|publisher=Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC), Government of Canada}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagcountry|Israel}}
|The entire organization Hezbollah
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2005/Summary+of+Terrorist+Activity+2004.htm|title=Summary of Terrorist Activity 2004|accessdate=2006-07-15|date=2005-01-05|publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagcountry|UK}}
|The Hezbollah External Security Organization
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/terrorism-and-the-law/terrorism-act/proscribed-groups|title=Proscribed terrorist groups|publisher=The Home Office Department, UK|date=2005-10-14|accessdate=2006-07-25}} "Home Office"</ref>
|-
|{{flagcountry|Netherlands}}
|The entire organization Hezbollah
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.minbuza.nl/nl/actueel/brievenparlement,2003/12/beantwoording_toezegging_inzake_de_positie_van_hezbollah.html|title=beantwoording_toezegging_inzake_de_positie_van_hezbollah |publisher=The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs |accessdate=2006-10-11|pages=1|format=website}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fas.org/irp/world/netherlands/aivd2004-eng.pdf|title=Annual Report 2004|publisher=Netherlands General intelligence and security service}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagcountry|Australia}}
|The Hezbollah External Security Organization
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/agd/www/nationalsecurity.nsf/AllDocs/7986D1536C0FFD5FCA256FCD001BE859?OpenDocument|publisher=Australian National Security|title=Hizballah External Security Organisation Relisted|accessdate=2006-08-21|date=2005-07-18}}</ref>
|-
|}

The ] does not list Hezbollah, or any group within it, a "terrorist" organization,<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_314/l_31420051130en00410045.pdf
|publication=Official Journal of the European Union
|date=29 November 2005
|title=COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2005/847/CFSP}}
</ref>
but the ] passed a resolution recognizing "clear evidence" of "terrorist activities by Hezbollah".<ref>
See:
*{{cite news
|url=http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/050311/2005031123.html
|title=European parliament calls for putting an end to Hizbullah terrorist acts
|publisher=ArabicNews.com
|accessdate=2006-07-16
|date=2005-03-11}}
*{{cite news
|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=10923
|title=EU lawmakers label Hizbollah 'terrorist' group
|publisher=www.isn.ethz.ch
|accessdate=2006-07-16
|date=2005-03-11}}
</ref>
The ] designates ] as a terrorist, claiming he is Hezbollah's "Senior Intelligence Officer".<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_314/l_31420051130en00410045.pdf
|publication=Official Journal of the European Union
|date=29 November 2005
|title=COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2005/847/CFSP}}

</ref>
Additionally, the ] adopted a non-binding resolution on ] ], stating that there was clear evidence of terrorist activities by Hezbollah and urging the ] to brand Hezbollah a terrorist organization and EU governments to place Hezbollah on their terrorist blacklists, as the bloc did with the Palestinian Hamas group in 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=10923|title=EU lawmakers label Hezbollah 'terrorist’ group}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=10923|title=EU lawmakers label Hezbollah 'terrorist’ group}}</ref> The Council, however, has been reluctant to do this because France, Spain, and Britain fear that such a move would further damage the prospects for Middle East peace talks.<ref>http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/005325.php</ref>

In the midst of the 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, Russia’s government declined to include Hezbollah in a newly-released list of terrorist organizations, saying that they only list organizations which represent "the greatest threat to the security of <nowiki></nowiki>".<ref>
{{cite news
|title=Hezbollah not on Russia's "terrorist" list
|url=http://www.localnewsleader.com/olberlin/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=206506
|publisher=]
|date-2006-07-28
|accessdate=2006-08-10}}
</ref> This was a notable omission given Russia’s membership with the US, EU, and UN in the ]. Prior to the release of the list, Russian Defense Minister ] called "on Hezbollah to stop resorting to any terrorist methods including attacking neighboring states."<ref>
{{cite news
|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/738183.html
|title=Russian defense minister says Hezbollah uses 'terrorist methods' - Haaretz - Israel News
|date=2006-07-15
|author=]
|accessdate=2006-08-07}}
</ref>

The Quartet’s fourth member, the United Nations, does not maintain such a list.<ref>United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Accessed August 7, 2006</ref>

===Non Governmental Organizations===
On ], ], ] released a report accusing Hezbollah of ] during the 2006 conflict with ].<ref>{{cite web
|title=Israel/Lebanon Under fire: Hizbullah’s attacks on northern Israel
|date=2006-09-14
|publisher=Amnesty International
|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde020252006
|accessdate=2006-09-14
}}</ref>
] have similarly accused Hezbollah of war crimes in a report issued on August 5, 2006.<ref>{{cite web
|title=srael/Lebanon: Hezbollah Must End Attacks on Civilians
|date=2006-08-05
|publisher=Human Rights Watch
|url=http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/08/05/lebano13921.htm
|accessdate=2006-10-04
}}</ref>

==See also==
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

==References==
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
<references /></div>

== Literature ==
<div class="references-small">
*{{cite book|author=]|year=2002|title=Israel's Wars: A History Since 1947|publisher=Routledge|id=ISBN 0-415-28716-2}}

*{{cite book|author=]|year=2006|title=Hezbollah: The Changing Face of Terrorism|publisher=I.B. Tauris|url=http://www.ibtauris.com/ibtauris/display.aspK=510000000440882&cid=ibtauris&sf_01=CAUTHOR&st_01=harik&sf_02=CTITLE&sf_03=KEYWORD&m=1&dc=1|id=ISBN 1-845-110242}}

*{{cite book|author=]|year=2001|title=Hizbullah: Politics and Religion|publisher=]|id=ISBN 0-7453-1793-6}}

*{{cite book|author=]|year=2004|title=In The Path Of Hizbullah|url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0815630530/ref=nosim/103-4785042-2084653?SubscriptionId=08FC0AFA9SSP0BEHY8G2&n=283155 |publisher=Syracuse University Press|id=ISBN 0-8156-3053-0}}

*{{cite book|author=]|year=1997|url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0231108346/ref=nosim/103-4785042-2084653?SubscriptionId=08FC0AFA9SSP0BEHY8G2&n=283155|title=Hezbollah|publisher=]|id=ISBN 0-231-10834-6}}

*{{cite book|author=]|year=2002|url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0745317928/ref=nosim/103-4785042-2084653?SubscriptionId=08FC0AFA9SSP0BEHY8G2&n=283155|title=Hizbu'llah: Politics and Religion|publisher=Pluto Press|id=ISBN 0-7453-1792-8}}

*{{cite book|author=]|year=2000|url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/8612/hizballah_of_lebanon.html|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations.|title=Hizballah of Lebanon: Extremist Ideals vs. Mundane Politics}}

*{{cite book|author=]|year=2004|url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1860648932/ref=nosim/103-4785042-2084653?SubscriptionId=08FC0AFA9SSP0BEHY8G2&n=283155|title=Hezbollah: The Changing Face of Terrorism|publisher=I.B Tauris|id=ISBN 1-86064-893-2}}

*{{cite book|author=]|year=2005|url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0863565174/ref=nosim/103-4785042-2084653?SubscriptionId=08FC0AFA9SSP0BEHY8G2&n=283155|title=Hizbullah: The Story from Within|publisher=Saqi Books|id=ISBN 0-86356-517-4}}

*{{cite book|author=]|year=1996|url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312164912/ref=nosim/103-4785042-2084653?SubscriptionId=08FC0AFA9SSP0BEHY8G2&n=283155|title=Hizb'Allah in Lebanon: The Politics of the Western Hostage Crisis|publisher=St. Martin's Press|id=ISBN 0-312-16491-2}}

*{{cite book|author=]|year=2005|url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0863565964/ref=nosim/103-4785042-2084653?SubscriptionId=08FC0AFA9SSP0BEHY8G2&n=283155|title=Fadlallah: The Making of a Radical Shi'ite Leader|publisher=Saqi Books|id=ISBN 0-86356-596-4}}

*{{cite book|author=], ]|year=2005|url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345475682/ref=nosim/103-4785042-2084653?SubscriptionId=08FC0AFA9SSP0BEHY8G2&n=283155|title=Lightning Out of Lebanon: Hezbollah Terrorists on American Soil|publisher=Presidio Press|id=ISBN 0-345-47568-2}}

*{{cite book|author=]|year=2004|url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0944029884/ref=nosim/103-4785042-2084653?SubscriptionId=08FC0AFA9SSP0BEHY8G2&n=283155|title=Beacon of Hatred: Inside Hizballahs Al-Manar Television|publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy|id=ISBN 0-944029-88-4}}</div>

==External links==
===Official sites===
* (access to this site has been blocked)
*
* (disputed)

===UN resolutions regarding Lebanon===
* UN, ], ]
* UN, ], ]
* BBC, ], ]
* AFP, ], ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

===United States Department of State===
* , released by the ], ], ].

===Other links===
* Amnesty International
* Ya Libnan
* Boston Review
* Youtube (Al-Manar, May 2000)
* , originally February 16, 1985
* Massoud Derhally, Arabian Business, ] 2006
* - BBC News Online
*
*, Report by Anthony Cordesman at CSIS.
* directory category
* directory category
* , Council on Foreign Relations
* , Parliament of Australia ( version)
*
* ''" (on Israeli website).
*
*, short documentary and extensive information from ''Frontline/World'' on PBS.
* Chris Zambelis, ] ]
* by ].
* by ].
* , by Adam Shatz New York Review of Books, ], ]
* . Middle East Report, ], ]
* . Middle East Briefing N°7 by the International Crisis Group, ] ]
* , by CAMERA.org
* by Stephen Zunes, Foreign Policy In Focus, ] ].
* about Hizbollah. Hizbollah Is Not A Terrorist Organization.
* George Monbiot in ''The Guardian'' ] 2006

*
*
*
*
* HIR
* ] Briefing, September 2006

{{Arab-Israeli Conflict}}

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Revision as of 10:29, 9 November 2006

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