What is Hezbollah?

Political party, militia, terrorist organization, social organisation. All these identities have been used to describe and decipher the characteristics and origin of Hezbollah, the 'Party of God', a major player in the North African region in the last thirty years, becoming, together with Hamas, the most powerful Islamist group in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Lebanon is a country where Christians, Maronites, Sunni Muslims, Shiites, Druze 'live together'... In 1975, the differences between Christians and Muslims materialized in a civil war that lasted 15 years. During that conflict, in 1982, Israel invaded the southern part of the country, to destroy the Palestinian military operating in that region. In this breeding ground, a simple local militia began to form, which defended Arab nationalism and opposed all foreign interference on Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah was born as a resistance movement against the Israeli occupation, although the 'Party of God' project was already underway years before the Zionists decided to invade the southern part of the country, as there were already links between Lebanese Shiite leaders and Iran with plans to form some kind of armed militia.

The Islamic Republic of Iran played and still plays a very important role in the birth and consolidation of the Lebanese group. This theocracy was established in 1979, the aim being to extend its revolution beyond its borders and Beirut was a perfect place because of the large Shiite community it contained.

An organization was formed, the Amal Movement, which received considerable military and organisational support from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and set up its headquarters in the Bekaa Valley in the south of the country. This Shiite militia would be the seed that would later form Hezbollah.

The 'Party of God' operated before officially presenting itself in society: in 1982 and under the name of 'Islamic Jihad', it executed its first action against the Israeli Army in Lebanon, and a year later, it killed 241 people in the attack on the United States Army headquarters in Beirut. It was in 1985, three years after the first attack, that Hezbollah issued a manifesto describing who they were and what they were aiming at.

The organisation has its hardline core in the Shiite-majority areas of Lebanon: the city of Beirut, the south of the country and the Bekaa Valley, one of the most important agricultural areas of the nation. However, it should be noted that their actions have been scattered all over the country and beyond the Lebanese borders, with a presence in the conflict in Syria and also in Iraq and with attacks in France and Argentina. For his part, Hassan Nasrallah has held the position of Secretary General of Hezbollah since 1993, when Abbas al-Musawi, co-founder of the movement, was assassinated.

In the founding manifesto, the organisation swore allegiance to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran's supreme leader, as he embraced the idea of the Ummah: the Islamic community. The objective of this group is to establish an Islamic chií regime, similar to the Iranian one, in addition to the expulsion of all foreign force like the United States, France and Israel, as well as the destruction of this last one.

Hezbollah defines itself as a defender of the vulnerable and oppressed by the injustices of the powerful, especially Washington and Tel Aviv. The Shiite militia leaders consider that the US foreign policy is based on extending its political and economic hegemony in all territories under the excuse of fighting terrorism.

Their line of thought supports the state of Palestine in the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as having a close relationship with Iran, as already mentioned, and with the regime in Syria.

In 2009, on Lebanese television, he announced a new programmatic document that updated the group's lines of action: the reference to an Islamic Republic, which was revered in the 1985 manifesto, was discarded, but a hard line against Israel and the United States was maintained and it was assured that the weapons would continue to be maintained.

In 1992, the organisation decided to run for national elections, the first after the civil war (1975-1990). In these elections it won all eight seats on its electoral list, representing the largest single bloc in the 128-member National Assembly. In the south of the country it is the leading force, and has shown itself to be a skilful player capable of reaching pacts and alliances with all players on the Lebanese political chessboard.

Hezbollah presented itself as the defender of an Islamic system of clerical government, and although it obtained representation in the Assembly, the political decisions were based on the Amal Movement, now led by Nabih Berri, while the predominant role for the 'Party of God' was in the military field.

In the field of social policies, Hezbollah sought and still seeks to reach out where the Lebanese state does not and provide the population with free access to social services, health services, education... which provides it with strong support in the population. This is known as "social aid" or "electoral clientelism".

Participation in the electoral system meant recognition by Lebanon and also by the international community of the group's legitimacy. Europe did not include this organisation as a terrorist group until 2013, which the United States did in 1997. It should be recalled at this point that Germany has recently - on 30 April - banned all Hezbollah activities on its territory.

With each election that took place, the Nasrallah organisation was increasing its presence in the Assembly, and the aid provided to Palestinian refugees and people affected by the civil war in Lebanon gave them popular support and legitimacy in the population.

Hezbollah has its own militias that have been involved in different conflicts in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, such as the war in Syria, helping Bachar al-Asad's army against insurgents, jihadists and Turkish forces. In fact, the leader, Nasrallah, in a speech in 2013, swore loyalty to the Syrian regime: "This fight is ours and I promise you victory. With more than a thousand fighters, he has helped the Syrian Armed Forces on a military level by training thousands of fighters.

Hezbollah's involvement in Syria, however, has heightened sectarian tensions in Lebanon, where the group has been the target of a series of bombings by Sunni militants.

Following a change of position in 2009 regarding the imposition of an Islamic Republic, the group and its allies forced the collapse of the unity government led by Saad Hariri, a Saudi-backed Sunni. As a result, they have also gained a greater presence and power in the national executive since the first elections. Likewise, the complex international network of cells that provide Hezbollah with weapons and money has served to maintain its status and continue coordinating attacks.

Its support for Syria's Shiite president and alliance with Iran has also seen a silver lining in the Arab Gulf states' hostilities against the Nasrallah organisation, led by Iran's main regional rival, Saudi Arabia. In early 2016, the Saudi kingdom led the Gulf countries and the Arab League to declare Hezbollah a terrorist group, accusing it of "hostile acts".

Today, the organisation's presence in the Lebanese government is stronger than ever. In the Executive, chaired by Hassan Diab, the 'Party of God' has ten ministerial portfolios, including Defence and Foreign Affairs, which gives it the power to veto any decision taken by the Cabinet. 

Hezbollah's pressure on Israel to leave the occupied area in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip gave the 'Party of God' strong popular support, which was reflected in the municipal and national election victories.

The group's victory was made possible by the failure of secular nationalist movements to establish the state of Israel, which is perceived by Arab countries in the Middle East as a foreign establishment. In 2000, Israel left Lebanon and although the main objective of the organisation when it was founded was this, Hezbollah would continue its activity with more military force, a greater degree of specialisation and much more popular support.

In 2004, the United Nations Security Council, in Resolution 1559/2004, called on the Lebanese militia to disarm, but the militia still sees no reason to do so, as the complete disarming will only take place when the whole of Lebanon is free from Israeli occupation, which involves the issue of the Shab'a Farms. These farms, situated at the foot of the Golan Heights, border on Syria and were taken over by Hezbollah as Lebanese territory, but had been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War (1967), and were subsequently annexed by Tel Aviv in 1981-1982.

In 2006, Hezbollah militants launched a cross-border attack in which eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two others kidnapped, provoking a massive response from the Israeli Government. War planes bombed the organisation's strongholds in the south of the country and in the suburbs of Beirut, to which Hezbollah responded by firing around 4,000 rockets into Israel. More than 1,125 Lebanese, mostly civilians, were killed during the 34-day conflict.

According to reports presented by the U.S. intelligence services, Hezbollah has a close relationship with Latin American drug trafficking, used as a source of income and as a tool to launder funds and gain access to U.S. territory. Links with Mexican drug cartels and the Colombian FARC guerrilla are known, but the main objective of the armed group's presence in Latin America is to obtain information about these countries' northern neighbour, the United States.

Lebanese militia began to settle in Latin America in the early 1980s, especially in the area known as the triple border - Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay - taking advantage of the fact that large numbers of Lebanese were fleeing the civil war. In this border triangle, for example, the attack that would end the lives of 85 people in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, when the armed group attacked the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association, was devised.

From the early 2000s, Hezbollah began to spread its tentacles throughout the countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of America (ALBA), especially following the good relationship between the late President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and the former Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose country is the group's main sponsor.

Hezbollah has been and is an organisation that has been able to adapt over time. It began as the military arm of the Amal Movement, and has been reinventing itself to position itself as one of the most important political organisations in Lebanon and the region. It has shown that it has the capacity to innovate and adapt to new enemies. It has overcome the loss of some of its leaders, such as Imad Mughniyeh in 2008. It has not been defeated by the permanent intelligence war with Israel, nor has it been dragged down by the successive crises that have hit Lebanon.

Moreover, its role as a social organisation providing all kinds of basic services to Lebanese society, especially to the most forgotten by the state and therefore the most vulnerable, has benefited it in legitimising its violent operations.  It has its own television channel, which broadcasts programmes in Arabic, English, French and Hebrew, and also has a radio station, which enables it to reach many more people.

There are no exact figures on the number of Hezbollah members. The U.S. State Department reports several thousand, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies in 2013 estimated the membership at 15,000 to 20,000, although the number increases with the addition of volunteers and supporters around the world. Hezbollah's shadow on all levels of Lebanon is lengthening and its influence, with a depleted state, is growing.