{"id":37638,"date":"2024-09-29T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-29T11:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=37638"},"modified":"2024-10-13T18:41:12","modified_gmt":"2024-10-13T18:41:12","slug":"does-hezbollah-represent-lebanon-and-what-impact-will-the-death-of-longtime-leader-hassan-nasrallah-have","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/does-hezbollah-represent-lebanon-and-what-impact-will-the-death-of-longtime-leader-hassan-nasrallah-have\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Hezbollah represent Lebanon? And what impact will the death of longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah have?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mireille Rebeiz<\/a>, Dickinson College<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel has killed the leader<\/a> of the militant group Hezbollah in a airstrike in Beirut, marking a further escalation of hostilities in the region.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The death of Hassan Nasrallah, confirmed by Hezbollah on Sept 28, 2024, forms part of a major Israeli push<\/a> against the Iran-backed group in recent days that has resulted in the death of several top leaders \u2013 but also killed hundreds of civilians and left many more fleeing Lebanon\u2019s south in fear of a ground invasion.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what is Hezbollah? What exactly is its role in Lebanon? And how big a blow is Nasrallah\u2019s death? The Conversation turned to Mireille Rebeiz<\/a>, a Lebanon expert at Dickinson College who is writing her second book on Hezbollah, to help explain.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Hezbollah? And what role does it play in Lebanon?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hezbollah, which means \u201cparty of God\u201d in Arabic, was born during the Lebanese Civil War<\/a> after Israel\u2019s invasion and occupation of Lebanon in 1982.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officially, the group came into existence in 1985 with the publication of a manifesto<\/a> that detailed Hezbollah\u2019s aims for the region. The manifesto outlined a plan to duplicate the Iranian revolution of 1979<\/a> in Lebanon and create a Shiite Islamic state. It pledged allegiance to the Supreme Leader of the Iranian Revolution, Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, and vowed to fight the Israeli occupation of Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lebanese Civil War ended in 1991 with the signing of the \u201cTaif Agreement<\/a>,\u201d in which warring factions agreed that a political and democratic process was the only way to move forward in Lebanon. Consequently, Hezbollah had to develop a political wing, and in 1992<\/a> Hezbollah entered the political ring, running for national elections and winning 12 out of 128 parliamentarian seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while the peace agreement called for the disarmament of militia groups, Hezbollah was allowed to retain<\/a> its armed wing as a \u201cresistance\u201d group, fighting Israeli occupation in south Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Lebanese political parties allied<\/a> themselves with Hezbollah at this juncture. While these parties did not necessarily share the group\u2019s views or its commitment to Iran, they were similarly committed to fight the Israeli occupation, and Hezbollah fighters were the main force doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Hezbollah militiamen on parade in 1989. Ramzi Haidar\/AFP via Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hezbollah\u2019s presence in parliament and the Lebanese government, and its alliance with various political parties, allowed it to control the country and veto decisions that do not fit its agenda or promote its interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is particularly apparent in the country\u2019s recurrent presidential vacuum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2005, Lebanon has had three presidential lapses: from Nov. 2007 to May 2008, from May 2014 to October 2016, and from Oct. 31, 2023 until today. The parliamentarian Speaker, Nabih Berri<\/a>, who is Shiite and known for his allegiance to Hezbollah, refuses to convene the parliament for presidential elections unless the nominee is approved by Hezbollah and its allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as having a political and military wing, Hezbollah also provides various services<\/a>, such as social welfare, health care, utilities, education and even security to his community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it right to see Hezbollah primarily as a Iran-backed militia?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes \u2014 Hezbollah is primarily an Iranian-backed militia. It exists to serve the Iranian regime and expand its ideology in the region, as set out in the group\u2019s 1985 manifesto. In 2009, Hezbollah issued a new manifesto<\/a> in which it reaffirmed its commitment to the Shiite Islamic resistance led by Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As to its financial and military support, in 2016, Nasrallah confirmed<\/a>: \u201cHezbollah\u2019s budget, everything it eats and drinks, its weapons and rockets, comes from the Islamic Republic of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, with the backing of Iran, Hezbollah was able to create and expand its own illegal financial network<\/a> through money laundering, drug trafficking and other unlawful activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with Iran, Syria has played a major role in Hezbollah\u2019s development. The Taif Agreement called for Syrian Armed Forces<\/a> to enter Lebanon for a two-year period to help establish law and order after more than a decade of civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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