What is Hezbollah?
It is a Lebanese-based militant organization formed after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 in an attempt to wipe out Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization. Hezbollah has broad support among Lebanon's Shia population. Its stated aim is to create a Muslim fundamentalist state modelled on Iran. The group's name means "Party of God."
Where does it get its support?
Hezbollah is sponsored by Iran and Syria and is a sworn enemy of Israel.
When Israeli soldiers ended their 20-year occupation of southern Lebanon in May 2000, Hezbollah took credit for driving them out.
The group is now an important inspiration to Palestinian militants in their fight to liberate occupied territory.
What has it done?
Hezbollah has been linked to a series of attacks against Israel, the United States and other Western targets, including the suicide truck bombings that killed more than 200 U.S. marines at their barracks in Beirut in 1983.
In July 2006, cross-border violence between Israel and Lebanon intensified. Hezbollah militants conducted a cross-border raid, capturing two Israeli soldiers and killing as many as seven others.
But Hezbollah has also become a formidable political force, with 12 members of the Lebanese parliament, its own schools and hospitals, and a television station, al-Manar.
In 2004, the UN passed a resolution that called for the disarming of militias and the withdrawal from Lebanon of 14,000 Syrian troops. The Syrian troops left in 2005, in the wake of the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri. With the withdrawal of the Syrians, Hezbollah's military power increased. The group billed itself as a force of resistance for the entire region, not just Lebanon.
How large is Hezbollah?
The U.S. government estimates that its core consists of several thousand militants and activists.
Hassan Nasrallah has led Hezbollah since 1992. (Haitham Mussawi/AFP/Getty Images)
Who leads Hezbollah?
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah is described in media accounts as a "powerful and politically savvy leader." He was elected the group's leader in 1992, at the age of 32, after Israel assassinated Hezbollah's previous leader, Sayyad Abbas Musawi.
Nasrallah has praised Palestinian suicide bombers for "creating a deterrence and equalizing fear." In the aftermath of Hariri's assassination, Nasrallah has emerged as a key arbitrator between Lebanon's various political factions.
He is said to live simply, in a poor area of south Beirut.
What is Canada's official position on Hezbollah?
In December 2002, Ottawa placed the group's military and social wings on its list of banned terrorist entities. That means both are now listed in Canada under a UN resolution allowing countries to seize the assets of terrorist groups.
When Bill Graham was foreign affairs minister, he argued that the social arm of Hezbollah was a legitimate charity and independent of the group's military arm.
But Graham changed his mind, citing media reports that quoted Nasrallah urging Palestinians to expand their suicide bombings worldwide.
MENU
- Timeline of recent events
- UN under fire: What happened at patrol base Khiyam?
- International rescue efforts
- What constitutes a war crime?
- Frontline blogs
Key Players
Analysis
United Nations
Transcripts
- CBC's Adrienne Arsenault interview: Israeli spokesperson Isaac Herzog
- CBC's Nahlah Ayed interview: Lebanon President Emile Lahoud
Canada and Lebanon
RELATED
Reports from Abroad
- Mideast Dispatches
- CBC's foreign correspondents report from the field
Photo Galleries
Video
In Depth
- When is a war a War?
- Robert Sheppard, Reality Check
- Intentionally or not, Harper took sides
- John Gray, Reality Check
- Middle East
- Dual citizenship
Viewpoint
- As the world shrugs
- Jim Reed
- Escape from Beirut
- Zoë Horn
- A Letter from Tel Aviv
- Signe Katz
- Harper's Mideast policy
- Larry Zolf
Your Space
Quick Facts
- Israel and Lebanon have never signed a peace deal.
- In 1969, Lebanon signed a deal that allowed Palestinian guerrillas access to southern Lebanon.
- In 1978, Israel invaded Lebanon.
- In 1982, Israel invaded again on a wider scale in an attempt to destroy the Palestine Liberation Organization.
- In May 2000, Israel pulled out of Lebanon.