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Hezbollah
(aka Hizballah, Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary Justice Organization,
Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, Islamic Jihad for the Liberation
of Palestine)
Organization and Leadership
Hezbollah is a Shi'ite organization based
in Lebanon dedicated to the removal of Israel from Lebanon and Palestine.
Its military wing is known as the Islamic Resistance Movement (a name
also used by the military units of HAMAS). Hezbollah has grown into
a powerful cultural and political force in Lebanon, operating hospitals,
schools, and even their own television
station.
The group's main training bases are in the Bekka Valley of southern
Lebanon, and the group maintains strongholds in the southern and western
suburbs of Beirut. Active armed members are estimated around 1000,
and the group has wide-reaching support among Lebanon's Shi'ite population.
Hezbollah has attempted to refashion itself as a legitimate political
party in Lebanon, and has portrayed its military attacks as legitimate
resistance against a military occupier (Israel). In tactics have included
car bombs, suicide bombers, and attacks on Jewish settlements with
Katuysha rockets.
The Secretary General of Hezbollah is Hassan Nasrallah, a former leader
of the rival Shi'ite movement Amal. Hezbollah has cells in Europe,
Africa, South America, and North America, and it has been active in
the conflict between Israel and Palestine. |
