Hizballah (Hizb Allah) means the party of Allah (God). It is a Shi’a organization based in Lebanon and obeys the teachings and ideology of the Ayatollah Khomeini who led the Islamic revolution in Iran. It opposes the West, does not recognize the right of Israel to exist as a state and seeks to establish an Islamic fundamentalist state in Lebanon.  

Although based in Lebanon, it has operating cells throughout the world including the US. Since one of the stated purposes of Hizballah is to destroy Israel and kill all the Jews, it is difficult to believe that the deity Hizballah serves can be the same as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  

How and why did Hizballah Organize? 

Backround 

            In September, 1970, the PLO, then headquartered in Jordan, attempted to overthrow Jordan’s King Hussein. King Hussein defeated them, and the PLO fled to Lebanon, where they infiltrated and took control of the refugee camps there. The PLO organized and indoctrinated the young Arab males into their growing militia. With money from Saudi Arabia, they were able to purchase arms from Russia and other countries who wanted to see Israel destroyed. The PLO terrorist organization was growing into a small, well-equipped army. 

            Unlike Jordan, Lebanon did not have a strong central government. They couldn’t stop the PLO from taking over the southern part of the country. The PLO was rapidly becoming a state with a state. In 1975, they began a civil war against the Lebanese Christians called the “Phalanges.” Although the Phalange was a secular political party, it was supported by and included the Maronite Christians. In the next seven years, the PLO brutally massacred over 100,000 Lebanese Phalanges, including men, women and children.             In an effort to end the bloodshed, the misguided United Nations allowed Syria to send “peace-keeping” forces into Lebanon. The Syrian President, Hafez Assad, moved 30,000 troops into Lebanon. He also put missiles in the Bekaa Valley. But instead of being a peacemaker, the Syrians gave the PLO a free hand in butchering and raping the Christians and shelling Israel’s northern cities. 

            As the attacks on Israel increased, it became clear that they could no longer tolerate the situation. Finally, on June 5, 1982, Israel crossed into Lebanon for the purpose of eliminating the PLO strongholds and liberating Lebanon from its oppressors. Syria responded to this invasion with an air attack. Incredibly, Israel destroyed 82 Russian supplied Syrian planes without losing a single one themselves.

At this time, in keeping with Middle Eastern customs, some from the Phalange community avenged the atrocities against them by killing PLO members and those in sympathy with the PLO. While Hizballah wants action against the Phalange for their “crimes” against the PLO, they neglect to mention the PLO brutality against the Phalange that initiated the retribution. 

            The Israel army successfully drove the PLO from Lebanon and, along with her Southern Lebanese allies, established a military buffer in Southern Lebanon until Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak withdrew from the buffer zone in 2000.  

Formation 

            Hizballah was formed in 1982 with the aid of approximately 1,500 fighters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard when Israel crossed into Lebanon to fight the PLO. The formation got its inspiration from the success of the Ayatollah Khomeini in overthrowing the pro-Western government of the Sha of Iran and the establishing of an Islamic government in Iran. Those who formed the group believed they could do the same to the Americans and the French in Lebanon, force the Israeli army out of Southern Lebanon and establish an Islamic government in Lebanon modeled after the Khomeini revolution in Iran.  

            On February 16, 1985, Hizballah published their official charter in which they explained their identity and their purposes and goals. The Hizballah charter states, “We are often asked who are we, the Hizballah, and what is our identity? We are the sons of the umma (Muslim community) – the party of God (Hizb Allah) the vanguard of which was made victorious by God in Iran. 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: Ruhollah Musawi Khoemini.”  

            The charter states the three-fold vision of Hizballah: 1) Expel all Western influence in Lebanon, 2) Take revenge against the Phalange, and 3) Establish an Islamic fundamentalist government in Lebanon.           

             According to the US State Department, Hizballah receives major funding, training, weapons and general overall support from Iran and Syria. It is believed their annual budget is between $200 and $500 million with approximately $100 million from Iran. 

            While Hizballah began as a small militia terrorist organization, it has grown dramatically and now has tens of thousands of followers, representation in the Lebanese Parliament, extensive social programs and a radio and satellite television station. Hassan Nasrallah has been the leader of Hizballah since 1992. 

Hizballah and Terrorism            The US government defines Hizballah as a terrorist organization. Between 1982 and 2005, Hizballah was responsible for at least 200 terrorist attacks resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people. The master mind behind the Hizballah terrorist operations is Imad Fayez Mughniyeh. It is believed that he was a member of Force 17, Yasser Arafat’s personal body guard unit, before joining Hizbollah. Mughniyeh coordinates terrorist activities with Hizballah, Iran, Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza and Judea/Samaria, al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Mughnieyeh was killed in a late night mysterious car bombing in Damascus on February 12, 2008. Hizballah and Israel             Hizballah does not recognize the right of Israel to exist as a state. The Hizballah Charter contains a section entitled, “The Necessity for the Destruction of Israel.” It reads in part, “We see in Israel the vanguard of the United States in our Islamic world. It is the hated enemy that must be fought until the hated ones get what they deserve … Our primary assumption in our fight against Israel states that the Zionist entity is aggressive from its inception, and built on lands wrested from their owners, at the expense of the rights of Muslim people. Therefore our struggle will end only when this entity is obliterated. We recognize no treaty with it, no cease fire, and no peace agreements, whether separate or consolidated. We vigorously condemn all plans for negotiation with Israel, and regard all negotiators as enemies, for the reason that such negotiation is nothing but the recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist occupation of Palestine.” 

            In keeping with the Hizballah Charter, Nasrallah has stated that he is against any reconciliation with Israel and does not even recognize the presence of a state called Israel. He has further stated that if all Jews gather in Israel it will save him the trouble of going after them worldwide. Nasrallah has praised suicide bombings of Israeli targets by Palestinian terrorist groups and declared there he sees no difference between a soldier and a civilian. In his mind they are all invaders, occupiers and usurpers of the land. 

            When the Israeli army withdrew from Southern Lebanon in 2000, Hizballah continued hostilities against Israel demanding that Israel withdraw from a small area in the Golan called the Shebba Farms. Hazzan Ezzedin, a Hizballah spokesman said that, “Even if Israel vacated the Shebba Farms we won’t stop fighting them. … Our goal is to liberate the 1948 borders of Palestine, … the Jews who survive this war of liberation can go back to Germany or wherever they came from. 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.”        

             In 2006, Hizballah kidnapped three Israeli soldiers which led Israel to retaliate. The war began on July 12, 2006 and ended 34 days later on August 14. Syria and Iran had armed Hizballah with 13,000 rockets with ranges of 12 to 40 miles. While the Israeli air force and Golan tank commands sought to destroy Hizballa positions in Lebanon, Hizballah managed to fire 4,000 rockets into Northern Israel, destroying property and killing 43 innocent Israeli civilians. Since the ceasefire, Hizballah has replenished its arsenal of rockets and boasts that it has 20,000 rockets available that can reach most of Israel. 

            Hizballah is not content with murdering Israeli civilians. In 1982, Hizballah bombed the Israeli Embassy in Argentina killing 29 people. In 1994 Hizballah bombed the Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires killing 95 people. 

Hizballah and America 

            Prior to September 11, Hizballah was responsible for the death of more Americans than any other terrorist group.  It is understood that Hizballah was responsible for the following terrorist attacks. 

1. In 1983 a Hizballah suicide bomber drove a truck rigged with 12,000 pounds of TNT into the US Marines base in Beirut murdering 241 US servicemen. 

2. In 1984 Hizballah kidnapped American army officer and CIA operative in Beirut, William F. Buckley.  He died in captivity after 15 months of being brutally tortured.  

3. In 1984 Hizballah bombed the US Embassy annex in Lebanon killing 63 people including 17 Americans. 

4. In 1985 Hizballah hijacked TWA flight 847 and brutally beat and murdered Robert Stethem, a young US navy diver. 

5. In 1988 Hizballah captured William Higgins, a colonel in the US Marines and commander of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. He was tortured and hanged. 

6. In 1996 Hizballah bombed the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia killing 19 US servicemen. 

            In a televised speech in February 2005, Nasralla said, “We consider America to be an enemy because it wants to humiliate our governments, our regimes, and our peoples. Our motto, which we are not afraid to repeat year after year, is: ‘Death to America!’”  Tens of thousands of Hezballah supporters responded in unison, “Death to America! Death to America! Death to America!” 

            On December 10, 2006, Hezbullah leader Sheik Naim Kassem addressed hundreds of thousands of Hezballah supporters with these words, “Does Bush want popular expression in Lebanon? Do the West and the Arabs want to hear the voice of the people in Lebanon? Tell them, ‘Death to America!’ Tell them, ‘Death to Israel!’” 

            It is believed that in May 2007, Hezballah set up a training facility in a remote area on the Paraguay-Argentina-Brazil border for the purpose of preparing for attacks against the US.