Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militant organization that was established in Lebanon in 1985, has been involved in a long-running conflict with Israel as part of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict and the Israeli–Lebanese conflict.
History
The two sides' first engagement occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, as Iran became increasingly involved in Lebanon's internal affairs. With funding from the Iranian government and training and supervision from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah was built up in Syrian-occupied Lebanon by various religious clerics amidst the 1982 Lebanon War, primarily as a Khomeinist force opposed to the Free Lebanon State and the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah controls southern Lebanon and is supported and funded by Iran and serves as their proxy in regional wars.[1] From the inception of Hezbollah to the present[2][3][4][5] the establishment of a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees to what became Israel has been a primary goal for Hezbollah. Hezbollah not only opposes the government and policies of the State of Israel, but also each and every Jewish civilian who lives in Israel.[6] Its 1985 manifesto reportedly states "our struggle will end only when this entity [Israel] is obliterated. We recognize no treaty with it, no ceasefire, and no peace agreements."[7]
Timeline
Engagements between Israel and Hezbollah are a part of the wider Iran–Israel proxy conflict, including:
- South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000), in which Hezbollah was the primary force opposing Israel and the South Lebanon Army
- 2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict, a low-level border conflict between Hezbollah and Israel
- 2006 Lebanon War, a military conflict between Hezbollah and Israel
- January 2015 Mazraat Amal incident and January 2015 Shebaa Farms incident between Hezbollah and Israel
- Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents during the Syrian civil war
- Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war
- Operation Northern Shield
- 2023 Israel–Lebanon shellings
- Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)
- 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon
See also
References
- ^ "Hezbollah is the Long Arm of Iran – Factsheet 5". AJC. 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ Adam Shatz (29 April 2004). "In Search of Hezbollah". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 14 August 2006.
- ^ United Nations Document A/54/723 S/2000/55, citing Al Hayyat, 30 October 1999 Letter dated 25 January 2000 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General Archived 10 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 17 August 2006
- ^ The Brunswickan Online. "Hizbollah promises Israel a blood-filled new year, Iran calls for Israel's end". Archived from the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2017. (Student newspaper)
- ^ Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada Listed Entities – Hizballah Archived 19 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 31 July 2006
- ^ Sheikh Hassan Izz al-Din, Hezbollah media relations director, said, "[T]he Jews need to leave." Avi Jovisch, Beacon of Hatred: Inside Hizballah's Al-Manar Television (Washington, D.C.: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2004), pp. 62–90. qtd. by Wistrich, A Lethal Obsession, p. 774
- ^ An open letter, The Hizballah program Archived 29 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine.