12 October '10
Lebanon is ripe with tension these days. With the planned visit of Iranian president Ahmadinejad and the UN's tribunal expected to implicate Hezbollah in the murder of former Prime Minister Hariri, the fractioned state of Lebanon is very tense. With these events in the background, Giyus.org sat down for a fascinating discussion with Dr. Omri Nir, an expert on Hezbollah and Lebanese politics. Dr. Nir is a lecturer at Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew Universtiy and Ben Gurion University.
Giyus.org: How would you describe Hezbollah's relations with Iran and Syria?
Dr. Nir: Let's start with some historic background. Hezbollah was created by Iran in 1982 to export the Islamic revolution to Lebanon. Why Lebanon? Iraq, which was the obvious choice, was off limits since Iran and Iraq were at war. In Lebanon, the Shia is the largest minority group, so Iran created Hezbollah there. From the start Hezbollah had a clear strategic goal of turning Lebanon into an Islamic regime like Iran. Hezbollah's charter from 1985 even includes a full chapter on how the Islamic state would treat the Christians which are a large minority group in Lebanon.
At the end of the civil war in Lebanon in 1990, Hezbollah remained the only armed Lebanese militia. Syria, which was the landlord in Lebanon these days, agreed to allow Hezbollah to keep its arms and in return Hezbollah agreed to help Syria keep its control of Lebanon and to fight the IDF in South Lebanon. Yet, despite being the largest minority group and the strongest military wise, the Shia remained deprived of political rights and social benefits, creating a growth opportunity for Hezbollah.
So this complicated triangle of Hezbollah, Syria and Iran has a delicate balance in which Iran finance Hezbollah and impacts strategic directions and Syria has allowed Hezbollah to grow in strength.
Giyus.org: Is Hezbollah a "puppet organization" serving as Iran's front with Israel?
Dr. Nir: Iran is the main financer of Hezbollah – so do they call the shots? It appears they set the directions but are less involved on a day to day basis. Hezbollah has a general secretary in Lebanon which controls the daily agenda of the movement. In November 2009, when Hezbollah came out with a new charter, the Iranian religious authority, al-Wali Faqih, who in the 1980s was defined as Hezbollah’s supreme leader, was not mentioned. So the relationship is not simple – if Iran would be attacked, Hezbollah would stand by it. However, Hezbollah has the freedom to take its own initiatives like they did in 2006 with the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers.
Giyus.org: Since Israel has withdrawn from South Lebanon what's fueling Hezbollah's hatred towards Israel?
Dr. Nir: In the Israeli context, Hezbollah views itself as an armed militia fighting for the people of Lebanon, covering the military weakness of the Lebanese state. Israel's withdrawal from South Lebanon in 2000 was claimed by Nassralah as an achievement of Hezbollah for the people of Lebanon.
After Israel withdrew from South Lebanon, Hezbollah claimed the region of Shebaa farm is Lebanese territory. If and when that issue will be resolved Hezbollah will find another claim to hold on to against Israel, probably seven villages in the eastern Galilee that were part of mandatory Lebanon before 1948. According to their charter, Hezbollah cannot live with the Jewish state – Nassrallah has recently said that even if Israel will sign peace agreements with all Arab nations Hezbollah will never acknowledge Israel's right to exist. Hezbollah's religious agenda views the Jewish state's territory as Islamic land where Palestine should be build.
Nasrallah views his hatred towards Israel as the means to win support among the Lebanese people and to gain popularity around the Arab world. This hate is his wave to ride all the way to the top. In addition, Hezbollah cannot afford to lose its weapons for inner Lebanese politics and if Israel is no longer a threat, Hezbollah has less reason to hold on to its arms.
(Read full Q&A)
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