How Hezbollah Operates in Lebanon

 Hezbollah is an intriguing phenomenon, a nation inside a nation that is volatile and out of control beyond the reach of Lebanese state machinery. Still, it has a huge presence socially, politically, and militarily.  

Hezbollah is basically a Shiʿah Muslim political party and a militant group. The role of Hezbollah in Lebanon is one legitimate yet without responsibility. Curiously, Hezbollah is assessed as having the military prowess to take over Lebanon if it wants to. Yet, the organisation seems not inclined to do so. However, it commands its own armed force. 

Hezbollah operates inside and outside Lebanon and is not accountable to the Lebanese government. The Lebanese democratic system has many cracks, which Hezbollah takes advantage of and grows roots in. The group also has informal agreements with the country's elite groups. Yet, it is not as if this organisation is holding hostage the Lebanese government with military might. The reality is much more complex. 

The Power of Hezbollah

Lebanon’s border with Syria is totally controlled by Hezbollah. It uses the Beirut port to move all kinds of illegal and dangerous things, including weapons, drugs and explosives. Usually, a country’s law and order system does not allow that unless it is a form of corruption. Here, Hezbollah operates in daylight, known to all. The regions where Shiʿah Muslims are a majority or a strong force now belong under the influence of Hezbollah- Southern Lebanon, Southern Beirut, and Bekaa Valley.  

Hezbollah is part of a national security narrative in Lebanon. Even the ruling cabinet members will tell us how important Hezbollah is for national security. The non-state nature of geopolitics that Hezbollah undertakes is unique. The organisation is territorial but can act internationally. For example, they have crossed the Lebanese border into Syria to participate in the conflicts there. It does not even have a foreign policy.  

Even now, the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel is not a war between two countries. In appearance, it imitates a battle of two nations. The Lebanese government is a silent witness in this conflict even when their capital city and other regions are being incessantly bombed by Israel. Israel says that it is carrying out targeted attacks on Hezbollah but never claims this is a war against the country, Lebanon. 

One aspect of Hezbollah’s grip on Lebanese society is its social service work in the community. The organisation has developed a vast network for this work. It runs hospitals, schools, and welfare centres in the country's most economically backward regions. It also provides financial support to destitute families and pensions to the families of its soldiers who died in its fights. Religion, Islam, is the other pillar of its existence, making commentators call the organisation God’s party. 

The Beginnings of Hezbollah

Hezbollah was established in 1982. Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and the marginalisation of the Shiʿah Muslims in Lebanon were the triggers for that. The weakness of the Lebanese state was what made such an organisation possible. Lebanon is a country of Muslims and Christians and is highly sectarian. The Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shiʿah Muslims, and the Druze are the major religious communities in the country, and these groups always fight and lobby for power.

The political system is also divided along this chasm. The Lebanese Parliamentary system is based on the country's religious demography. The President has to be a Maronite Christian. The President’s post has been lying vacant since 2002. The Prime Minister must be a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of the Parliament must be a Shiʿah Muslim. This agreement was reached after the civil war between different factions ended in 1990. 

The Shiʿah Muslims were a weak group in Lebanon. In 1982, when a group of Shiʿah clerics formed Hezbollah, they wanted to drive Israel out of the country and establish an Islamic nation. Iran, a Shiʿah Muslim country, gave full support. 

Along with fighting Israel, Hezbollah those days also fought in a civil war, where its enemies were other organisations such as Amal, the military wing of a Lebanese political party, and the Christian militia. In 1992, Hezbollah began to participate in the general elections. 

In 2009, Hezbollah changed its goal of establishing an Islamic government and endorsed a pluralistic and democratic system in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Israel had its forces withdrawn from Lebanon in 2000. 

Later, in 2006, Hezbollah and Israel fought another war. Hezbollah had abducted Israeli soldiers to pressurise Israel to free Lebanese prisoners in an Israeli jail. The battle lasted 31 days, and more than 1000 Lebanese citizens died in it. 

In 2006, when the war ended, Hezbollah’s admirers had grown. It had proven itself a formidable force against Israel. Cashing in on this support, Hezbollah, along with its opposition allies, tried to gain more political stakes in the Lebanese government by demanding veto power in the Parliament. A stalemate ensued and lasted for more than 2 years, and finally, Qatar mediated a truce, and Hezbollah got what it wanted- the veto power. 

The Hezbollah-led opposition is called the March 8 block, and the West-supported ruling front is called the March 14 block. After much political chaos, finally, the March 8 block got its hold stabilised on the government as Hezbollah and its allies got 18 cabinet positions. Many Arab countries, at different times, helped mediate this settlement. The March 14 block was finally out of power. 

In 2011, Lebanon was shaken by the Arab Spring, as were other Arab nations. In Syria, Hezbollah fought alongside the government soldiers to suppress the Arab Spring uprising. This move resulted in a dent in Hezbollah’s popularity at home. 

In 2018, when the first election was held in Lebanon after 2009, the March 8 block won a majority. Hezbollah’s political power was thus cemented strongly. By that time, many Western countries had named Hezbollah a terrorist organisation. Hence, Hezbollah had to be content with a few minor cabinet posts while its March 8 block allies formed a unity government involving the opposition. A major role for Hezbollah in the cabinet would have become a hurdle for Lebanon to receive foreign aid and finance. 

In 2020, this government resigned. In its place, a government totally under the control of the March 8 block was formed. In the 2022 elections, the March 8 block lost its majority in the Parliament as people were frustrated. The country's economic situation was in dire straits. This was the first election held after the Arab Spring uprising. Many independent candidates won in this election. It was evident that Hezbollah was losing its popularity. 

In 2023, the presidential election in the Lebanese Parliament was stopped midway when Hezbollah-backed lawmakers walked out. In the first round of voting, the ruling front or the opposition candidate won the necessary votes. As the Hezbollah faction walked out, the Parliament lost its two-thirds quorum to conduct the election. 

Recently, clashes have been erupting between Hezbollah and the Christian political party, the Lebanese Forces. In Christian-majority areas, Christian private militia have taken matters into their own hands. 

Religion and Hezbollah

Hezbollah cannot be defined as a group entirely based on religious faith. Though its ideology has strong religious roots, it has fought other Islamic groups in Syria and Yemen. It rejected Arab nationalism. In Hezbollah's organisation network, a Christian Parties Bureau handles its relations with the Christian parties of Lebanon.

How faith and politics intermingle in the Hezbollah story is manifest in the life and death of Hezbollah's top commander, Imad Mughniyeh. He was killed in Syria in a car bomb explosion reportedly carried out by Israel. After this, the Hezbollah website announced that he had been declared ‘Leader of the Two Victories’ by the Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, in memory of his role in the fight against Israel. 

A street in Beirut was named after him. In the median there, a memorial was erected. His tomb later became a shrine where people worshipped the martyr. In the town of Nabatiye, Hezbollah held a multimedia exhibition displaying his bloodstained clothes, belt, shoes, the desk where he planned his military operations, his guns, and more. There are tourists from different parts of Lebanon visit this mini-museum every day. 

Venerating martyrdom is the core value upon which Hezbollah functions. The Shiʿah historical memory of the War of Karbala and Ali’s martyrdom provides the rock-solid foundation for this. Sacrifice is its ultimate manifestation. The suicide bombings, hijackings, kidnappings, and daredevil battles that its soldiers carry out are glorified acts in the religio-political textbook of this organisation. 

Hezbollah: The Organisational Structure

According to Hezbollah’s website, its organisational structure is as follows. Hezbollah is led by a Shura Council headed by a Secretary General. Under the Shura Council, there are five subordinate councils- the Executive, Judicial, Parliamentary, Political, and Jihad councils. 

The Political Council has seven wings- the National Parties Bureau, Islamic Parties Bureau, International Relations Bureau, Christian Parties Bureau, Palestinian Organisations Bureau, Arab Relations Bureau and Analysis Committee. 

Under the Jihad Council, which is the military and security wing, there are three subunits- Islamic Resistance, the security wing, and Islamic Jihad Organisation. The Islamic Jihad Organisation is allegedly the terrorist wing that carries out terrorist attacks, assassinations, and kidnappings in different parts of the world. 

The Executive Council has eight subunits - the Affiliation and Coordination Unit, Education Unit, Social Unit, Islamic Health Unit, Information and Media Unit, Finance Unit, Syndicates and Unions, and External Relations Unit. 

The high court functions under the Judicial Council. It has regional offices.  

The Executive Council handles its social service activities and relations with Iran. The Jihad Council is the body leading the armed fights. 

Al-Manar is Hezbollah’s TV channel. It also has a massive media network for information and propaganda dissemination.  

Hezbollah’s Military and Other Prowess

By the 2020s, Hezbollah was considered to be the world’s most heavily armed non-state militia. Al Jazeera reported that Hezbollah has 130,000 rockets, precision-guided missiles, and other similar weapons. The most powerful of these, the Scuds, can cover a distance of 550 kilometres to reach the enemy and strike. The organisation gets financial and military support from Iran. 

To understand the reach and covert network of this organisation, reading a paragraph written by Mathew Levitt, former American intelligence officer and the author of the book, ‘Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God’, would suffice-

“In one instance, a couple of investigators mapped out a case that involved petty crime and massive fraud, radical ideology and nationalistic fervour, all interwoven with arms procurement, document forgery, counterfeiting, and fundraising schemes. Most astounding still were the stops in that one story: from the United States to Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Paraguay, Slovakia, and Syria.” (Levitt, 2013, Introduction, p.14).

Though an account by someone who has been part of the American intelligence community needs to be taken in with a pinch of salt, this book provides rare insights into the workings of Hezbollah. 

Here is another account in which the trial of a Hezbollah operative arrested in Azerbaijan is told in detail. His name was Ali Karaki. He, along with his friends, was allegedly planning a terrorist attack on the Israeli Embassy in Azerbaijan when he was arrested. 

He was reportedly on the payroll of Hezbollah, earning $900 per month, working in Iran as the organisation’s representative there. He also worked as a tour guide and was stationed near the al-Nabi Mosque in that capacity. One day, he was approached by someone from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and recruited by that person into Iran’s payroll, too. His job was to collect information on the Israeli Embassy in Azerbaijan and Iranians who helped Israel. After this, he was entrusted with the task of bombing the Embassy. After the failed bombing attempt and arrest, he was put on trial and sent to an Azerbaijani prison for 15 years imprisonment. However, in return for an Azerbaijani scholar who was jailed in Iran, he and his team members were returned to Iran and expatriated to Lebanon. 

The above are some glimpses into how the West understands Hezbollah. Truth and perceptions intermingle in these accounts. One must not forget that in matters of global-scale violence, sabotage and espionage, Israel and America resemble Hezbollah in many ways. The only difference is that they have more fatal military might, covertness, and legitimacy in today's world order. 

Many nations of the world have notified Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, including the Gulf Cooperation Council and Arab League. Yet, after entering electoral politics, Hezbollah was observed toeing a moderate line in its public positioning.  

Hezbollah and Iran

Hezbollah is an active player in the Iran-orchestrated Axis of Resistance, a group of highly militarised organisations that are against the influence of Israel, the United States, and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East. Since the October 1983 Beirut Marine Barracks bombing that killed 241 American military men, Iran has financed and supplied weapons to Hezbollah to carry out such militant activities. Ironically, Iran’s money also helps Hezbollah to pursue its social welfare work in Lebanon. 

When religion, spiritualism, resistance, money, power, and militancy become part and parcel of a single entity, the result is quite complex to define and understand. Despite being a favourite theme for articles, academic papers, books and popular literature, this organisation represents different things to different people. 

References

How Hezbollah Holds Sway Over the Lebanese State, Dr Lina Khatib, Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, June 30, 2021, chathamhouse.org

Hezbollah, britannica.com

How Does Hezbollah Function - And What Arsenal Does It Have?, Simon Speakman Cordall and AJLabs, October 1, 2024, aljazeera.com

Non-State Armed Actors in the Middle East: Geopolitics, Ideology, and Strategy, Murat Yesiltas and Tuncay Kardas, 2017, Springer International Publishing. 

Hezbollah Shrine to Terrorist Suspect Enthralls Lebanese Children, Robert F Worth, September 2, 2008, The New York Times. 

Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God, Mathew Levitt, 2013, Georgetown University Press. 

Hezbollah: From Islamic Resistance to Government, James Worrall, Simon Mabon, and Gordon Clubb, 2015, Bloomsbury Publishing.