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1 1 (February 1, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveboh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gressional Research Service Updated February 1, 2021 Lebanese Hezbollah Overview Hezbollah (Party of God) is an Iran-backed Lebanese Shi'a militia and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Formed in 1982, in the wake of the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, the group has described itself as the leader of Islamic resistance to Israel and has conducted numerous attacks against Israeli and Western targets. Hezbollah currently operates regionally as a militia force, while also playing a powerful role as a Lebanese political party and provider of social services. Figure I. Lebanon sounnanes are not necessany autnomtatn. ine unaea Mtales recoqnaea the Golan Heights as pert of ksra rn 2019.UN~ Security Counul Resolution 49?, adopted on ODeembea 17 19W, held that The area of the Golan HeWiqgh contsolled by Israel's m~tafy is occupied terdtory belonqing to Syria. Source: Created by CRS. Boundaries from ESRI and U.S. State Department. Leadership Hassan Nasrallah has served as Secretary-General of Hezbollah since the assassination of his predecessor by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in 1992. The group's leadership structure includes an advisory body known as the Shura Council, comprising the heads of the Executive, Political, and Judiciary Councils, as well as two permanent Iranian representatives. According to the U.S. government, the External Security Organization (ESO), the military arm of Hezbollah responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of terrorist attacks, is headed by Talal Hamiyah. The ESO is also known as the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) or Unit 910. Objectives For nearly two decades, Hezbollah's stated objective was to drive IDF forces from southern Lebanon, through a range of attacks on Israeli military and civilian targets. Since the Israeli withdrawal in May 2000, Hezbollah has used the remaining Israeli presence in the Sheb'a Farms and other disputed areas in the Lebanon-Syria-Israel tri-border region to justify its ongoing conflict with Israel-and its persistence as an armed militia alongside the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Hezbollah promotes Iranian interests in the region, through efforts to ensure the survival of the Asad government in Syria and counter the influence of Iran's regional rivals. Hezbollah also seeks to maintain its domestic political influence and privileges-in particular its significant store of advanced weaponry that remains outside state control and its private telecommunications network. Areas of Operation Hezbollah is based in Lebanon and primarily operates in the Middle East, though it has conducted attacks elsewhere. Lebanon According to U.S. government assessments, Hezbollah controls access to parts of Lebanon and operates inside the country with relative impunity. The group was implicated in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a car bombing in downtown Beirut that also killed 21 others. In 2011, the United Nations- backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) indicted four Hezbollah members in connection with the Hariri assassination and conducted trials in absentia. In 2020, the STL found one Hezbollah member guilty and sentenced him to five terms of life imprisonment; he remains at large. Other anti-Syrian politicians, journalists, and security personnel were killed in Lebanon in the years following the Hariri assassination, including four members of parliament; analysts assess that Hezbollah or Syria are likely culprits. Hezbollah vies for the loyalties of its constituents by operating a vast network of schools, clinics, youth programs, private businesses, and local security networks. Hezbollah has participated in elections since 1992. The group entered the Cabinet for the first time in 2005, and has held one to three seats in each Lebanese government formed since then. Hezbollah has at times sought to block cabinet decisions, twice prompting the collapse of the government by withdrawing from the cabinet alongside its political allies. The group is part of the March 8 political coalition, which includes Lebanese President Michel Aoun of the Free Patriotic Movement. Hezbollah did not gain any additional seats in Lebanon's May 2018 legislative elections (it continues to hold 13 out of 128), but parties allied with the March 8 coalition increased their share of seats. ittps://crsreports.congress.gov

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