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1 1 (January 11, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govekeq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service informing the Ieg~sIat~ve debdte since 1914 Updated January 11, 2023 Lebanese Hezbollah Hezbollah (Party of God also spelled Hizballah) is an Iran-backed Lebanese Shi'a militia and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Formed in the wake of the 1982 Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, the group has conducted numerous attacks against Israeli and Western targets. Hezbollah serves as an Iranian partner force, enabling Tehran to project power across the region and threaten U.S. interests and allies across the Middle East. Figure I. Lebanon the GUian He ghts as at ot hsatl 21 U N. Secur y Councu Resiuon o 497 adOpted. 0 Decnmber 17, 1%1 held that d rao th> G Wa Hights contrld b y Israe& md ry vs (cup ed temrrty be ongpng to Sy ia Source: Created by CRS. UNIFIL = United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon; UNDOF = United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. Leadership, Structure, and Size Hassan Nasrallah has served as Secretary-General of Hezbollah since the assassination of his predecessor by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in 1992. 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. Some countries and the European Union separate Hezbollah's military and political wings-designating the former for sanctions while maintaining dialogue with the latter. U.S. officials describe this division as a false distinction, and one not made by Hezbollah itself. Definitive numbers on Hezbollah's total size are not publicly available; the International Institute for Strategic Studies' 2022 Military Balance estimates that the group may have up to 20,000 active personnel. 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 2000, Hezbollah has used Israel's remaining presence in the Sheb'a Farms and other disputed areas in the Lebanon-Syria-Israel tri-border region (see Figure 1) to justify its ongoing conflict with Israel-and its persistence as an armed militia alongside the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Hezbollah also bolsters Iranian objectives; the State Department's 2021 Country Reports on Terrorism states that Iran provides Hezbollah with most of its funding, training, weapons, and explosives, as well as political, diplomatic, monetary, and organizational aid. Hezbollah operates a global criminal-financial network, with reported hubs in Europe, Africa, and Latin America. A 2022 Europol report stated, The network of collaborators built by Hezbollah in the EU is suspected of managing the transportation and distribution of illegal drugs into the EU, dealing with firearms trafficking and running professional money laundering operations. Other 2022 reports highlight Hezbollah's role in the trafficking of amphetamine-type stimulants, marketed as captagon, along the Syria- Lebanon border. In addition to military and criminal objectives, Hezbollah also seeks influence in Lebanon's political system, likely in part to prevent the government from targeting the group's weapons stockpiles or private telecommunications network. Hezbollah in Lebanese Politics Hezbollah has participated in elections since 1992, and draws popular support from its vast network of schools, clinics, youth programs, and other social services. 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 also includes the Free Patriotic Movement (Christian) and the Amal Movement (Shi'a). Hezbollah holds two seats in Lebanon's caretaker government. Hezbollah did not gain additional parliamentary seats in the 2018 or 2022 legislative elections (it continues to hold 13 out of 128). However, following the expiration of President Michel Aoun's term in October 2022, Hezbollah and its March 8 allies have obstructed efforts by parliament to elect a president by preventing the formation of a quorum and by casting blank ballots in parliamentary electoral sessions. In November 2022, the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary

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