THE FORMATION AND RISE OF HIZBALLAH
The foundations of Hizballah were laid during the 1982 invasion and occupation of Lebanon. Shi’i Muslims had long been politically and economically disenfranchised within the Lebanese state and at the outset of the civil war, some began to organise is small localised armed groups for protection. But it was Israel’s 1982 invasion and the Sabra and Shatila massacres which propelled young Shi’is to arm themselves more systematically as resistance forces against the Israelis, particularly in the south where the Shi’i population was highly concentrated. This was done in a more disconnected way until 1984, when Hizballah was founded. The group officially announced its existence in 1985, based on a commitment to Islamic resistance and anti-imperialism and having incorporated many Shi’is who had until then also participated in socialist and communist politics. The context for Hizballah’s establishment, therefore, was one of occupation and socio-political disenfranchisement. Importantly, even though Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon in 1985, they continued to occupy parts of the south. Hizballah, alongside other resistance groups, took a leading role in the fight against this ongoing occupation. Villages in the occupied south were effectively blocked off from the rest of the country, while Israel’s violence extended well beyond the occupied zone.
Throughout the 1990s, Israel carried out repeated attacks across Lebanon. In 1993, more than one hundred civilians were killed in a week long Israeli attack. Air bombardments targeted Beirut in 1996, 1999 and 2000. In April 1996, the Israeli military bombed a United Nations bunker in Qana, where 800 civilians had taken shelter, killing 106 people. Despite sustained Israeli aggression, resistance was steady and unyielding, increasing the financial and political costs for Israel. In 2000, after 22 years of occupation, Israel withdrew from the vast majority of Lebanon. However, to this day, Israel continues to occupy the Shebaa Farms, an area of around 15 square miles along the border.
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