There is no difference between Hezbollah's military and political wings. They are one entity - which should be proscribed
February 11, 2019 14:14
Brexit understandably dominates headlines and hearts but there are other matters beyond our shores which should cause great concern to British policymakers and MPs.
That the natural beauty and antiquity of Lebanon has been sullied by a doctrine of hatred is a tragedy that bestrides cultures, religions and countries, and should be roundly condemned by all. This hatred is pernicious and permeates hearts and homes with ideology and weaponry.
Its name? Hezbollah.
Hezbollah’s central tenets include establishing an Islamic theocracy in Lebanon and waging war against Israel. Not just skirmishes, abductions, bombings and missiles: Hezbollah’s raison d’être is to ensure that the Jewish State is “obliterated.” But where is the universal outcry?
For a country which gained modern democratic independence in 1943 and whose unwritten national pact insisted on having a Maronite Christian President, Shiite Muslim Parliamentary Speaker and Greek Orthodox Prime Minister, Hezbollah’s ascendance in and stranglehold on Lebanon is lamentable.
Hezbollah callously and cruelly exploits the local Lebanese civilian population to act as human shields. It is estimated that every third house in Southern Lebanon is one of Hezbollah’s military assets. But what happens when Israel decides to retaliate against missiles fired by Hezbollah? What happens when Hezbollah decides to violate Israeli sovereignty by digging tunnels (many of which stem from civilian homes) with a view to killing and kidnapping Israelis? Israel is caught in an ignominious bind.
Hezbollah is not a religion. It is not a family. No child deserves to be born into a home which is mere collateral by virtue of geography. It should be obvious that all countries which profess to be law abiding democracies should vehemently condemn Hezbollah’s actions and take active steps within the UN Security Council to remove Hezbollah from civilian areas and strengthen the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL.
Hezbollah’s raw barbarism is masked by reductive rhetoric and a dual structure: a military and a political wing. This duality appears to confuse certain heads of state and governments. Indeed, some countries argue that there’s actually a big difference between Hezbollah the political party and its military wing. But this is reminiscent of Jeremy Corbyn noting that he was present at the wreath laying for the Black September group but did not participate. There is no distinction. No difference.
Indeed, Hezbollah itself has never sought a distinction between its two arms. It is baffling that governments have not recognised Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organisation. Indeed, it only has one flag which has, indescribably, been flown in the streets of London.
But it’s more than that. Hezbollah is a cult which bullies, murders and blackmails Lebanese citizens. Former US President Barack Obama wrote in July 2014 that continuing arms transfers to Hezbollah served, “to undermine Lebanese sovereignty, contribute to political and economic instability in Lebanon”. How much more so over four years later.
And what are governments actually doing? Our own government is so stymied by Brexit that it seems incapable of making a decision in relation to anything else - but where are other governments? Why for instance has not a single country in Latin America classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation? And why does the UN Security Council not deem it necessary to proscribe Hezbollah? Surely it should join the ranks of America, Canada, France and even the Arab League in this regard.
But Hezbollah didn’t just arrive in 1982 as a deus ex machina for spreading the gospel of Islamic terrorism. It is a puppet for Iran. In return to adhering loyally to Ayatollah Khomeni’s dictates, Hezbollah is supplied with weapons from Iran; and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps oversee Hezbollah’s strategy and training.
In 2016, the IRGC Deputy Commander stated: “In Lebanon alone, over 100,000 missiles are ready to be launched… they are just waiting for the command so that when the trigger is pulled, the accursed black dot [Israel] will be wiped off the map”.
So what now?
It is time for all governments to come together to recognise, to condemn and to take action. It is time for governments to call out this band of bullies, of murderers, of racists, of bigots, of xenophobes.
Having a name, a flag, a status, grants Hezbollah a hollow charisma which all terrorists crave. But their intent and their abilities to maim, terrorise, kill and destroy remain undiminished. And that is what all countries which value the gifts of life and liberty need to oppose.
By calling themselves the “Party of God” they have besmirched all men of faith and of none.
Because Hezbollah is not a Party of God. It is a party which has turned its back on Him. And the international community must do everything it can to curtail its heinous activities.
The author is a member of the flagship diplomacy program of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), the WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps, a worldwide network of 300 Jewish professionals from 50 countries acting in the fields of diplomacy and public policy on behalf of world Jewry.
