A ‘political party’ unveiled
by Rachel Ehrenfeld, The Washington Times
“Remember, Hezbollah is a political party within Lebanon… The problem is… that they’re a political party with a militia that is armed by foreign nations,” said President Bush earlier this week. “Political Party”? “Armed Militia”?
Hezbollah, which was established in 1982 as a terrorist organization, was finally designated in 1995 as such by the U.S. government. It was upgraded to the status of a global terrorist organization in 1997. Hezbollah’s evolvement into a “political party” began in the 1980s. With Iran’s generous assistance and guidance, Hezbollah established a network of educational and cultural institutions, as well as health and social welfare services.
The latter included an Islamic health authority that operated pharmacies, clinics and even hospitals where thousands of people were treated every day. Hezbollah also established a construction company that not only built houses, mosques and schools, but also paved roads and even supplied water to Shi’ite villages. Particularly prominent in all of this was its contribution to the reconstruction of thousands of houses damaged in the battles with Israel in south Lebanon. Such activities bought the loyalty of the local population.
Hezbollah, like the PLO and Hamas, also maintained a Martyrs’ Fund, which provided assistance to thousands of families of the dead, injured and imprisoned Shi’ites.
