The Israel-Hezbollah Conflict
The Facts
ORIGINS: Though Hezbollah (or "Party of God" in English) was officially formed in the wake of Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, its origins go back to the foundation of modern Lebanon. Lebanon, administered by France after World War I, gained independence in 1943, establishing a political system that divided power between Christians and Muslims. The Shiite community — Hezbollah's primary constituency, which lived mainly in peripheral regions like the south and parts of the Bekaa Valley in the east — was underrepresented in this system.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE: Meanwhile, the newfound state of Israel was engaged in a conflict with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbors after the first Arab-Israeli War of 1948. Israel's establishment saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced to neighboring countries, such as Lebanon. In the 1960s, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) — a coalition of armed Palestinian factions — was formed and began launching guerrilla attacks against Israel from these nations. The group's leadership eventually relocated to Lebanon after being expelled from Jordan in 1970.
The Spin
Pro-Israel narrative
Israel's greatest strategic failure in recent decades was allowing Hezbollah to remain on the Lebanese border. Hezbollah is the most powerful terror group in the word, possessing tens of thousands of rockets pointed at Israel. However, Israel has managed to turn the tide and even show its primary ally, the US, how to win wars against terror armies. Since mid-September, Israel has crushed Hezbollah's leadership and severely limited its military capabilities. Nonetheless, more must be done to ensure the security of northern Israel.
Anti-Israel narrative
The only reason Hezbollah exists and continues its resistance is because of Israel's occupation of Lebanon and its acts of aggression against Palestinians. Resistance is a natural reaction to expansionist imperial aggression, and there have been many cases in which a smaller force managed to win against a larger colonial army. Israel has tried for decades to subdue Palestinian and Lebanese aspirations for justice, yet it continues to fail.
