(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira - Iran views Lebanon as part of the territory of an Islamic empire based on the Shiite populations of the region. Hizbullah was founded in 1982 by Iran, which intended it to be the spearhead to export the Islamic Revolution to the Arab and Islamic world. This study by one of Israel's leading experts on Hizbullah offers a behind-the-scenes look at the major individuals and events in the contest between Israel and Hizbullah over the past four decades. It details the key events in Hizbullah's creation, the Hizbullah suicide operation in Tyre in 1982 that killed 76 Israeli security forces, the 1992 assassination of Hizbullah leader Abbas Musawi, Hizbullah's response with bombings in Buenos Aires, Israel's 1996 campaign in Lebanon, and Hizbullah's ambush of Israeli naval commandos in 1997. Other key topics include the importance of Iran's Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, Iran's overall strategy in Lebanon, the Second Lebanon War of 2006, the assassination of Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, Hizbullah's intervention in the Syrian civil war, and Hizbullah's plan to conquer the Galilee. The writer, a senior research fellow at the Jerusalem Center, served as Military Secretary to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
2020-10-22 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive