Israel - Hezbollah (Israel)

The most dangerous thorn in Israel's side is Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia group that continually battles Israel on its northern border. Under the religious guidance of Sheikh Fadlallah, the most senior cleric in Lebanon, Hezbollah members are typically Shiites recruited from the various Palestinian refugee camps. The Israelis conduct numerous retaliatory attacks against these camps in revenge for Hezbollah's shelling and rocketing of Israel.

Shortly after the revolution in Iran, the country began recruiting the most fanatical Shiites to set up its first major military base outside Iran, at Zabadani in Syria. The Iranians sent in about 5,000 Pasadaran to Lebanon to help the fight against Israel. A thousand of these troops fought the Israelis in the Shouf Mountains. After the fighting ended, 500 Iranians stayed behind in the Bekaa (or Biqua) Valley under the protection of Syrian forces. The Baalbak area became something of a Silicon Valley for terrorism, where a number of special-interest groups lived and trained, from Abu Nidal's headhunters to the Libyans. The Bekaa Valley became the world headquarters for terrorism in 1982. Supplied from Damascus and supported by Iran, these Iranians quickly consolidated their dominance of Hezbollah. Soon, Hezbollah would become a federation of 13 Islamic terrorist movements (11 Shiite and two Sunni). Decisions are made by a religious council. Although Sheikh Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah says he is not the movement's leader, it's known that his authority is absolute, even if not secured with a title. He was born in 1943 or 1944 in Najaf, Iraq, to a family originally from Lebanon. He rose to prominence after the Iranian revolution. He is an author of two books on Islam: Islam and the Concept of Power and Dialogue in the Koran. His religious preachings and his political beliefs are one and the same: Jihad is absolute and all encompassing and the war must be fought by whatever means necessary.

Hezbollah's Sayyid Abbas al-Mussawi has vowed that the terrorist group will continue its struggle until the city of Quds (Jerusalem) is liberated. Israel invaded Lebanon in April 1996 in an attempt to oust Hezbollah, which continued to pound northern Israel with rockets. The recent spat with Lebanon displaced 10 percent of the population of Lebanon, destroyed 200 homes and caused $600,000 in damage. Israel fired 11,000 shells and launched 1,000 aircraft sorties. Despite the cultural and scenic attractions of the Holy Land, you could end your vacation as a puff of holy smoke. You stand a better chance of being caught in a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv than in most cities of the world.

For more information, see "The Players" section in the Southern Lebanon chapter.

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