More than militants

Lara Deeb, Middle East Report Online, July 31:

Hizballah, the Lebanese Shi”˜i movement whose militia is fighting the Israeli army in south Lebanon, has been cast misleadingly in much media coverage of the ongoing war. Much more than a militia, the movement is also a political party that is a powerful actor in Lebanese politics and a provider of important social services. Not a creature of Iranian and Syrian sponsorship, Hizballah arose to battle Israel’s occupation of south Lebanon from 1982-2000 and, more broadly, to advocate for Lebanon’s historically disenfranchised Shi”˜i Muslim community. While it has many political opponents in Lebanon, Hizballah is very much of Lebanon – a fact that Israel’s military campaign is highlighting.… 

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