Lebanon

Hezbollah’s Martyrs Foundation: purpose, mode of operation and funding methods

Hezbollah maintains an extensive network of social foundations in Lebanon that deal with health, education, welfare and media. Their main goal is to serve as a supportive framework for the organization’s military infrastructure, to disseminate its ideology and to strengthen its position among the Shiite community and the internal Lebanese political arena. Of these institutions, the Lebanese Martyrs Foundation is of key importance. It was established by Iran in 1982, the year in which Hezbollah was established.
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Ali Mussa Daqduq (Abu Hussein Sajed): portrait of the commander of Hezbollah’s military network in the Syrian Golan Heights (“the Golan Portfolio”)

The IDF spokesman recently exposed the existence of a military network which Hezbollah started to establish in the Syrian Golan Heights since the summer of 2018 (following the Syrian army’s takeover of the Golan Heights from the rebels, with Hezbollah operatives alongside the Syrian army ). The network includes dozens of operatives residing in the villages of the northern Golan Heights who are also equipped with weapons. The network structure, referred to as “the Golan Portfolio,” is still at the first stages of establishing its presence near the Israeli border and has not yet reached operational capability.
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Reactions to Britain’s decision to ban Hezbollah

On March 1, 2019, the British Parliament approved the decision to recognize Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization. According to the decision, any person charged with belonging to or supporting Hezbollah in British territory is liable to imprisonment for up to 10 years. This is a significant decision as up to now only Hezbollah’s military wing (since 2001) and foreign security unit (since 2008) have been designated in Britain as a terrorist organization.
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Estimate of Hezbollah’s fatalities during the Syrian civil war and the conclusions arising from the analysis of their identity

As part of a study on the fatalities (shahids) of Hezbollah in Syria, the names of 1,139 operatives, killed in 2011-2018, were identified. To this number, the ITIC believes that we can add a possible deviation range of 10% of fatalities whose names were not found due to various reasons. Thus, the number of Hezbollah fatalities in Syria may reach about 1,250 (updated to late December 2018). The study is based on dozens of sources, mostly Facebook pages and Internet websites affiliated with Hezbollah and dedicated to commemorate the organization’s fatalities.
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Funding Terrorism: The method for transferring donations to Hezbollah through the Islamic Resistance Support Association

Hezbollah recently launched a campaign to raise money for its military activities. The campaign was waged by the Islamic Resistance Support Association (IRSA), Hezbollah's main fund-raising institution. The campaign is waged in the Shi'ite communities in Lebanon and abroad at the beginning of every year. The funds collected are mainly used to buy weapons for Hezbollah operatives (through what is called the "equip a jihad fighter" project).
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Spotlight on Iran (February 10 – February 24, 2019)

The summit held in Sochi of the Russian, Iranian and Turkish presidents failed to conclude with a concrete agreement. Senior Iranian officials continue to issue warnings against continued Israeli efforts to counter Iranian entrenchment in Syria. Iranian minister of foreign affairs conducted a two-day visit in Lebanon. During a hearing held at the Syrian parliament, the Syrian minister of communications and technology confirmed that there are ongoing talks with an Iranian cellphone network operator to establish a third cellular network in the country. In Baghdad, Iranian and Iraqi representatives signed an agreement on scientific and cultural cooperation between the Iranian Azad University and Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
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