Hassan Nasrallah http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html Leader of Shiite terrorist organization, Hizbullah
Published: 07.31.06, 12:34 Hassan Nasrallah was born in 1960, in a refugee camp in eastern Beirut. The oldest of nine children, his poor Shiite family had roots in a village in southern Lebanon <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> . Even as a child, he displayed interest in Islam and dedicated his time to his religious studies. When the civil war broke out in Lebanon, he returned with his family to their village, where Nasrallah joined the Shiite Amal organization. Nasrallah's talents and diligence stood out at the local mosque, and one of the senior spiritual leaders took Nasrallah under his wing. At age 16, Nasrallah was sent to a prestigious Moslem seminary in Najaf, the Shiite holy city in Iraq. During his studies, he was tutored by a senior Lebanese student named Abbas Mousawi, who later became the leader of Hizbullah <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> . The two Lebanese students became fast friends. In 1978, Nasrallah and Mousawi fled Iraq in fear of the Iraqi government. Once back in Lebanon, Nasrallah became an instructor at Mousawi's new seminary in Baalbak. Nasrallah's reputation as a charismatic and militaristic religious figure grew, and he acquired a large crowd of admiring students. Hizbullah leader, Hassan Nasrallah (Photo: Aljazeear) During the Lebanon War, Syria permitted several hundred Revolutionary Guards to enter Lebanon, where they hoped to establish an Islamic republic. Nasrallah followed Mousawi's example, quit Amal and joined the Revolutionary Guards, where his leadership qualities once again stood out. Within a short time, Nasrallah was appointed commander of the troops in Bekaa. The Revolutionary Guards encouraged the Lebanese Shiites to develop a new framework called Hizbullah <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> . Hizbullah's formative years were focused on fighting the IDF. Nasrallah was one of the organization's founders. In the following years, Nasrallah became a dominant military and religious figure within Hizbullah and led several successful operations against Amal in 1987. Later, Nasrallah traveled to Iran to continue his Islamic studies in the holy city of Kum. When the fight between Hizbullah <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> and Amal resumed, Nasrallah returned to Lebanon to join the fray. He was lightly wounded in one of the battles. Over the next year, Nasrallah became a top Hizbullah <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> military leader and a member of the Shura Council, Hizbullah's highest institution. During that time, the organization was split between supporters of Syria and supporters of Iran <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> . In 1991, following negotiations between the two countries, Mousawi, whose loyalties tended towards Syria, was appointed secretary-general. In exchange, Nasrallah, an Iranian supporter, was given more power. In 1992, the IDF assassinated Mousawi, and he was quickly replaced by Nasrallah, who has been the leader of Hizbullah ever since. Under his leadership, the organization unleashed a revengeful wave of brutal terror attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets throughout the world, which climaxed with the attacks on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in March 1992 (22 died) and on the city's Jewish Community Center in July 1994 (80 died). The most significant test of Nasrallah's leadership occurred in 1997, when a group led by Hizbullah's first secretary-general, Sheik Sobhi Toufeili, declared a so-called "revolution of the hungry" to protest what they perceived as Hizbullah's abandonment of the Shiite population in Lebanon. However, Iran and, especially, Syria backed Nasrallah, and the Baalbak-based opposition was forced to surrender their weapons and surrender. In the aftermath of the IDF's retreat from most of Lebanon in 1985, Hizbullah <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> initiated a determined campaign against the IDF and the SLA in the security zone. During this struggle, Hizbullah's military capabilities increased, as a result of Nasrallah's leadership and close ties with Iran. Nevertheless, the IDF's significant military superiority meant many more losses for Hizbullah, and from a purely military standpoint, most Hizbullah offensives ended in failure. The IDF's attempts to end the drawn-out conflict were hampered by Katyusha and mortar attacks on northern Israeli communities, harsh international responses, and Hizbullah's close proximity to civilian population centers. The balance of power between the two sides produced a limited conflict based on agreed-upon rules. Under Nasrallah's leadership, Hizbullah <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> unveiled a new battlefield: Israeli public opinion. In a number of interviews, Nasrallah declared that he had discovered Israeli society's weak point, namely a high intolerance for loss of human life. Based on this assumption, the media arena became a central stage for Hizbullah's anti-Israel activities. Despite numerous Israeli efforts, Hizbullah managed to successfully conduct guerilla attacks in the security zone, leading to constant Israeli casualties. Concurrently, Hizbullah filmed their operations against the IDF and the SLA; the tapes were distributed worldwide. Also, Hizbullah worked hard to destroy Israeli morale. For instance, Hizbullah flags were placed on Israeli positions, and IDF and SLA commanders were targeted. The continued fighting yielded numerous losses on both sides. During the 1990's, as a result of the constant casualties and the feeling that the conflict would never end, the Israeli public indicated that they were no longer willing to pay the price for a continued presence in Lebanon <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> . Eventually, the government decided to retreat from the Lebanese security zone. In May 2000, the IDF heeded the government's decision and unilaterally retreated to the international border. The IDF retreat dramatically improved Nasrallah's standing within the Arab world, who now perceived him as a hero. In a speech he made to celebrate the retreat, Nasrallah said, "It (Israel) has a nuclear weapon and the strongest air force in the region, but in truth, it is weaker than a spider web." According to this <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> "spider web" theory , Israel's reverence for human life and the hedonistic nature of Israeli society make it weak and unable to sustain continued war and bloodshed. In Lebanon, Nasrallah worked to improve Hizbullah's standing within the Shiite community. Thus, a large portion of Hizbullah's budget was allocated for the establishment of welfare, education, charity and healthcare institutions, whose services were provided free-of-charge to community members. Even after the IDF retreat, Nasrallah refused to end the fight against Israel <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> , and he continued attacking and insulting Israel in his speeches. In practice, the actual fighting was limited to occasional shootings, while preparations for future conflagrations were accelerated. Nasrallah is married to Fatima Yassin. His oldest son, Hadi Nasrallah, was killed by the IDF in September 1997. His body was brought to Israeli territory and was returned to Lebanon in exchange for the body of a naval commando killed in 1997. Following his son's death, Nasrallah was quoted as saying, "Israel should not feel satisfaction at my son's death, for he died on the battlefield, facing the conquerors as he wished, with a gun in his hand." Nasrallah is believed to be a relative of Syrian President Bashar <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284065,00.html#n> al-Assad. FAIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to these copyrighted items are reserved. Articles and graphics have been placed within for educational and discussion purposes only, in compliance with "Fair Use" criteria established in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The principle of "Fair Use" was established as law by Section 107 of The Copyright Act of 1976. 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