Lebanon: Information on the role of Syria in the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli armed forces in the "security zone"
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 July 1993 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | LBN14649 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Lebanon: Information on the role of Syria in the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli armed forces in the "security zone", 1 July 1993, LBN14649, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abe258.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In an article in The Middle East, Giles Trendle provides information on Syria's relationship with the Hezbollah and vice versa (Feb. 1992, 13). Trendle reported that
Hizbollah's main usefulness for the Syrians is as a means to keep the Israeli army in south Lebanon under fire, and thus under pressure. (...) Thus, while Damascus is negotiating with the Israelis in the Arab-Israeli peace talks, it is simultaneously waging a proxy war against the Israelis in south Lebanon, through which the Syrians can maintain their position of "plausible deniability" to the outside world (Ibid.).
Trendle further reported that
Hizbollah's priviledged status as a militia in the post-civil war Lebanon and the group's resurgence in the south has depended to a great extent upon Syrian indulgence which, on past record, can be merely a transitory Syrian tactic (Ibid.).
In March 1991 the Lebanese government adopted a plan calling for the dissolution of the militias (Ibid.). Of all the militias, only Hezbollah opposed this request (Ibid.). According to Trendle,
The clerical leaders of Hizbollah claimed that the group was not a militia but was the "resistance" against Israeli occupation, and that it would not disarm until Israeli troops had withdrawn from south Lebanon, the Shia hinterland. The Lebanese government, on Syrian "advice", acquiesced... (Ibid.).
For further information on the above-mentioned subject please refer to the attached documents.
Reference
The Middle East. February 1992. Giles Trendle. "Hizbollah Serves Its Purpose."
Attachments
The Middle East. February 1992. Giles Trendle. "Hizbollah Serves Its Purpose."
Middle East International. 6 December 1991. Valerie Yorke. "Prospects for Peace: the Syrian Dimension."
. 7 February 1992. "Letter From Baalbeck."
. 18 December 1992. Israel Shahak. "Israel's Rules of the Game in Lebanon."
Third World Quarterly. April 1990. Asad AbuKhalil. "Syria and the Shiites: Al-Asad'sPolicy in Lebanon." Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 1-20.
