Lebanon: Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah Conflict
Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah Conflict in Lebanon
Introduction The Republic of Lebanon is a small Middle Eastern nation on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It became an independent republic in 1943, but its history is thousands of years older. Historians have found evidence that people lived in the region in pre-historic times. Lebanon’s earliest known inhabitants, the Canaanites, settled the land in about 3000 B.C. The Canaanites were followed by the Phoenicians, who moved into the region in about 2500 B.C (Goldstein, 2005: 4). From their cities along the Mediterranean seacoast, the Phoenicians became a great trading people. The Phoenicians also were the one who have developed a writing system which had been the basis for the modern Roman alphabet. But due to lack of centralized government or a strong leader, the country had been vulnerable to foreign conquerors. As a result, the area that would become Lebanon was conquered first by the Egyptians, followed by the Greeks, Arabs, Christians, and several other foreign powers. Lebanon just finally won its independence in the mid 20th century. Right after their declaration of independence, the new nation faced many struggles including the faction of religion between Muslims and Christians wherein these groups held contrasting cultural and political views (Goldstein, 2005: 5). Christians had ties with the United States and other Western nations, whereas Muslims sided with the Middle East in which the conflict between these two groups had lead to several chaotic events and one of these would be the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah Conflict.
History of the Conflict The conflict stated earlier is between Israel and two (2) U.S. State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), the Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and the radical Palestinian Hamas Organization. The localized conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip which happened on July 12, 2006 has instantly became
Introduction The Republic of Lebanon is a small Middle Eastern nation on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It became an independent republic in 1943, but its history is thousands of years older. Historians have found evidence that people lived in the region in pre-historic times. Lebanon’s earliest known inhabitants, the Canaanites, settled the land in about 3000 B.C. The Canaanites were followed by the Phoenicians, who moved into the region in about 2500 B.C (Goldstein, 2005: 4). From their cities along the Mediterranean seacoast, the Phoenicians became a great trading people. The Phoenicians also were the one who have developed a writing system which had been the basis for the modern Roman alphabet. But due to lack of centralized government or a strong leader, the country had been vulnerable to foreign conquerors. As a result, the area that would become Lebanon was conquered first by the Egyptians, followed by the Greeks, Arabs, Christians, and several other foreign powers. Lebanon just finally won its independence in the mid 20th century. Right after their declaration of independence, the new nation faced many struggles including the faction of religion between Muslims and Christians wherein these groups held contrasting cultural and political views (Goldstein, 2005: 5). Christians had ties with the United States and other Western nations, whereas Muslims sided with the Middle East in which the conflict between these two groups had lead to several chaotic events and one of these would be the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah Conflict.
History of the Conflict The conflict stated earlier is between Israel and two (2) U.S. State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), the Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and the radical Palestinian Hamas Organization. The localized conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip which happened on July 12, 2006 has instantly became
Bibliography: Goldstein, M. J. (2005). Lebanon in Pictures. Twenty-First Century Books Sharp, J. M., et. al. (2006). CRS Report for Congress. Lebanon: The Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah conflict. UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.