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Has Hizbullah Changed? The 7th Hizbullah General Conference and Its Continued Ideology of Resistance
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) - Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira Some Western analysts believe the political manifesto published in the wake of Hizbullah's 7th General Conference at the end of November 2009 represented a fundamental change in Hizbullah policy. However, its link to Iran as the ultimate source of authority, which continues to serve as the movement's ideological basis, was not mentioned in this or any previous political manifesto. The decision of the Lebanese government to recognize the continued legitimate existence of Hizbullah's armed militia demonstrates less a case that Hizbullah underwent a process of "Lebanonization," but rather that the Lebanese state has undergone a process of "Hizbullazation." Hizbullah's alleged move toward pragmatism is based to a large extent on an Iranian decision to create a new atmosphere in Lebanon that will allow it to work unmolested. Iran is looking for strict silence in the Lebanese arena in order to enable Hizbullah to reconstruct its strategic capabilities (including long-range rockets and missiles) in Lebanon in order to make use of these capabilities at a time to be determined by Tehran.