Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

254 • HEZBOLLAHstate sponsor, Iran, with its Islamic fundamentalist and regional poweragenda, and its other sponsor, Syria, with its more secular Arab nationalistregime and agenda regarding Lebanon and Israel. Hassan Nasrallah,who had succeeded Abbas Musawi as Hezbollah leader after the latterwas killed by Israel in 1992, proved very adept at dealing pragmaticallyboth with non-Shi’ite Lebanese political actors and also with Syria.Nasrallah’s growing popularity within the Shi’ite community inLebanon following the 2006 victory over Israel and his unpredictabilityled Iran in December 2007 to order Nasrallah to withdraw frompublic appearances in favor of his deputy, Naim Qasim, to secureits control over the movement. For its part, Syria resented its loss ofcontrol over Lebanon and Hezbollah’s growing power within Lebanon.In addition, Syria was engaged in secret peace negotiations withIsrael through the mediation of France and Turkey and was anxiousto improve its standing with the United States, and so had other motivesto sacrifice Hezbollah.In April 2008 Syria began moving three army divisions to theborder with Lebanon near the Bekaa valley, ostensibly to prevent anIsraeli invasion but putting itself within striking distance of the Hezbollahmilitary complex in Baalbek. With the growing Syrian troopbuildup on the northern and eastern borders of Lebanon, Sheikh Nasrallahtook the unusual step of holding a meeting on 24 September2008 with Sa’ad al Hariri, a longtime enemy of Hezbollah but alsoan opponent of Syrian control over Lebanon. In early October 2008Syria had moved 10,000 troops to the northern border and a tank divisionto al Qaa, on the Lebanese border opposite the Bekaa valley.In the parliamentary elections of 7 June 2009, the pro-Western March14 Coalition, led by Sa’ad al Hariri, won 71 seats to the 57 seats wonby Hezbollah and its partners in the March 8 Coalition. The resultwas interpreted by many observers as a blow to Hezbollah, whichitself lost one seat while its coalition failed to gain seats.2. Hezbollah of Bahrain: purported Iranian-backed Islamic fundamentalistsubversive group in Bahrain. During 20–22 January 1996,riots and rampaging broke out in several Shi’ite villages, with threeautomobiles vandalized and 17 fires set. Officials arrested eightShi’ite leaders whom they accused of provoking antigovernmentriots at the instigation of a foreign power, unnamed but understoodto be Iran. On 19 February 1996 Bahraini officials stated that Shi’itedissidents suspected of bombings in Bahrain had confessed to havingbeen trained by Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia members in