Hezbollah political activities
Along with the Amal Movement, Hezbollah is one of the two main parties representing the Shia community, Lebanon's largest religious bloc.
Amal has made a commitment to carrying out its activities through political means, but remains a partial fighting force aiding Hezbollah when the need arises.
[9][10] Although Hezbollah joined the 2005 government, reportedly in exchange for assurances regarding its military apparatus, it has remained staunchly opposed to the March 14 coalition's hegemonic ambitions.
In February 2006, after weeks of committee-level negotiations, Michel Aoun and Hassan Nasrallah signed a memorandum of understanding that called for a broad range of reforms, from guaranteeing equal media access for candidates to allowing expatriate voting, that would level the slanted political playing field underlying the Hariri-Jumblatt coalition's grip on power.
"[13] The five Shi’ite members of the cabinet resigned on 11 November 2006 because of Siniora's agreement to the UN draft plan for the formation of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to investigate the assassination of Rafik Hariri, who was killed on 14 February 2005.
[14] The Special Tribunal, along with an independent investigation carried out by Lebanese brigadier general Wissam Al-Hassan, found compelling evidence for the responsibility of Hezbollah in the assassination.
[15][16][17] On 1 December 2006,[18] hundreds of thousands of demonstrators amassed peacefully in downtown Beirut,[19] a day after Hassan Nasrallah in a televised address had called on people from "different regions, thoughts, beliefs, religions, ideologies and different traditions" to take part[20] "for the formation of a National Unity government", because they "want to preserve Lebanon's independence and its sovereignty, prevent Lebanon from falling under any foreign tutelage, to strengthen the foundations of security, stability and civil peace, to cooperate in addressing the suffocating social and economic crisis, to address the political crises through true representation of all Lebanese movements and groups, to give real participation in the country's administration and to deal with various crises and face various existing challenges local, regional and international",[21] Police estimated the crowd to number approximately 800,000, while Hezbollah claimed it was larger.
[19] By nighttime, several thousand protestors remained to begin a sit-in, setting up tents and vowing to not leave until Prime Minister Fouad Siniora resigns.
[24] The Taif Agreement signed in October 1989 to end of the Lebanese civil war, besides other things, called for the disarmament of all national and non-national militias.
Hezbollah was allowed to stay armed in its capacity as a "resistance force" rather than a militia, fighting Israel in the south, a privilege obtained – according to the Swedish academic Magnus Ranstorp – in part by using its leverage as holder of a number of Western hostages.
"[28] As at October 2019, Hezbollah has still not disarmed or disbanded its militias nor has the Lebanese army deployed to south Lebanon, on the border with Israel.
