TV / DocFilm
Lebanon - A country held hostage
In Lebanon, Hezbollah now controls broad areas of political and social life. It has become a state within a state. How can the "Party of God" be confronted?
Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3Vbm8
In Lebanon, no important political decisions are taken any more without Hezbollah, the Shiite "party of God". Since the end of the civil war in 1990, multi-ethnic and multi-religious Lebanon has been exposed to growing political divisions. Supported and financed by Iran, Hezbollah now threatens to destabilize the country and the region. As a political party, Hezbollah holds two cabinet positions in the government. The Sunni Prime Minister Saad Hariri is dependent on the goodwill of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's Secretary General − not least because Hezbollah's militia is far stronger than the Lebanese army. In his impressive speeches, Nasrallah threatens not only Israel, but also the US. Israel sees Hezbollah as the extended arm of its arch enemy Iran. A renewed war between Hezbollah and Israel would raze Lebanon to the ground and also cause considerable damage in Israel. Tensions between the US and Iran increase the risk of conflict. This film shows how Hezbollah has skillfully increased its power in recent years and developed into a state within a state. But there is growing resistance. Civil society forces are trying to overcome religious conflicts and use democratic means to break new ground.
Duration 42:36 mins.
Homepage DocFilm -
All videos DocFilm
Related Subjects Fatah, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Israel, Iran
Keywords documentary, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Shiite, Iran, USA, Israel, Middle East
More in the Media Center
The significance of the Golan heights 26.03.2019
Hezbollah, Lebanon's Iran-backed paramilitary organization 08.05.2018
Battle of Social Networks 13.01.2020
1979 - The Big Bang that created today's world (2) 09.01.2020
More from DocFilm
Sudan - A TV show for start-ups 18.01.2020
Displaced: Oil and Ruin - The Venezuelan Exodus 17.01.2020
Pioneers of the skies 17.01.2020
Violinist Gidon Kremer - Finding his own way 16.01.2020
Pro-Iranian militias: How autonomous are they? 16.01.2020
Iran has built up of a network of allied militias across the Arab world over decades. In case of an open conflict with the United States, they might fight as its proxies. So far, they have been loyal to Tehran.
Israel-Iran conflict to be major Middle East issue in 2020 02.01.2020
Neither Iran or Israel may seek war. But a diplomatic breakdown after the US pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, strategic errors and a military buildup make a direct conflict — even an inadvertent one — more likely.
US, Iran on precipice of unpredictable Middle East war 03.01.2020
The US killing of Iran's Qassem Soleimani could be seen as an act of war with untold consequences. The question is how, when and where Iran will strike back — and whether that triggers a wider conflagration.
Opinion: Trump risking war in the Middle East 03.01.2020
By killing Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, US President Donald Trump risks sparking an uncontrollable wave of violence. He is also weakening pro-democracy forces in Iran and the wider region, says DW's Rainer Sollich.