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| Terrorism and Internet: Hezbollah’s widespread use of the Internet as a means to distribute anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish, and anti-American incitement as part of the war for the hearts and minds (as at December 3, 2006) |
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 Hezbollah's leading websites: an important means in the war for the hearts and minds, used by Hezbollah itself and by the Islamic regime in Tehran to reach diverse audiences world |
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Overview |
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1. As part of the war for the hearts and minds waged by Hezbollah, the organization, similarly to Hamas, makes extensive use of the Internet. After the second Lebanon war (in which many of Hezbollah's websites crashed or were shut down), the organization rebuilt and even upgraded its Internet infrastructure, adding new, heretofore non-existent websites. Compared to the websites run by Hezbollah before the war, the new websites show a marked improvement both technology-wise and in terms of their update frequency. 2. Hezbollah's network of Internet websites is run on the basis of a uniform propaganda strategy that serves the anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish, and anti-American incitement campaign waged by Hezbollah and its sponsor, the Iranian regime. The major themes on the organization's Internet websites are the personality cult of Hassan Nasrallah, glorification of terrorist attacks and suicide bombers, blatant anti-Israeli incitement and calls for the destruction of Israel , alongside vicious anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism. The criticism directed at the organization following the second Lebanon war compelled Hezbollah to make a propaganda effort to perpetuate the myth of “victory” over Israel and respond to internal critics. 3. The organization's target audiences are varied and include Lebanon and the Middle East (including Israel ) on one hand, and other countries in the world on the other (mostly Arab and Muslim populations in Western countries). The websites are published in a number of languages: Arabic (first priority), English (second priority), and other languages such as French, Spanish, and even Hebrew (third priority). 4. The scope and quality of Hezbollah's Internet infrastructure clearly exceed the capabilities of a terrorist organization, being one of the many forms of assistance the organization receives from Iran . In our assessment, the Iranian aid is reflected in allocating substantial sums of money necessary for the operation of Hezbollah's extensive, multilingual Internet infrastructure, as well as in the high quality and frequency of updates. In our assessment, Iran considers Hezbollah's Internet infrastructure to be yet another means for the dissemination of the Islamic regime's radical messages and ideology in Tehran , Lebanon , the Middle East , and the whole world. 1 The Iranian regime's fingerprints and echoes of its propaganda are clearly visible on some of the websites. 5. Hezbollah's leading Internet websites can be divided into five main groups: a. Group A: Hezbollah's leading news websites, including “Moqawama” (i.e., the Islamic resistance), “The Israeli Aggression on Lebanon ”, “Moqavemat” (i.e., the resistance, in Persian), “Shi'a Web”.
6. In addition to the above websites, there are also Hezbollah-associated websites in Spanish in South America (mostly in Venezuela ). While possessing unmistakable South American characteristics, these websites refer to themselves as Hezbollah, use the organization's symbols and terminology, and sympathize with its messages of violence and hatred. Among these websites are a Hezbollah website in Latin America, a Hezbollah blog in Latin America, a Hezbollah website in Venezuela , a Hezbollah blog in Caracas , Venezuela , another website in Venezuela named after the native Wayuu tribe, and a Hezbollah website in El Salvador (see below). 7. The Hezbollah websites use the following web hosting companies: 2
8. What follows are details on the websites and technical information on the companies which they use. |
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Examples of incitement against the US and President George Bush |
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Anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic incitement |
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Hezbollah's leading news websites |
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a. The “[Islamic] Resistance” website, www.moqawama.org |
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 The homepage of the website |
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1. The “[Islamic] Resistance” website is Hezbollah's leading news website. Its current address is www.moqawama.org. It can also be reached at www.moqawama.tv, www.ghaliboun.net, www.hizbollah.org, www.nasrollah.org, and www.hizbollah.tv. Previously, it could also be accessed at www.moqawama.info and www.moqawama.net. 2. The terminology used by the website for its domain names is a cornerstone in Hezbollah's worldview: the term “al-Moqawama” refers to active resistance to one's adversary or enemy—that is, by violence and terrorism; 3 the term “ghaliboun”, which appears in another address, means “victors” or “conquerors”, and is also a part of the Hezbollah slogan, taken from a verse in the Quran: “ Inna hizb allah humma al-ghaliboun ” — “The party of Allah is the party of the conquerors”. Other terms that appear in the domain names are Hizbollah (the organization's name, Arabic for “Party of Allah”), Nasrollah (Arabic for “victory of Allah”, also the name of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah). 3. The website is available in Arabic and in English, reflecting its main target audiences. The contents in both languages are more or less identical. The homepage of the website features the image of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The website publishes news focusing on Iran , Lebanon , and the Palestinians. Hezbollah's ideology clearly shows in the website's contents, which include anti-Israeli and anti-American messages. Since the second Lebanon war, the website focuses on perpetuating Hezbollah's “victory” in the war against Israel and nurtures the personality cult of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (by the use of his photographs and citations). 4. A sub-website accessible through this website is “The Israeli Aggression on Lebanon ” (www.moqawama.org/aggression/index.php). The website also has an English version. Recently opened, it features photographs of killed and wounded Lebanese children, with the purpose of nurturing hatred to Israel
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5. Following is technical information on the website:
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6. Following is technical information on the website's other addresses:
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b. The Moqavemat website (www.moqavemat.com) |
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 The homepage of the Moqavemat website. A photograph of Hassan Nasrallah appears in the title section, with Hezbollah gunmen nearby. The first link deals with “Jerusalem Day”, initiated by Iran , 4 and the second link deals with photographs from the Palestinian Authority-administered territories with blatant anti-Israeli messages. |
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1. Yet another news website, with unmistakable Iranian characteristics, is Moqavemat (Persian for “resistance”, the equivalent term for the Arabic “muqawama”). The address of the website is www.moqavemat.ir — a domain name registered in Iran . The website is also accessible at www.moqavemat.com. It has versions in four languages: Arabic, English, French, and Hebrew. The contents in the various languages are more or less identical. The top section of the first page features a photograph of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. 2. The website publishes news stories similar to those which appear on the Moqawama website. The articles are rife with blatant anti-American and anti-Israeli contents and pro-Iranian views. The title of the homepage reads (October 26, 2006): “The [Iranian] Revolution leader [i.e., Ali Khamenei] calls upon peoples of the region to unite against the schemes of America and the Zionist entity”. |
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 The Moqavemat website in its Hebrew version, which includes blatant anti-Semitic incitement. Judging by the multitude of grammar mistakes, it would seem that the website is translated using translation software. |
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3. Following is technical information on the website:
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c. The Shi'a Web website (www.shiaweb.org) |
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 The homepage of Shi'a Web |
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1. Shi'a Web (www.shiaweb.org) is a Hezbollah website combining religious Shi'ite themes and Hezbollah's political messages. The website contains a link to another internal website located at http://www.shiaweb.org/hizbulla/index.html. The website contains speeches made by Nasrallah (in audio format), as well as a link to a website named Somod (see details below). The website makes extensive use of photographs of Hassan Nasrallah and distributes anti-Semitic and anti-American messages.
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2. Following is technical information on the website:
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The websites of Hezbollah's media (television, radio, newspapers) |
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a. The Al-Manar TV website (www.manartv.com.lb) |
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 The homepage of the Al-Manar TV website (www.almanar.com.lb) |
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1. This is the website of Hezbollah's television channel, Al-Manar (“the lighthouse”), the flagship of Hezbollah's propaganda. The two addresses of the website are www.manartv.com.lb and www.almanar.com.lb. The website is available both in Arabic and in English. 2 . The website draws its information from the Al-Manar TV channel. Both the website and the television channel are permeated with anti-Israeli and anti-US incitement. The website's main areas of interest are Iraq , the Palestinian Authority-administered territories, and Lebanon .
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 The English-language homepage of the Al-Manar website (www.islamicdigest.net/almanar/start.php) |
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4. Following is technical information on the website:
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b. The Al-Nour radio website |
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 The homepage of the Al-Nour radio website: a relatively simple design with links to the station's daily news editions |
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1. The Al-Nour radio website is the Arabic-language website of Hezbollah's radio station. The station disseminates anti-Israeli and anti-US incitement. The themes of the station are similar to those that appear on the Al-Manar TV channel. The website offers the station's news editions in audio format. 2. Following is technical information on the website:
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c. The website of Hezbollah's publication Al-Intiqad (www.intiqadonline.com) |
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 The homepage of the Al-Intiqad website, with a photograph of Khomeini in the upper section and a photograph of Nasrallah in the middle of the headlines |
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1. The Al-Intiqad (Arabic for “criticizing”) newspaper is Hezbollah's main publication. The Internet addresses of the newspaper are www.intiqadonline.com, www.alintiqad.com, and www.alahed.org (another address, www.intiqad.net, is currently inactive). The website is available in Arabic and in English. 2. This is an important website, and it is updated in real-time. It contains news flashes, various channels (including the “Resistance” channel, the “Local Lebanese News” channel, the “ Palestine ” channel), and scanned copies of the Al-Intiqad newspaper in PDF format. The website disseminates messages of hatred against Israel and covers Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The website is also available in English. 3. Following is technical information on the website:
4 Following is technical information on the website's other address:
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Other Hezbollah news websites |
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a. The Wa'ad (“Promise”) website (http://www.wa3ad.org) |
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 The homepage of the website: photographs of Nasrallah adorn the page, with Hezbollah flags hoisted alongside the flags of Lebanon (thus Hezbollah attempts to identify itself with Lebanon ). |
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1. This is an important, up-to-date news website that recently became available. It only has an Arabic version. The choice of the name Wa'ad (“Promise”) is not accidental. It is a widely-used term in the organization's terminology, referring to a Quran verse 6 that contains what modern Islamic scholars view as Allah's promise to destroy the State of Israel . Another expression espoused by Hezbollah is “the divine promise” ( al-wa'ad al-alihi )—a promise that Islam will succeed and persevere. 7 2 . The themes of the Wa'ad website are reminiscent of those found on the Al-Intiqad website. The website has a channel that monitors the Israeli press, titled “Enemy Press”, and another channel titled “History of Zionism”, presenting the history of Israel from Hezbollah's hostile viewpoint in order to inspire hatred against Israel and the West. The upper section of the homepage as well as many articles feature photographs of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as part of nurturing his personality cult.
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3. Following is technical information on the website:
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b. The Islamic Digest website (www.islamicdigest.net) |
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 The homepage of Islamic Digest |
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1. Islamic Digest is an English-language website that aims to deliver Hezbollah's messages to Western countries and to Arab/Muslim communities residing therein. The website contains news, Islamic sermons, photographs, message boards, links to the organization's websites, and incitement videos against US President George Bush. The website is available only in English. Its address is www.islamicdigest.net. 2. Following is technical information on the website:
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c. The Somod (“Firm Stand”) website (www.somod.org) |
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 The homepage of the website. The title of the main article: “Zionist speech by Saad al-Hariri [the son of Hezbollah opponent Rafik al-Hariri]”. The use of the phrase “Zionist speech” is meant to de-legitimize Hezbollah's opponents by associating them with “the Zionists”. The photograph of Hassan Nasrallah is featured in the upper section of the homepage as part of his personality cult. |
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1. Somod is a Hezbollah news site that is only available in Arabic. Like Wa'ad, the website went online after the second Lebanon war. The Arabic (properly transliterated) term sumud refers to a firm stand or perseverance, a constituent of the concept of “resistance” — the willingness to hold fast in face of difficulties. It is mainly used within the context of “occupation” (that is, to display staying power against the pressure exerted by Israel and the West). 2. The website provides regular news updates in like manner to Hezbollah's other news websites. It contains a news channel dedicated to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
3. Following is technical information on the website:
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Locally-oriented Internet websites |
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Overview |
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1. Hezbollah has several Arabic-language websites of towns and villages in south Lebanon , many of them of recent origin. Their purpose is to strengthen the bond between Hezbollah and important towns in south Lebanon , and to nurture the image of martyrs originating from those towns as role models. This bond became all the more important following the second Lebanon war, due to the massive destruction caused to population centers in south Lebanon which housed Hezbollah's military infrastructure 8 and due to the criticism the organization took because of that. 2. Following are the main characteristics of these websites. 1. The website of the town of Bint Jbeil (www.bintjbeil.com) 3. Relatively old, it boasts more content than all other Hezbollah's local websites. The website has highly active message boards, and it is available both in Arabic and in English. 9 It is fairly up-to-date, and it includes Hezbollah-oriented news such as praise of the “resistance” and of shahids. The website has a channel dedicated to Hezbollah's shahids and photographs from the town of Bint Jbeil .
4. Following is technical information on the website:
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2. The website of the town of Taybeh (www.altaybeh.net) |
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5. A new website, it praises Hezbollah's shahids originating from the town.
6. Following is technical information on the website:
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3. The website of the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr |
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7. The articles and photographs on the website address the destruction caused by Israel to the town during the second Lebanon war. On at least some of the photographs, one can make out Hezbollah flags raised over the destroyed buildings. The website has links to other Hezbollah websites.
8. Following is technical information on the website:
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4. The website of the town of Houla (www.houla.org) |
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9. The website praises the value of “resistance” (i.e., violence and terrorism) and Hezbollah shahids originating from the town, and nurtures hatred against Israel .
10. Following is technical information on the website:
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Websites of Hezbollah's social organizations and |
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a. The Shahid's Institution (Mu'assasat al-Shahid) website, currently inactive (http://www.alshahid.org) |
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1. This website belongs to the Shahid's Institution (Mu'assasat al-Shahid), a Hezbollah institution involved in providing assistance to families of killed Hezbollah operatives. The website commemorates the organization's shahids—including photographs and biographies—and details the activities of the Shahid's Institution for the families of Hezbollah's shahids. The website praises the organization's shahids and their activities.
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b. The Imam al-Mahdi Scouts website, Kashafat al-Imam al-Mahdi |
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2. A presently inactive website, it was dedicated to the Hezbollah's youth movement: Kashafat al-Imam al-Mahdi” (the Imam al-Mahdi Scouts). 10 |
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c. The Jihad al-Binaa website (www.jihadalbinaa.org, presently inactive) |
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3. This is the website of a Hezbollah socio-economic organization currently involved in rebuilding post-war Lebanon . Jihad al-Binaa (“the jihad of building”) is a term coined by Ayatollah Khomeini, signifying a social reform for Muslims that constitutes a holy war in its own right. The website is recently inactive. |
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2. This is a website advocating the release of the murderer Samir al-Kuntar, a major issue on Hezbollah's list of demands. A Druze from Mount Lebanon and a notorious member of the Palestinian Liberation Front (a pro-Iraqi terrorist organization), he was sentenced to a long term of imprisonment in Israel for his participation in a terrorist attack in Nahariya. 11Israel had refused to release Al-Kuntar during negotiations with Hezbollah. Hezbollah, referring to Al-Kuntar as “the most high-ranking Lebanese prisoner in Israeli prisons”, has turned him into the symbol of the struggle for the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel . The organization claims that Al-Kuntar's release justifies the abduction of Israeli soldiers and civilians as bargaining chips. 3. The website has versions in Arabic, English, French, and Hebrew. It calls for the release of Samir al-Kuntar and portrays him as a hero. All the website's themes pertain to Al-Kuntar's release, and its ideology and messages match Hezbollah's anti-Israeli and anti-American rhetoric. The Hebrew version contains an interview with Al-Kuntar casting him in a human light and showing him grieving the death of the girl he had killed. The website is presently inactive. |
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Hezbollah-associated (or sympathetic) websites in South America |
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Overview |
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1. Following are Spanish-language websites in South America , of South American character, not necessarily belonging to Hezbollah. However, these websites identify themselves as Hezbollah's, use the organization's symbols and terminology, and sympathize with its messages of violence and hatred. It is possible that (Shi'ite) Lebanese who immigrated to South America are involved in at least some of these websites. |
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1. http://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/Hezboallah_latino |
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2. A Hezbollah-associated website in Latin America , it contains news in Spanish.
3. Following is technical information on the website:
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2. A website in Venezuela titled |
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 From the Hezbollah website in Venezuela : a masked gunman holding an explosive charge with a stop watch, with the Hezbollah caption and symbol in the background |
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4. This is a Spanish-language website dedicated to Hezbollah. It includes articles and photographs inciting to violence. 5. There exists an organization in Venezuela calling itself Hezbollah Venezuela, led by “Teodoro Rafael Darnott”. The organization, advocating social change in Venezuela , looks upon Hezbollah as its role model. The organization claims to possess “jihad warriors” ( mujahedin ) willing to die for the organization's goals (source: El Nacional, a newspaper published in Caracas , available online at www.El-Nacional.com). 6. Ali Fayad, a member of the Hezbollah Political Bureau and director of the Research and Documentation Center , gave the website an interview on the happenings in Lebanon (July 25, 2006). Ali Fayad may be a sort of Hezbollah contact to these sites (see below). 7. Following is technical information on the website:
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3. A Hezbollah blog in Caracas , Venezuela |
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8. The blog is built as a website and is available only in Spanish. The sponsor is a blog website from Argentina : http://bloggy.com.ar.
3. Following is technical information on the website:
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4. Another Hezbollah website in Venezuela : http://groups.msn.com/autonomiaislamicawayuu |
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10. The website was originally designed to disseminate Islamic ideology under the slogan “political activity is a religious duty”. The website is named after a native tribe, Wayuu, residing on the Columbian-Venezuelan border, where many former Lebanese Shi'ites live. 11. An active participant in the website is the leader of Hezbollah in Venezuela , Teodoro Rafael Darnott, who uses it to detail Hezbollah's strategy in Venezuela . Yet another active participant is Ali Fayad, a member of the Hezbollah Political Bureau and director of the organization's Research and Documentation Center . He regularly updates the website on happenings in Lebanon .
12. Following is technical information on the website:
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5. The Hezbollah website in El Salvador : |
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13. The website shares a similar format with the Venezuelan website, and it is also available only in Spanish.
14. Following is technical information on the website:
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6. A Hezbollah blog in Latin America : |
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15. This is a Spanish-language blog that contains photographs inciting to violence. The sponsor is a Spanish blog website: http://www.blogspot.es.
16. Following is technical information on the website:
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1 At the same time, Iran censors and blocks access to external websites it does not approve of, such as YouTube.com (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press, December 5, 2006). 2 According to the Hagana and whois websites, as at November 21, 2006. 3 Hezbollah often refers to itself as “Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya fi Lubnan” — the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon . 4 Within this context, see Information Bulletin titled “The hate industry: At Jerusalem Day, initiated by Iran and celebrated in the Arab-Muslim world and in London , calls were heard for the elimination of Israel . Prominent was Ahmadinejad's statement about the end of the “Zionist regime,” accompanied by a warning to the West that Middle East would produce a “hurricane” (November 6, 2006). 5 Within this context, see Information Bulletin published by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center : “Another limitation placed by the international community on broadcasts emanating from Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV station” (March 29, 2006). 6 Sura 17, Al-Isra' (“The Night Journey”). 7 Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah makes frequent use of this term. Thus, for example, speaking on Al-Manar on May 7, 1998, Nasrallah declared: “The hope grows stronger that the divine promise to destroy this cancer [i.e., Israel ] will finally be fulfilled.” Another related term is “ al-wa'ad al-sadeq ” (“the real promise [that was fulfilled]”), a term popularized by Hezbollah to refer to the abduction of the two Israeli soldiers, the incident which triggered the second Lebanon war. Yet another use of the term “promise” is to refer to Hezbollah's commitment to release Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners. 8 The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center has recently published on its website a comprehensive study on the use of Lebanese civilians as a human shield. 9 Many Lebanese originally from the town of Bint Jbeil reside in the United States . 10 Within this context, see “Hezbollah's Shi'ite youth movement, “The Imam al-Mahdi Scouts,” has tens of thousands of members. According to captured documents, they are indoctrinated with the principles of radical Iranian Islam. That indoctrination includes the personality cult of Iranian leader ‘Ali Khamenei and Hezbollah's “battle legacy;” national Lebanese symbols are minimized” (September 11, 2006). 11 The terrorist attack was perpetrated on April 22, 1979, by a squad headed by Samir al-Kuntar that reached Nahariya by sea. Three members of the Haran family and officer Eliyahu Shachar were killed in the attack. Samir al-Kuntar killed the four-year-old daughter of Dani and Smadar Haran with his bare hands. |
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