2009-12-16T05:11:14Z

Emba: /* Roman Catholicism */

'''Capital punishment''', also known as the death penalty, refers to the custom of executing prisoners who are convicted of certain crimes. Such crimes are known as capital [[crime]]s, and tend to be grave crimes against persons or governments (such as [[premeditation|premeditated]] [[murder]], [[rape]] or [[treason]]).

== In the world today ==
Of the main developed countries, only the [[United States]] and [[Japan]] use formalized capital punishment, though many developed countries give law enforcement greater authority to kill than allowed by the [[United States]]. For emerging countries, [[China]] uses the death penalty and in the non-developed world it is practiced in most [[Sharia]] states (those whose legal systems are based on [[Muslim]] legal philosophy), as well as many others.<ref name="EU">EU: [http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/deathpenalty/EurHRConvProt13Decl.htm Concerning the Abolition of the Death Penalty in all Circumstances]</ref><ref>Encarta: [http://encarta.msn.com/media_461543496/Capital_Punishment_Worldwide.html Capital Punishment Worldwide]</ref>

According to officially released governmental figures, the [[human rights]] organization [[Amnesty International]] estimates that [[Singapore]] has the highest execution rate in the world, at 13.65 hangings per 1,000,000 residents. [[Saudi Arabia]] has the second-highest rate, at 4.65 per 1,000,000.

Based on 2004 figures, China is the world leader in total number of executions with an estimated 3,400. Following China is [[Iran]] with 159 and [[Vietnam]] with an estimated 64 executions. The [[United States]] executed the 5th greatest number of people in the world with a total of 52. <ref>''The Economist Pocket World in Figures 2008 Edition'' 2007, p. 99. London: Profile Books. ISBN 978-1846680908</ref>

=== United States ===
Capital punishment in the United States is handled on a state-by-state basis; twelve states' laws do not allow for executions at all. Capital punishment is also used by the federal government and the military.

[[Pennsylvania]] has hundreds of people on [[death row]], though only three inmates have been executed since the reinstatement of capital punishment laws, and all three essentially "volunteered" by dropping their appeals. In [[Texas]], one man has been on death row for 31 years.<ref>http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-deathrow28jan28,1,1271967.story?coll=la-headlines-nation</ref>
Appeals and stays of execution can create a backlog on death rows in many states.

Though the United States suspended the death penalty in 1973, it was reinstated in 1977. 65% of Americans believe putting someone to death for a crime is acceptable, according to a recent poll. But respondents were close to evenly split on whether they would prefer the death penalty (50%) to mandatory life in prison (46%). The death penalty is most favored by age 30+ males who are [[Caucasian]] and [[Republican]].<ref>ABC News/Washington Post poll: [http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/1015a3DeathPenalty.pdf Death Penalty]</ref>

Capital punishment for federal crimes began in 1988.<ref>http://www.justice.gov/dag/pubdoc/deathpenaltystudy.htm</ref>

Some studies conducted since the start of the new millennium have consistently shown a deterrence factor in the United States based on use of the death penalty. It has been calculated that each person executed saves the lives of anywhere from 3 to 18 innocent people.<ref>Studies: Death penalty discourages crime http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,280215,00.html</ref> Other studies have shown that as a whole, "death-penalty states" typically have higher murder rates than states that do not have capital punishment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?&did=1705#STATES%20WITH%20THE%20DEATH%20PENALTY%20V.%20STATES%20WITHOUT|format=HTML|work=Death Penalty Information Center|language=English|title=Deterrence|accessdate=2007-08-21}}</ref>

===Morality===

Some have questioned how a nation such as the United States that largely identifies itself as [[Christian]] (76.5%) could have 65% of Americans believing putting someone to death for a crime is acceptable<ref>http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm</ref> They question whether or not the [[Bible]] allows such a view.<ref>http://www.itsyourtimes.com/?q=node/3524</ref>. The 6th Commandment is sometimes translated as, "Thou shalt not kill." This translation suggests that executions are a sin. The 6th Commandment is also sometimes translated as, "Thou shalt commit no murder." As murder is defined as "wrongful killing", when following that translation it is possible to argue whether or not judicial executions are murder.

==== Methods in the United States ====

[[Lethal injection]] is the official method of capital punishment in almost all of the 38 states that have the death penalty. A few states allow for other methods in some circumstances. Several botched electrocutions in [[Florida]] in the 1990s have effectively put an end to the era of the [[electric chair]], which was the most common means of execution in the United States before 1972. In addition to these two methods of execution, lethal gas, hanging, and shooting have all been used at least twice since 1977. Both [[firing squad]]s were conducted in [[Utah]], most recently in 1996. The three hangings took place in [[Washington]] and [[Delaware]], most recently Billy Bailey's 1996 hanging in Delaware. The [[gas chamber]], which has been abandoned because it has been found to normally lead to slow death, has been used in [[California]], [[Arizona]], [[Nevada]], [[Mississippi]], and [[North Carolina]] since 1977. Walter LeGrand's 1999 execution in Arizona's gas chamber will almost certainly be the last of this type.

===France===
The United States has never used the [[guillotine]], which was very popular in [[France]]. The last use of the guillotine in France was in 1977. Thereafter, capital punishment in France was abolished, in 1981.

===Canada===
[[Canada]] does not employ capital punishment, and it has not been a possible sentence in Canadian civilian courts since 1976.

Canada long employed capital punishment as a punishment for [[murder]] or [[treason]], typically executing prisoners by [[long drop hanging|long drop]] [[hanging]] in the case of civilians, and by [[firing squad]] in the case of soldiers or other military. (In particular, 25 soldiers were executed for various crimes during [[World War I]].) Canada had several notorious executioners, particularly [[Arthur B. English]], also known as "Arthur Ellis", after whom [[Arthur Ellis Awards|a Canadian literary award]] for mystery writing is named.

While Canada's use of capital punishment was inherited from the legal system of the [[United Kingdom]], opposition to capital punishment began to arise in the late 1950s, and came to a head in 1959, when [[Steven Truscott]], a 14-year-old boy, was convicted of murder, with a recommendation from the [[jury]] for mercy. The judge passed down a sentence of execution by hanging, then the only legal punishment for murder in Canada.

While Truscott's death sentence would later be commuted in 1960, his case galvanized public opinion, and in 1961 Canada reclassified capital murder, defining it as a murder that involved [[premeditation]], murder during the commission of a violent crime, or the murder of a [[police officer]] or [[prison guard]]. This marked the beginning of the decline of capital punishment in Canada, as the last executions would be in [[December]], 1962. The government of Canada routinely [[commutation|commuted]] any death sentence passed thereafter (indeed, the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] made opposition to capital punishment a part of their [[platform (politics)|platform]]).

In 1976, this [[de facto]] state of affairs became law, when the [[Parliament (Canada)|Canadian Parliament]] abolished the use of capital punishment under the [[Criminal Code (Canada)|Criminal Code]]. Executions were still permitted under the [[National Defense Act (Canada)|National Defense Act]] until 1998, when they were similarly abolished.

Currently, Canada's [[Supreme Court of Canada|Supreme Court]] does not allow the [[extradition]] of criminals who may be executed for their crimes.

===Saudi Arabia===
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery are executed in public with a sword. As of November 25, 2007, Saudi Arabia has beheaded 136 people, 38 people in 2006 and 83 people in 2005. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312768,00.html Saudi Arabia Marks 136th Beheading of 2007], Associated Press, [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]], November 25, 2007</ref>

===European Union===
The death penalty has been abolished in all 27 [[European Union]] member states, and 47 out of the 50 countries in [[Europe]] (only [[Belarus]] still practices it), and [[Russia]] has had an effective moratorium since 1996).<ref>http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ACT50/001/2007/en/ACT500012007en.html Document - List of abolitionist and retentionist countries (1 January 2007)</ref> The EU has long been against capital punishment, and campaigns for its abolition worldwide. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, legally adopted in the Treaty of Lisbon, bans execution in all member states, and abolition is a condition of acceding to the EU.<ref name="EU" /> EU law also bans detainee transfers in cases where the receiving party may seek the death penalty.

===North Korea===
The [[Associated Press]] has reported that executions and [[torture]] in [[North Korea]] are "worse than [[animal]] slaughter." "One inmate, Choe Kwang Ho, sneaked away from his work for 15 minutes to pick fruit. He was executed, his mouth stuffed with gravel to prevent him from protesting." "If a female inmate got pregnant, he said, she and her lover would be shot to death publicly. Then, An said, prison guards would cut open her womb, remove the fetus and bury it or feed it to guard dogs."<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,444672,00.html Executions, Torture in North Korea 'Worse Than Animal Slaughter'], Associated Press, ''Fox News'', October 29, 2008</ref>

==Religious views of capital punishment==
===Christianity===
==== Biblical View ====
The [[Old Testament]] of the [[Bible]] has several passages that recommend the death penalty for different offenses.

According to the Old Testament, these are the offenses which merit the [[death penalty]]:

# Worshiping a false god ([[Deuteronomy]] 13:6-10)
# Sacrificing to false gods ([[Exodus]] 22:20)
# Sacrificing children to Molech ([[Leviticus]] 20:2)
# [[Blasphemy]] (Leviticus 24:16)
# Desecrating the [[Sabbath]] (Exodus31:15)
# False [[Prophecy]] (Deuteronomy 13:5)
# [[Witchcraft]] (Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 20:27)
# Cursing Parents (Exodus 21:17)
# Rebellious Sons (Deuteronomy 21:18-21)
# Disobedience to judgments by authority established God (Deuteronomy 17:9-13)
# False witness in a capital crime (Deuteronomy 19:16-20)
# [[Murder]] ([[Exodus]] 21:12, 21:15)
# Negligent [[homicide]] Exodus 21:29)
# [[Homosexual]] intercourse ([[Leviticus 18]]:22, 20:13)
# Bestiality (Leviticus 20:15)
# [[Adultery]] (Leviticus 20:10; 19:20)
# Incest (Leviticus 20:11; from Moses onward: [[Genesis]] 19:33,35; 4:17)
# Sex with a woman betrothed to another (Deuteronomy 22:25)
# Un[[chastity]]; marriage under false pretense of virginity (Deuteronomy 22:21-24)
# Daughter of a priest becoming a prostitute (Leviticus 21:9)
# Kidnapping to sell into slavery (Exodus 21:16)
# Coveting and making a wicked thing one's possession (Deuteronomy 7:26; [[Joshua]] 7:15,25)

The term "put to death" or similar explicit terms are usually used in commands mandating capital punishment, though the term "cut off from his people" (Lev. 17:4, etc.) may also denote such,<ref>Dr. John Gill (1690-1771) on Lv. 17:4, 14</ref> and which would increase the number of capital offenses.<ref>http://peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org/TheDeathPenalty.html</ref>

Conditions necessary for true conviction:

"At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death." (Deuteronomy 17:6; cf. Exodus 20:16)

Requirements for Judges:

Lev 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

Few people support capital punishment for non-murder offenses, and a number of Christians oppose the death penalty in all cases. Apologist [[JP Holding]] argues that the Bible including the [[New Testament]] nowhere repudiates the use of capital punishment (by the State), but that it does not necessarily mandate its use, either. <ref>http://www.tektonics.org/af/cappun.html</ref>

In Acts 25:11, the [[apostle Paul]] stated, "...if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die", while Romans 13:1-5 states that God has ordained the just use of the sword by the government. (cf. 1 Pet. 2:14)

Some Christians who are opposed to the death penalty cite John 8:3-11, which describes how Christ saved an adulteress from death by stoning by challenging the crowd "let he who has not sinned cast the first stone", which they interpret as saying that man does not have the moral authority to condemn man to death. However, apart from the controversy regarding the canonical status of the passage, it is argued that Jesus is shown to be upholding the law<ref>http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4222897/k.64E4/John_8_is_a_Condemnation_of_Capital_Punishment.htm</ref>, while only stopping the execution of the women by hypocrites, who were themselves convicted of such sins, similar to or including adultery.<ref>John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible</ref><ref>John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible</ref> (cf. Matthew 7:5; Romans 2:1) Other Christians argue that the unjust execution of Jesus demonstrates that capital punishment is immoral, though Jesus is not seen opposing the legitimacy of capital punishment itself, and only the unjust use of such power. (Jn. 10:32; 18:23; Acts 25:11) Some Christians claim that the passage was a later addition to the Bible (see article: "[[Adulteress story]]") - if it was a later addition, this might not be an issue to those Christians who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible.

==== Roman Catholicism ====

The [[Catholic Church]] has historically supported capital punishment in many circumstances that range from combating heresy to saving lives of potential victims of crime. Traditionally, capital punishment has been endorsed by the Church for reasons beyond preventing additional wrongdoing by the same criminal.

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) explains the historical use by the Church and Catholic nations to executing heretics, and even cremating the remains of heretics, as a way of expunging evil:<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12565a.htm</ref>

:The nations of modern Europe, as they gradually developed, seemed to have agreed upon the necessity of extirpating all influences and agencies which tended to pervert the faith of the people, or which seemed to them to betray the potency of evil spirits. Therefore, the laws of all these nations provided for the destruction of contumacious unbelievers, teachers of heresy, witches, and sorcerers, by fire.

In recent decades, however, officials within the Catholic Church have taken differing stances on the death penalty.

The renowned Modern Catholic Dictionary (1980) by John A. Hardon, S.J., which was given the "imprimatur" (official endorsement) by Joseph T. O'Keefe, Vicar General, Archdiocese of New York (Dec. 13, 1979), describes the Catholic position of capital punishment as follows:

:It is certain from Scripture that civil authorities may lawfully put malefactors to death. ... Christian dispensation made no essential change [to the Old Testament endorsement of the death penalty], as St. Paul expressly says .... [citing Romans 13:4]. Among the errors of the Waldenses condemned by the Church in the early thirteenth century was the proposition that denied the lawfulness of capital punishment (Argentre, ''Collectio de Novis Erroribus'', I, 86). St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) defends capital punishment on the grounds of the common good. ... If even with capital punishment crime abounds, no lesser penalty will suffice. The practice question remains of how effective a deterrent capital punishment is in some modern states, when rarely used or only after long delays. In principle, however, it is morally licit because in the most serious crimes the claims of retribution and deterrence are so demanding that the corrective value of punishment must, if necessary, be sacrificed.

The current official Catholic teaching, as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, reads as follows:

:If, instead, bloodless means are sufficient to defend against the aggressor and to protect the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.

:Today, in fact, given the means at the State's disposal to effectively repress crime by rendering inoffensive the one who has committed it, without depriving him definitively of the possibility of redeeming himself, cases of absolute necessity for suppression of the offender "today ... are very rare, if not practically non-existent."<ref>[John Paul II, Evangelium vitae 56.]http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7Z.HTM</ref>

Other Catholic officials have gone further. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has "called for an end to the use of the death penalty for more than twenty-five years."<ref>http://www.usccb.org/deathpenalty/index.shtml</ref>

This surprising new position is at odds with the historic use by the Church of capital punishment to deal with heretics, and the cremation of the exhumed bodies of heretics. It may have simply reflected the late 20th century repudiation in Europe of all uses of capital punishment.

The Roman Catholic Church generally holds the position of a "Consistent Life Ethic." The Church teaches the protection of life for all humans, from conception to natural death. In line with their anti-capital punishment stance, the Church opposes abortion, euthanasia and usually war.

== Injustices Caused by Limits on Death Penalty ==

Increasingly arbitrary limits have been placed on use of the death penalty. One arbitrary prohibition established by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] on use of the death penalty is when the murder is committed by someone under the age of 18.<ref>''See [[Roper v. Simmons]]''.</ref> Prior to this Supreme Court ruling, states had statutory minimum ages (at the time of crime) for when the death penalty could be imposed.

The award-winning documentary ''The Thin Blue Line'' portrays the true story of the framing of an innocent drifter because the age of the real murderer was slightly below the legal minimum for imposing the death penalty. The crime was the heinous murder of a police officer during a routine traffic stop, and the outrage at the crime cried out for retribution with the death penalty. But the authorities were legally barred from executing the real murderer, and an adult drifter who was in the wrong place at the wrong time was convicted for it. He served years on death row before being released after the movie was widely seen.

== See also ==
*[[Culture of life]]
*[[Guillotine]]
*[[Hanging]]
*[[Lethal injection]]

==Further reading==
*[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55990 Christian sentenced to death for blasphemy], By Michael Ireland, ''WorldNetDaily,com'', June 2, 2007.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[category:political Terms]]
[[category:law]]
[[Category:Punishment]]

Hezbollah

2009-12-16T04:50:22Z

Emba:

[[Image:800px-Flag of Hezbollah svg.png|right|thumb|200px|Flag of Hezbollah.]]
'''Hezbollah''' (حزب الله, "Party of [[Allah]]"; sometimes spelled ''Hizbullah'', ''Hezbullah'', or ''Hezballah'') is a Shi'a [[Islam|Islamic]] [[terrorist]] organization based in [[Lebanon]].<ref>It has been declared a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Australia. See:
*[http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm United States Department of State]
*[http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/eng/documents/advisories/docs/entstld.txt Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada]
*[http://www.psepc.gc.ca/prg/ns/le/cle-en.asp Listed entities pursuant to the Anti-Terrorism Act (2001, c. 41)]
*[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2005/Summary+of+Terrorist+Activity+2004.htm Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5262484.stm BBC news]
*[http://www.minbuza.nl/nl/actueel/brievenparlement,2003/12/beantwoording_toezegging_inzake_de_positie_van_hezbollah.html The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
*[http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/agd/www/nationalsecurity.nsf/AllDocs/7986D1536C0FFD5FCA256FCD001BE859?OpenDocument Australian National Security]</ref> Founded in 1982, its primary goal is the elimination of the state of Israel. Its current Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, has publicly stated: "''if Jews all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.''"<ref>[http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/774649/posts ''The Daily Star'' (Beirut) October 23, 2002]</ref> In 2004, the organization's privately controlled TV broadcast station ''Al-Manar'' was banned in [[France]] for inciting racial hatred and [[Holocaust denial]].

Funded and armed by the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]], the group's first major terrorist attacks were the April 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in which 63 people were killed and the 1983 [[Beirut]] barracks bombing in which 241 American military personnel were killed. While Iran is still the major source of their funding, they also receive financial backing from [[South America]] and U.S. law enforcement officials estimate that smugglers of illegal cigarettes in the United States provide millions of dollars to the group.

Armed with rockets with ranges varying from 13 to 100 kilometers, the group subjects Israel to constant cross-border bombardment; this led to the 2006 [[2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict|Lebanon War]]. Hezbollah claims that its attacks are aimed at military bases inside Israel, but most of the attacks are actually directed at civilian areas and have hit pedestrians, hospitals, schools and private homes.<ref>[http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/08/05/lebano13921.htm ''Rocket Attacks on Civilians in Israel Are War Crimes''] 5 August 2006 "Israel/Lebanon: Hezbollah Must End Attacks on Civilians". Accessed 17 February 2008</ref>

In addition to their military operations, Hezbollah is a Lebanese political party. They hold 14 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliament and 11 of 30 seats in the nation's cabinet.<ref>[http://www.cfr.org/publication/9155 Hezbollah information from the Council on Foreign Relations] </ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17874369/ Hezbollah builds a Western base], From inside South America’s Tri-border area, Iran-linked militia targets U.S. By Pablo Gato and Robert Windrem, ''NBC News'', May 9, 2007. Retrieved from MSNBC.com June 4 2007.

==References==

<references/>
[[category:Political Parties]]
[[category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Lebanon]]

Hezbollah

2009-12-15T17:56:40Z

Emba:

[[Image:800px-Flag of Hezbollah svg.png|right|thumb|200px|Flag of Hezbollah.]]
'''Hezbollah''' (حزب الله, "Party of [[Allah]]"; sometimes spelled ''Hizbullah'', ''Hezbullah'', or ''Hezballah'') is a Shi'a [[Islam|Islamic]] [[terrorist]] organization based in [[Lebanon]].<ref>It has been declared a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Australia. See:
*[http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm United States Department of State]
*[http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/eng/documents/advisories/docs/entstld.txt Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada]
*[http://www.psepc.gc.ca/prg/ns/le/cle-en.asp Listed entities pursuant to the Anti-Terrorism Act (2001, c. 41)]
*[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2005/Summary+of+Terrorist+Activity+2004.htm Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5262484.stm BBC news]
*[http://www.minbuza.nl/nl/actueel/brievenparlement,2003/12/beantwoording_toezegging_inzake_de_positie_van_hezbollah.html The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
*[http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/agd/www/nationalsecurity.nsf/AllDocs/7986D1536C0FFD5FCA256FCD001BE859?OpenDocument Australian National Security]</ref> Founded in 1982, its primary goal is the elimination of the state of Israel. Its current Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, has publicly stated: "''if Jews all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.''"<ref>[http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/774649/posts ''The Daily Star'' (Beirut) October 23, 2002]</ref> In 2004, the organization's privately controlled TV broadcast station ''Al-Manar'' was banned in [[France]] for inciting racial hatred and [[Holocaust denial]].

Funded and armed by the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]], the group's first major terrorist attacks were the April 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in which 63 people were killed and the 1983 [[Beirut]] barracks bombing in which 241 American military personnel were killed. While Iran is still the major source of their funding, they also receive financial backing from [[South America]] and U.S. law enforcement officials estimate that smugglers of illegal cigarettes in the United States provide millions of dollars to the group.

Armed with rockets with ranges varying from 13 to 100 kilometers, the group subjects Israel to constant cross-border bombardment; this led to the 2006 [[2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict|Lebanon War]]. Hezbollah claims that its attacks are aimed at military bases inside Israel, but most of the attacks are actually directed at civilian areas and have hit pedestrians, hospitals, schools and private homes.<ref>[http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/08/05/lebano13921.htm ''Rocket Attacks on Civilians in Israel Are War Crimes''] 5 August 2006 "Israel/Lebanon: Hezbollah Must End Attacks on Civilians". Accessed 17 February 2008</ref>

In addition to their military operations, Hezbollah is a Lebanese political party. They hold 14 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliament and 11 of 30 seats in the nation's cabinet.<ref>[http://www.cfr.org/publication/9155]</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17874369/ Hezbollah builds a Western base], From inside South America’s Tri-border area, Iran-linked militia targets U.S. By Pablo Gato and Robert Windrem, ''NBC News'', May 9, 2007. Retrieved from MSNBC.com June 4 2007.

==References==

<references/>
[[category:Political Parties]]
[[category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Lebanon]]