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France—A Safe Haven for Hezbollah’s Illicit Activity

Uncovering Hezbollah’s Activity in France through Social Media Analysis


By Daniel Cohen, Daniel Citrinowicz



This report details how Hezbollah uses France as a safe haven for finance, radicalization,

and recruitment processes for terror activity. Hezbollah has established a broad financial

management system across the globe to finance its activities. This system extensively

involves drug trafficking, money laundering, weapons trade, and other criminal activities.

It also includes fundraising through straw associations, mosques, and centers and through

active recruitment of individuals within Shi’ite communities around the world, particularly

in Europe. This report provides open-source information that can assist authorities in

taking action against Hezbollah’s capabilities to conduct illicit transnational activities, using

Europe as a point of transit.

The research presented in this report applied innovative social media intelligence (SOCMINT)

tools to locate and track Hezbollah operatives and supporters in Europe, specifically in

France—one of the central hubs of the organization in Europe. Through a detailed analysis

of selected case studies, the report examines three areas of Hezbollah activity in France:

financing terrorism, radicalization, and recruitment. Its objective is to expose the existence

of such extremist networks on French soil and the people who run them and, in so doing,

to demonstrate the advantages and potential contributions of SOCMINT tools in fighting

extremism and terrorism.

Read the full report (PDF):




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