In every conflict, adversaries find themselves on the opposite sides of barricades, each holding a subjective image of the enemy. Most scholarship on the development of an “enemy image” tends to deal with states rather than non-state actors. This research offers a study of how a non-state actor gradually shapes its “enemy image” as an integral part of a long-term conflict with a state. This question will be explored by the analysis of Hizballah's warfare against Israel in South Lebanon during the 1990s. This conflict provides an ideal case study because of its multi-dimensional nature, including ethnic, religious, national, and territorial, elements, as well as the involvement of forces that served as proxies of other power. It reveals new insights for of how an enemy image is formulated by non-state actors, as well as new historical insight into the Hizballah-Israeli conflict.

This research aims to explore how Hizballah interpreted and analyzed the Israeli leadership and Israeli society’s opinions, beliefs, and resilience regarding the prolonged fighting in Lebanon in the 1990s. It will analyze how over that period, Hizballah has collected information from various sources, mostly open-source materials, dealing with both military and civilian characteristics of Israel. These include the Israeli political system and trends in Israeli society and public opinion. Hizballah observed how Israeli society’s belief in the justice of the IDF presence in southern Lebanon gradually eroded. Furthermore, it will explore how Hizballah's enemy image of the Israeli society affected its strategy, operational activity, and its psychological warfare efforts.