WASHINGTON, July 20 (UPI) -- Logic states that Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group and Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite organization should in principle be exchanging fire -- as their co-religionists are doing in Iraq -- rather than ideas, as is the case in Lebanon. The oddity of this alliance is that Hamas is Sunni while Hezbollah is Shiite.
As Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue and Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite organization, pursues its rocket assault on Israeli cities, scholars have made comparisons linking Hamas with Hezbollah.
Israeli embassy officials in Washington said they have no doubt that Hamas is coordinating with Hezbollah on the Israeli attacks.
"It is clear that this is a multi-frontal attack on Israel on north and south by two genocidal organizations that coordinate timing and tactics," said David Siegel, counselor and press secretary at the Israeli Embassy.
Though Hamas is certainly in favor of the attacks against Israel, they have different short-term goals than Hezbollah. While Hezbollah is launching its attacks in northern Israel, Hamas is battling with Israelis on the Gaza Strip where 103 Palestinians have died.
"In this particular crisis, the two organizations both share the experience of being involved in a major conflict with Israel and the experience of trying to figure out how they can oppose Israel," Dr. John Voll, associate director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, told United Press International.
Hezbollah's attacks have strengthened the Palestinian's resolve and have impressed Hamas. Israel's direct and powerful attacks against Lebanon have killed over 300 people. In light of this increase in violence, it would seem that Palestinians would cling to Hamas, which has a stronger history of retaliation against Israel than Fatah, the former governing political party.
"It has reinforced the image in the mind of most Palestinians in Gaza that Israel's presence in the Gaza Strip is military and for military purposes, and the only way of defending themselves is through violence," Voll said.
Siegel said the governing Palestinian political party doesn't matter as long as that government complies with Israel's demands. Israel's demands for the Palestinian government are to renounce terror, recognize Israel's right to exist and accept previous bilateral solutions agreed upon with the Fatah government. But first Israel needs to also be prepared respond to the same demands it requires. As long as Israel is attacking Lebanon, their demands are void.
"It really it isn't about the organization," Siegel said. "It is about how the organization behaves; if they behave as a government or a terrorist organization."
But who are the terrorists? So far, there have been about 30 Israeli deaths. Israelis have attacked supplies trucks, Beirut International Airport and numerous southern villages.
The United States has designated Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organizations.
Both groups were established in the 1980s following significant Israeli attacks but were established by distinctly different parties who ironically work against each other in Iraq. Hezbollah grew out of the Lebanese Shiite community while Hamas is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
The groups act similarly as political parties within Israel and Lebanon. Both want adequate representation in their respective government. Although Hamas sympathizes with the plight of Muslims outside of Israel, their responsibility is to aid Palestinians in Israel.
Clearly Palestinian supporters and scholars believe that in order to achieve peace, the United States and the United Nations must acknowledge Hamas as a legitimate government. But convincing intermediary players is a difficult task considering Hamas' activities in the past decade. In 1996 Hamas carried out several bus bombings killing about 60 Israelis and was blamed for attacks in 1997, which killed 15 people.
But removing Hamas will not silence the party that has become so popular among Palestinians. If Hamas were removed from the Palestinian government, it could reinforce Hamas' commitment to violence because their other avenues have been silenced.
The same is true of Hezbollah. After al-Qaida, the group has been blamed for more deaths than any other terrorist organization, including suicide truck bombings that killed over 241 U.S. servicemen, most of them U.S. Marines in Beirut, the bombing of the Israeli Embassy that killed 29 and a Jewish community center, killing 95.
Israel is expectedly suspicious of these groups, as they seem to have gained, and not lost support in recent years. But Israel should work with these groups because their attempts to derail them seems to come at a heavy cost and push peace further back on the agenda than it already seems to be.
Amjad Atallah, president of the Strategic Assessment Initiative, said Israel is showing less resistance to Hamas than the Bush administration. At the same time he said Israel made a significant step forward when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert publicly announced that his goal is not to overthrow Hamas.
But Israelis remain wary of the political organization. Daniel Ayalon, Israeli ambassador to the United States, spoke at the National Press Club Thursday and referred to Hamas and Hezbollah as "terrorist groups" and reaffirmed Israel's commitment to stopping terrorist outfits.
Which is a fine goal, as long as Israel doesn't find itself adopting methods of collective punishment of the Lebanese and Palestinian populations. According to the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross, some of Israel's actions in Lebanon could be quantified as war crimes. In which case, Israeli military officers could face criminal charges in front of an international court of justice.