Arab Leaders, Unlike Much of Public, Uneasy About Hezbollah

The fact that Arab governments have not stepped in to end the assault, or even threatened to, has made their populations question why they spend so much on weapons, said Sulaiman al-Hattlan, editor in chief of Forbes Arabia. "Regional governments buy billions of dollars in weapons. Their people are now asking, what is all this military equipment for, is it just to keep their own populations in check?"

Political justifications for the fighting have failed to ease the anger about the destruction in Lebanon, Hattlan said.

"Iran could be using Hezbollah as a political tool, but to the man and woman on the street, watching the carnage in Lebanon on their television sets every night, that kind of political justification is not convincing to them," he said.

Though the United States, Israel and others have designated Hezbollah and Hamas, the militant Palestinian group, as terrorist organizations, many Arabs view them as the only Arabs willing to resist and engage Israel, a widespread view shrewdly exploited by Nasrallah, who has been in hiding since the strikes began.

In an al-Jazeera interview broadcast several times Thursday and Friday, Nasrallah, wearing glasses and a black turban, with a large yellow and green Hezbollah flag behind him, appeared calm and unruffled. Despite several attempts on his life and daily Israeli missile strikes on Hezbollah positions across Lebanon, Nasrallah smiled and laughed, and said his morale and that of his fighters was high.

Nasrallah said Hezbollah would not release the two Israeli soldiers except as part of a swap for Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails, and defined survival as victory for his group. He also described Hezbollah's role as the only viable counter to Israel.

"A defeat in Lebanon will end the region's resistance movements, the Palestinian cause and impose Israel's conditions for a settlement," he said. "A defeat for us is a defeat for the whole Muslim nation."

Saudi lawyer Bassem Alem said Hezbollah's popularity stemmed from its "ability and willingness to strike at Israel, which has been killing Palestinians and Lebanese and grabbing Arab land for decades with impunity." The war on Lebanon has "created a clear and undeniable schism between the Arab public and the region's rulers," he said.

Though Hezbollah's popularity in the Arab world has for the most part been widespread across borders and sects, in Saudi Arabia the response to the Shiite militia has been more nuanced.

A leading Saudi Wahhabi cleric, Abdullah bin Jibreen, this week issued a fatwa, or edict, saying it was a sin to support or pray for Hezbollah, which strict Wahhabis view as an infidel group because it is Shiite. Bin Jibreen, a member of Saudi Arabia's higher religious council, said that he viewed Hezbollah as an enemy doing bidding for Iran, and that through it Tehran was trying to extend its influence in the region.

Saudi writer Yousef al-Dayni said the reaction of most Saudis has been confused and blurred by the government's position on Hezbollah and bin Jibreen's fatwa. "Some activists and intellectuals want to follow the government line and blame Hezbollah. Some believe this is a war between Iran and Syria and Israel, through Hezbollah by proxy. Some have called for the support of Hezbollah, and others just want to support the Lebanese people," he said. "The extremists influenced by bin Jibreen's fatwa believe this is a fight between Jews and Shiites and the rest of us should not get involved."