July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Israel's bombing is fueling a dispute among Lebanon's factions over disarming Hezbollah, whose cross-border attack sparked the conflict.

``Hezbollah took two Israeli prisoners, and the result now is that 3.5 million Lebanese are being held hostage,'' Samir Franjieh, a Christian member of parliament, said in a telephone interview. ``It's the political path chosen by the Hezbollah and its allies that led to this situation.''

The outcome of the dispute may determine the future of Lebanon's government, currently a fragile coalition of those opposed to Syrian involvement in Lebanon and pro-Syrian groups led by Hezbollah. Hezbollah's right to bear arms has been the main bone of contention between the two groups.

Hezbollah was the only militia to keep its weapons after the 16-year civil war ended in 1990. Supported by Syria, Iran and most Lebanese, it fought Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon until it ended in 2000. The Israeli withdrawal and last year's departure of Syrian troops led to calls by anti-Syrian groups for Hezbollah to disarm, as provided for in a 2004 United Nations Security Council resolution.

Franjieh said the current fighting vindicates the need to implement the resolution, which also calls for the Lebanese government to expand its authority to the border area with Israel controlled by Hezbollah.

Rejecting Responsibility

Abdallah Kassir, a member of Hezbollah's Central Council, rejected responsibility for the devastation inflicted by Israel. The Israeli strikes have killed at least 300 people, mostly civilians, and destroyed major highways, bridges, airport runways, power stations and the Shiite militia's stronghold in the southern suburb of Beirut. Kassir said that Israel used the captured soldiers as an excuse to strike at the militia.

Israel says it is holding the Lebanese government responsible for Hezbollah's July 12 cross-border raid that led to the capture of its soldiers, and for the subsequent rocket attacks on its northern cities, in which 15 civilians have been killed. Fourteen Israeli soldiers have also died.

``This is about the government not having enough force in Lebanon,'' David Schenker, a senior researcher on Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said in a telephone interview. ``This will press the issue of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559.''

Disbanding and Disarmament

The U.N. resolution calls for the ``the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias'' and ``the extension of the control of the government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory.'' Israel has demanded its implementation as a condition for ending the conflict, along with the return of its soldiers and the cessation of rocket fire.

Israel's operations in Lebanon are its largest since 1982, when it invaded to remove a threat it said was posed by Palestinian militants based there.

Schenker said that while the initial feeling of most Lebanese may be resentment for Hezbollah, the longer the operation goes on, the more the hostility will be deflected to Israel.

``The people of Lebanon will be aware that Hezbollah started it, but that won't mean they will forgive Israel,'' he said.

Hassan Abbas, 51, a Shiite refugee who fled Beirut's southern suburb with his wife and two children, accused Israel of targeting the country's infrastructure to incite the population against the Hezbollah. The Shiites are the biggest of Lebanese 17 confessional groups and Hezbollah's main source of support.

`Reason to Unite'

``What everybody should know is that we are all suffering, the Shiites like the others, and this should be a reason to unite,'' he said. Abbas, who works in a bakery, is one of 650 people now living in the classrooms of the Zareef secondary public school of Beirut.

Hezbollah's supporters will argue that the group needs to hold on to its weapons because it is the only deterrent to Israeli action against Lebanon, said Nadim Shehadi, an analyst at Chatham House, a London foreign-policy institute.

``Guerrillas can confront any army better than a much weaker army can confront a highly superior army,'' he said. ``It will certainly make it more difficult to defend Resolution 1559, after what Israel did.''

The lack of U.S. intervention so far will magnify that view, he added. President George W. Bush said Israel has a right to defend itself and called on Syria and Iran to press Hezbollah to release the prisoners. The New York Sun, citing ``security sources,'' yesterday reported that ``hundreds'' of Iranian Revolutionary Guards are in Lebanon, fighting Israel.

Syria's Withdrawal

Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon in April 2005 after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri prompted mass demonstrations against their presence.

``Syria will ask a huge price,'' Shehadi said. ``The argument is, `You got me out of Lebanon and now you want me to control Hezbollah.'''

Walid Nakib, a lecturer on international relations and law at the Lebanese University in Beirut, disagrees with Shehadi, saying the idea that Lebanon could fight a guerrilla war with limited damage is now dead.

The issue of disarming Hezbollah ``will emerge with greater strength when the war ends,'' Nakib said. ``Those who are not part of the coalition supporting Hezbollah will then argue that Hezbollah's actions are not affecting the Shiite community only, they are affecting the whole country.''

``We knew all along that allowing the Hezbollah to keep its weapons will bring such results,'' said Maroun Fares, a 43 year- old Beirut taxi driver. ``Nobody asked us if we wanted the war, if we were prepared for it. We found ourselves suddenly bombed and besieged.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Gwen Ackerman in Jerusalem at gackerman@Bloomberg.net. Maher Chmaytelli in Beirut at mchmaytelli@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 19, 2006 19:01 EDT