Amal, while it has a military component, operates far more like a political organization than Hezbollah, Boms noted, and Israel has not targeted the group.

The Lebanese Shi’a party Amal is positioning itself as a replacement for Hezbollah and coordinating with the terrorist organization to benefit from the reputation it would gain as part of the resistance, experts told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

Amal has built up military infrastructure and operational capabilities, according to the Alma Research and Education Center, which attributed a recent weapons depot in Al-Khiyam to the organization. The center claimed that Hezbollah and Amal share both military and political powers, preserving their influence by operating “as a unified bloc.”

Lieutenant-Colonel (res.) Dr. Moran Levavoni, a researcher with the Institute for National Security Studies, told the Post he assessed that, to stay in the Shi’ite faction, Amal was trying to join attacks on Israel, but was still primarily a social movement “far less radical than Hezbollah.”

“What we see now is the understanding from the Amal side that Hezbollah is going down and they want to take their place,” he theorized. “There was a long rivalry with a blood calculation between Amal and Hezbollah, and Amal wants to win back the community of the Shi’ites. So, in order to stay on top, they are trying to make sure they are participating in the resistance.”

Despite the apparent rivalry, Levanoni noted that both groups have coordinated for at least the last decade, and that Amal leader and parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri works as a “liaison” for Hezbollah.

Amal tries to walk line between political group, armed faction

Berri is a complicated figure, Levanoni noted. He claimed in the early days of Hezbollah’s involvement in the war that he was misled by the group, but he has also spoken against disarming the terrorists. The lack of a clear stance has led him to be widely distrusted in Israel and to a growing number of Shi’a voices rejecting both Amal and Hezbollah, Levanoni said.

“Amal is trying to walk on the edge of the cliff,” he commented, noting the group was balancing the identities as both an armed faction and as a moderate alternative that the West can negotiate with, especially given its past fighting against Palestinian groups in Lebanon.

Amal also has a fraction of the trust that Iran places in Hezbollah, Levanoni added, though it has been increasingly considered by the regime. The organization publicly called for Beirut to reconsider expelling the Iranian ambassador and has become more outspoken against the government’s decisions.

Nir Boms, a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center, Tel Aviv University, and at the International Center for Counter Terrorism, told the Post that Hezbollah presents itself as the “shield of Lebanon” and Amal as its rival, but also at some level coordinates with the group. He disclosed he had not seen the intel that led the Alma Center to publish its report, but said he “wouldn’t be surprised” at such an alliance.

Amal, while it has a military component, operates far more like a political organization than Hezbollah, Boms noted, and Israel has not targeted the group, as Israel has been careful to distinguish the terror group from Lebanon.

“Unlike Hezbollah, Amal is not preparing missiles and elite units like Radwan, which has not been their focus, but part of Shi’a power is part of the legacy of Hezbollah,” Boms explained, adding he was unsure whether Amal and Hezbollah would make the same decision when the time comes to choose political legitimacy or military strength.

“If Hezbollah is weakened, Amal potentially can offer a different Shia alternative, and I think they may not be the only ones,” he said. “In the context of the Lebanese elections, now postponed, we have seen a number of voices, Shi’a voices that attempted to create independent Shi’a candidates and independent platforms that are not Amal and not Hezbollah. Partially, to challenge the convention, it's not automatic that all the Shi’as are against Israel, with Hezbollah. Some of them are maybe for Lebanon.”