Both Hamas and Hizbullah have issued statements in support of former MK Azmi Bishara, who claims to be the Israeli-Arab Alfred Dreyfus.



“I am a Palestinian from Nazareth,” Bishara wrote in an article published in the Los Angeles Times Thursday. “…[I]n an ironic twist reminiscent of France's Dreyfus affair — in which a French Jew was accused of disloyalty to the state — the government of Israel is accusing me of aiding the enemy during Israel's failed war against Lebanon in July.”



Bishara is accused of treason, aiding the enemy in a time of war and money laundering. He has been on the run ever since lying to investigators that he was going abroad for just a few days. If he returns to Israel, he will be arrested and tried for crimes that technically hold the death penalty, though the only person to receive it in the past was Nazi Adolf Eichmann.



Hamas has issued a call for Bishara to return to Israel to “share the burden of supporting the Palestinian homeland alongside his comrades – even if it means prison time,” reported government radio.



The Islamist group dared the former MK to stand up for the PA as Islamist Sheikh Raed Salah had. Salah, who heads the Israeli-Arab Islamic Movement’s northern branch, served jail time for aiding Hamas. He was arrested again for clashing with police outside the Temple Mount and calling for an “Israeli-Arab Intifada.”



Hizbullah has also come to Bishara’s defense, denying that the former MK passed intelligence information to the Islamic terror group, as well as allegations that he received payment for such services.



The denial was issued by Hizbullah deputy Sheikh Naim Kassem in an interview with Al-Jazeera.



Kassem also announced that Hizbullah is ready for another round of warfare with Israel. “[Hizbullah has] reorganized its forces and is ready for another Israeli offensive," he said. "We have completed the groundwork necessary and we have new battle plans.”