Egypt to prove 'Hezbollah plot'
Egypt on Thursday stressed the seriousness of the accusations against Hezbollah and the evidence against the perpetrators who were arrested in the past few weeks was strong and will be proven in court.
- By Duraid Al Baik, Associate Editor
- Published: 22:56 April 9, 2009
Dubai: Egypt on Thursday stressed the seriousness of the accusations against Hezbollah and the evidence against the perpetrators who were arrested in the past few weeks was strong and will be proven in court.
Magdi Al Dakak, member of the political bureau of the ruling National Democratic Party NDP said Egypt will not allow Hezbollah to taint its soil and its domestic security.
Al Dakak told Gulf News that Hezbollah was acting on behalf of anti-Egypt regional forces in a bid to undermine its political role in the Middle East. "Hezbollah's move will not deter Egypt from continuing its support to Palestinians to achieve their rights in their own state," he said.
The largest Egyptian opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, however, on Thursday dismissed the claim by the state security agency that it had foiled a plan by Hezbollah to attack specific targets in Egypt and called for Arab League mediation to end the conflict between Egypt and Hezbollah.
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The Muslim Brotherhood said the indictment of 49 people on charges of collaborating was, most probably, a political move to put pressure on the Lebanese party in order to end its hostile stand against Egypt.
Issam El Erian, the group's spokesperson told Gulf News the announcement by the Prosecutor of the State Security about the arrest of the 49-people linked to Hezbollah in Egypt appears to reflect the tense relations between Hezbollah and Egypt since the 2006 Israeli offensive in Lebanon.
Al Erian said the case appears to be a tactic to change the hostile stance by Hezbollah against Egyptian leaders.
"Egypt felt that the party provoked the Israel assault through its cross-boarder attack on the Israeli army and officially denounced the move. Egypt further stated that Hezbollah did not win the 33-day war against it because of the severe damages inflicted by the Israeli war machine on Lebanon. Egypt blamed Hezbollah and stood with its political opponents in Lebanon and took sides in the Lebanese politics," Al Erian said.
The latest rift emerged during Israel's offensive on Gaza in December 2008. Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah lashed out at the Egyptian president for closing the Rafah borders. Nasrallah openly called for the Egyptian people to revolt, a blatant show of disrespect for Mubarak's leadership.
He said Nasrallah's call was the straw and he believes that "it interfered in the internal politics of Egypt". "The Egyptian government must redraw its national security policies to include the Israeli threats against Arab countries like Syria and Lebanon and to consider threats against Palestinians by Israelis as a threat against its national security," he said.
On the other hand, El Erian urged Hassan Nasrallah to apologise to Egypt.
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