Contributed By Nadia
Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:45:47 GMT
Nasrallah denied charges that Hezbollah was planning attacks in Egypt or in any other part of the world.
"I fully reject and deny all charges that Hezbollah was intending to launch an act of aggression in Egypt or at any other part of the world," Nasrallah said in a speech on al-Manar Television on Friday.
The Hezbollah chief however confirmed that one of the 49 people arrested by Egyptian security agents over alleged links to the Palestinian movement of Hamas was a member of the Lebanese movement.
"The brother Sami Shihab is a member of Hezbollah. We do not deny it and we are not ashamed of it ... Sami was providing logistics to help the Palestinian resistance at the Egyptian-Palestinian borders ... all other charges against him are false," Nasrallah said.
His statement comes two days after an Egyptian public prosecutor accused Nasrallah of recruiting a 50-member cell with the aim of striking inside Egypt, during Israel's devastating 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip in December 2008.
Egyptian officials have also charged Nasrallah of planning to 'spread Shia ideology' through Shihab in Egypt, branding him an 'Iranian agent'.
Nasrallah said he was amazed by such allegation, as no 'single man' is capable of spreading Shia thought in a country, and stressed that Hezbollah is a purely Lebanese party from its leadership to its base.
He added that these 'baseless accusations' only aim to 'agitate the Egyptian people and to defame Hezbollah's pure and bright image'.
The Egyptian government, like the conservative Arab states in the Middle East, is worried about the growing popularity and influence of both the Hamas and Hezbollah in the region.
Meanwhile, Cairo continues to keep the Rafah border crossing -- the only gateway between Gaza and the outside world -- closed, essentially helping to enforce the 20-month Israeli embargo on the impoverished sliver.
During the Israeli onslaught, Hezbollah urged the people and armed forces of Egypt to oblige their leaders to open the Rafah crossing with the impoverished Palestinian enclave to let food, medicine and other basic supplies into Gaza.
In his Friday speech, Nasrallah once again lashed out at the Egyptian regime stressing that it should be 'charged and condemned for besieging Gaza'.
Thousands of people have lost their homes and belongings during the Israeli offensive and heavily rely on aid and humanitarian support which can only be channeled to the Strip through Egypt.
Gaza is suffering from a humanitarian crisis due to the tight 20-month old blockade of the region by Israel and Egypt.
FF/SME/MMA
"I fully reject and deny all charges that Hezbollah was intending to launch an act of aggression in Egypt or at any other part of the world," Nasrallah said in a speech on al-Manar Television on Friday.
The Hezbollah chief however confirmed that one of the 49 people arrested by Egyptian security agents over alleged links to the Palestinian movement of Hamas was a member of the Lebanese movement.
"The brother Sami Shihab is a member of Hezbollah. We do not deny it and we are not ashamed of it ... Sami was providing logistics to help the Palestinian resistance at the Egyptian-Palestinian borders ... all other charges against him are false," Nasrallah said.
His statement comes two days after an Egyptian public prosecutor accused Nasrallah of recruiting a 50-member cell with the aim of striking inside Egypt, during Israel's devastating 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip in December 2008.
Egyptian officials have also charged Nasrallah of planning to 'spread Shia ideology' through Shihab in Egypt, branding him an 'Iranian agent'.
Nasrallah said he was amazed by such allegation, as no 'single man' is capable of spreading Shia thought in a country, and stressed that Hezbollah is a purely Lebanese party from its leadership to its base.
He added that these 'baseless accusations' only aim to 'agitate the Egyptian people and to defame Hezbollah's pure and bright image'.
The Egyptian government, like the conservative Arab states in the Middle East, is worried about the growing popularity and influence of both the Hamas and Hezbollah in the region.
Meanwhile, Cairo continues to keep the Rafah border crossing -- the only gateway between Gaza and the outside world -- closed, essentially helping to enforce the 20-month Israeli embargo on the impoverished sliver.
During the Israeli onslaught, Hezbollah urged the people and armed forces of Egypt to oblige their leaders to open the Rafah crossing with the impoverished Palestinian enclave to let food, medicine and other basic supplies into Gaza.
In his Friday speech, Nasrallah once again lashed out at the Egyptian regime stressing that it should be 'charged and condemned for besieging Gaza'.
Thousands of people have lost their homes and belongings during the Israeli offensive and heavily rely on aid and humanitarian support which can only be channeled to the Strip through Egypt.
Gaza is suffering from a humanitarian crisis due to the tight 20-month old blockade of the region by Israel and Egypt.
FF/SME/MMA
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