Hezbollah: Egyptian Regime Campaign Will Backlash

Hezbollah: Egyptian Regime Campaign Will Backlash
Hussein Assi

Readers Number : 59

16/04/2009 Cairo is considering the possibility of 'indicting' Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and his deputy Sheikh Naim Qassem…

Indeed, it's just another part of the aggressive campaign launched by the Egyptian regime against the Resistance party.

According to Egyptian "well-informed sources" quoted by the Arab press on Thursday, Egyptian jurists have actually begun drafting a legal document that may lead to the indictment of Sayyed Nasrallah and his deputy Sheikh Qassem for "conspiring to commit a crime and planning acts of aggression and terror on Egyptian soil."

The Egyptian sources said that the document should be completed in the coming days and be presented to "the highest authorities." Cairo will then decide whether to add Sayyed Nasrallah and Sheikh Qassem to the list of Hezbollah members who are facing indictment.

The sources went on to claim that Cairo would not hesitate to issue an official arrest warrant application for the Hezbollah leaders. Not only this, but according to the same "well-informed sources," Cairo may even turn Lebanese authorities and Interpol and ask that they take the necessary measures to arrest Sayyed Nasrallah and Sheikh Qassem and have them extradited to Egypt.

The Egyptian campaign against Hezbollah is also seeking other "creative" ideas to mislead the public opinion. Indeed, according to the Egyptian state-owned daily Al-Ahram, Egypt is even considering banning Hezbollah cabinet ministers and members from entering its territory. The Egyptian daily quoted a government source as saying that one way Egypt could "punish" the Lebanese Resistance party is by tightening the noose on the group and its members. "Egypt is concerned about the Lebanese people," he claimed. "But we can take measures such as banning Hezbollah cabinet ministers and members from entering Egypt."

In the same context, a senior Egyptian official told the El-Gomhuriah newspaper that the results of the investigations are expected to have "dangerous and earthshaking consequences," adding that charges may be brought against senior Hezbollah figures.

One of the early consequences, according to the Lebanese Tourism minister Elie Marouni, was that Egypt had intensified its security measures at Cairo Airport against Lebanese nationals. Marouni revealed that he has called the Egyptian ambassador to Beirut Ahmad Bedyawi in an attempt to deal with the issue without harming the Lebanese-Egyptian relations.

MOUSSAWI: WE CONSIDER EGYPTIAN CLAIMS AS BADGE OF HONOR

Meanwhile, Hezbollah reiterated on Thursday that the Resistance party considers the Egyptian allegations against the party of supporting the Palestinians as a badge of honor, rejecting all forms of conflicts with any Arab regime.

Sayyed Nawwaf Moussawi, Hezbollah’s candidate for the forthcoming elections and former International Relations official, stressed that such allegations have established Hezbollah's human side and its continuous support to his brothers in occupied Palestine.

Moussawi said that who should be ashamed by the Egyptian claims was not Hezbollah but those who besieged the Gaza strip and are still besieging it. He noted that it was not the first time that Hezbollah finds itself subject to false charge campaigns "but eventually, truth will come out."

One day earlier, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem stressed that Egyptian accusations against the Lebanese Resistance group were baseless and part of a political ploy to discredit the movement. "It has become clear to everyone that these accusations are fabricated... and that they are worthless," Sheikh Qassem said.

"The Egyptian regime wants revenge and is seeking to sully Hezbollah's image", his eminence emphasized. "This whole thing is politically motivated and will result in a backlash against the Egyptian regime."