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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 February 2000 Issue No. 469 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 February 2000 Issue No. 469
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Back to square one
By Khaled Dawoud
Egyptians on both official and popular levels expressed maximum outrage at Israel's latest aggression against Lebanon. The attacks, targeting three power stations and hideouts of the Islamic resistance movement, Hizbullah, dashed all hopes that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak would be different from his predecessors -- or that he was serious about reaching a peaceful settlement with Arab neighbours.
Opposition groups could not have hoped for a better present the one handed them by Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy, who last week threatened that the "soil of Lebanon will burn" if Hizbullah fired Katyusha rockets in retaliation of Israeli attacks. Levy's warning that "Lebanon's essential interests will go up in flames," was more than enough to provoke groups that have been leading campaigns to stop all forms of normalisation with the "Israeli enemy" for years.
In statements made to the Middle East News Agency, President Hosni Mubarak called for immediate action to stop any further Israeli attacks against Lebanese infrastructure or civilians. "What Israel is doing in Lebanon deepens the hatred [against Israel] in the Arab world," Mubarak said. "The excess in killing and destruction could have dangerous consequences, if not now, later." Mubarak added that "arrogant" statements made by Levy "will not be forgotten easily by people in the Arab world," and asked Israel to return immediately to the negotiating table with both Syria and the Palestinians.
Arab League Secretary-General Esamt Abdel-Meguid also held a news conference on Thursday, lashing out at Israel and affirming the legitimacy of the Lebanese resistance to liberate south Lebanon. "As long as occupation exists, legitimate resistance will continue," Abdel-Meguid told reporters. He added that Israelis should be aware that "Lebanon will not burn, but Israel is the one which is going to burn" if it continues "playing with fire."
Meanwhile, students at the American University in Cairo sparked a series of protests at nearly all Egyptian universities. Only two days after the Israeli aggression, scores of students gathered at AUC's Greek Campus, burning the Israeli flag and shouting anti-Israeli slogans such as: "Generation after generation, we will remain against you, Israel," and "Today Lebanon, yesterday Iraq. Which country is next?"
Students raised copies of last week's issue of Al-Ahram Weekly, with its lead "Lebanon will burn", and a picture of a Lebanese child injured in the attacks. Similar anti-Israel protests took place at Cairo University as well as at Ain Shams and in other major provincial universities.
Meanwhile, all of Egypt's political parties, trade unions, professional syndicates and pan-Arab associations issued strong statements condemning the Israeli aggression against Lebanon and confirming the legitimacy of resistance attacks. Statements linked Israel's actions with the deadlock in peace talks between Israel and Syria and denounced US support for Israel.
The United States holds Hizbullah responsible for the latest escalation of violence, claiming that it violated a US-brokered agreement in 1996 that banned attacks against civilians or operations launched from civilian areas. The accusation enraged representatives of Egyptian opposition groups, who held a meeting on Monday to express their solidarity with Lebanon.
"All the targets Hizbullah aimed at in the past two weeks were military ones, and took place inside the so-called security zone occupied by Israel. So, who is the aggressor?" asked Rifaat Sayed Ahmed, leader of "The Arab Committee in Support of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon." Ahmed added that the US "can only see through Israeli eyes," and ignores the fact that it was civilian targets that were attacked in Lebanon. "The injuries were all among Lebanese civilians," he said.
Since the escalation of tension in Lebanon, Hizbullah's successful attacks have not targeted Israeli civilians. Aqel Hashem, a leading commander of Israel's agent army in the south, the South Lebanon Army (SLA), and seven Israeli soldiers were all targeted inside the occupied zone in the south.
Blame laid on Hizbullah has only thrown more favour their way. At the Arab Committee meeting, Hizbullah received nothing but words of praise and admiration from representatives of all opposition groups. "Hizbullah is a source of pride for all Arabs," said Adel El-Gogary, a representative of the Nasserist Party. "[Hizbullah] is the best example that claims saying the Israeli army cannot be defeated are a fallacy."
A statement issued at the end of the meeting called for mobilising all means of support for the Lebanese resistance in the south. They also appealed to Arab leaders to ban any visits by Israel's foreign minister to their countries under any context.
Ahmed Sharaf, a communist, asked opposition groups to start a symbolic campaign to send hundreds of electricity generators to Lebanon to show Israel that its destruction of the Lebanese infrastructure will not stop resistance. The proposal was praised by Salah Abdel-Maqsoud, who represented the outlawed Moslem Brotherhood group -- a rare show of unity among the two traditional adversaries.
Zeinab Gomaa, a Lebanese Hizbullah activist visiting Egypt, confirmed that what the resistance movement needed was a "strong expression of solidarity" among the Arab people. "We don't need money or arms," Gomaa said, "but we need to feel that you are standing in our support." Gomaa said that many Lebanese were dismayed by the fact that Israel's prime minister, Barak, issued threats to attack Lebanon from Arab capitals, "indicating how lightly he takes the stand of Arab countries and their possible reaction."
During his visit to Cairo in late January, Barak said that Hizbullah will be punished for its attack against the SLA commander. Barak was speaking in Hebrew, however, and no translation was provided in Arabic. The Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon met with top Lebanese officials and clarified the possible misunderstanding. However, the Israeli premier made stronger statements against Lebanon while in Jordan last week, as his visit coincided with the killing of three Israeli soldiers in south Lebanon.
The Egyptian Peace Movement, which includes a number of Egyptian intellectuals calling for normalisation of relations with Israel, also issued a statement on Monday expressing its "strong condemnation of the Israeli raids against Lebanon and its vital, civilian infrastructure." The statement added that the raids were "a strong blow to the peace process and to efforts by all popular, regional and international parties to reach a just and comprehensive peace in the region." The movement affirmed its stance that "the international law grants the Lebanese people the right to resist the occupation of part of their territory by all means," pointing out that "the Lebanese resistance targets its attacks against military occupation troops and not civilians."
