Accused of incitement

The message to Hizbullah and its leader is clear: the party cannot do whatever it pleases, whenever and wherever it likes. Doaa El-Bey studies the impact of Nasrallah's misadventure in Egypt

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The arrest of members of a Hizbullah cell in Egypt ostensibly plotting against Israelis was the focus of most newspapers. But was the issue blown out of proportion for political reasons, or does it pose a genuine threat to stability and security in Egypt? Although Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah denied accusations that he was trying to destabilise Egypt, his confession that he dispatched a party member to Egypt proved without doubt that his party is trying to interfere in Egypt's affairs.

Makram Mohamed Ahmed expressed his surprise at Nasrallah's "insolent and bold confession" that the Lebanese who was arrested was a member of his party in charge of providing logistical support to Hamas and transferring weapons and personnel to Gaza via Egypt. He was also able to recruit 10 people in Egypt for the task.

However, Ahmed expressed even further surprise that Nasrallah did not consider the act as a crime or clear interference in Egyptian affairs.

He ascribed Nasrallah's arrogance and insolence to the fact that he thought that Egypt is like Lebanon where he can do as he pleases because he possesses the weapons that he has received from Iran and which allows him to impose his will on Lebanese parties without any consideration to the authority of the state or the will of political parties.

"If his arrogance allowed him to call on the Egyptian people and army to rebel against their legitimate authority, how can he persuade us today that he does not mean to intervene in Egypt's affairs or start a conflict with Egyptians?" Ahmed asked in the official daily Al-Ahram.

Iman Anwar wrote that Hizbullah's unsuccessful plot reveals the buried hatred and evil in the hearts of those who planned and financed it and who are trying to weaken Egypt and strike a blow against its security and establishments. Anwar added that Nasrallah tried before to incite people to rebel against authority. However, his calls fell on deaf ears and he reaped nothing but despite and disrespect. "He was planning for something bigger and more dangerous behind the curtains after he had received instructions from Iran which is seeking to achieve its agenda and widen its suspicious role in the region."

But his attempts to paralyse the economy by targeting vital establishments and cast doubt on the efficiency of the Egyptian security failed. "Egyptian security thwarted Hizbullah's plans... cut their arms... and dried their wells," Anwar wrote in the weekly newspaper Akhbar Al-Yom.

Mustafa Hassan hailed the role of the Egyptian security in thwarting Nasrallah's plans. He wrote that Nasrallah imagined that the traitors he recruited were capable of carrying out his plans. But the various departments of the security forces cooperated to thwart his conspiracy that aimed to shake the security and stability of Egypt.

"Nasrallah wanted to make Egypt an arena for anarchy, terrorism, destruction and assassinations, but God almighty and the protective eyes of the security forces protected Egypt," Hassan wrote in the official daily Al-Akhbar .

Yasser Abdel-Aziz seized the opportunity to look at the conditions in Egypt that made it lose its status and allowed parties like Hizbullah to find room for their plans. The signs of corruption are overwhelming and causing phenomena like sinking ferries, burning buildings and trains, looted banks, rigged elections and absent justice where criminals escape from punishment and innocent people are tried in fake trials. All these have led the public to lose trust in official bodies. Thus, it is not likely that anybody will believe these accusations against Hizbullah even if there is clear evidence that it is a reality and not a fabrication by the government.

The Egyptian and Arab public know Hizbullah as the party that fought and defeated Israel and believe Nasrallah because he calls for Jihad against Israel. Although the information on Hizbullah's alliance with Iran and exposing the interests of his country to danger and possible destruction for the sake of its allegiances are available, many are willing to forgive Hizbullah for calling on the Egyptians to rebel against the regime in order to create anarchy in Egypt.

In the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Yom, Abdel-Aziz ruled out Egypt regaining its lost status by boycotting a summit or by issuing hollow threats of punishment, or by sending dozens of activists to trial. But when it becomes an example for honesty and fighting corruption and when it boosts faith in its democracy and unbiased stands, only then will Egyptians believe their government; only then will the region and the entire world respect it.

Alaa Uraibi said that Nasrallah's confession saved Egypt from a long-term conflict in the media between the group that supports Hizbullah and that which opposes it. He predicted that the conflict could have been initiated by the group that backs the government. They would have launched a ferocious attack against Hizbullah and Nasrallah. In addition, they would have connected the captured cell, Hamas and Hizbullah. They would have also focussed on sources for financing the cell which would most probably be Iranian and possibly Syrian. This group would have been given big space in official newspapers and television channels. That would have incited the anger of those who would have risen to defend Nasrallah as a great Arab leader and accuse the government of fabricating the accusations against Hizbullah.

A third strategic group would have emerged to link between the accusation and the Lebanese elections and ascribe the arrest of that cell to a desire to tilt the balance in favour of non-Shia parties at the expense of Shia parties, mainly Hizbullah.

Another strategic group could have called for opening a dialogue with Iran and Syria, opening the Rafah crossing, ending the blockade against Gaza and shutting an eye to weapons smuggling from Egypt to Hamas in Gaza. Uraibi concluded in the daily Al-Wafd, the mouthpiece of the Wafd Party, by thanking God for Nasrallah's confession that protected the region from such scenarios and confined the battle to offering help to Gazans.