Hizbullah's debacle

By Salama A Salama

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Once again, the undertow of mistrust in Arab politics has pulled us into the depths. Egypt now says that Hizbullah is involved in illicit activities that wreck its sovereignty and undermine its peace, while Hassan Nasrallah says that his group was merely giving much-needed logistical support to Palestinian resistance.

In this atmosphere of mistrust, one gets used to a stream of claims and counterclaims from all sides. Egypt and Iran have been at each other's throats for years now, and Egypt doesn't seem in a mind to trust anyone who befriends the Iranians, be it Hizbullah or Hamas, or even Syria. If you side with Tehran, you're viewed with suspicion in Cairo. And you may have the Egyptians boycott Arab summits held in your capital too, or worse.

From verbal skirmishes to interminable bickering, the region's political waters are getting murkier by the day. The recent revelations of Hizbullah activities in Egypt were made at a time when Egypt was busy sorting out Palestinian differences, trying to get the Palestinians to speak in one voice, or at least remain seated at the same table. It is unfortunate, therefore, to see the pitch of vitriol rising just at a time when Israel installs a far right government in power, one that is not above opting for "transfer", the Israeli euphemism for expelling Palestinians, including Israeli Arabs, from their homes.

To make things worse, Hamas and Fatah haven't been doing too well in their talks of late. And some people, including Saudi commentators, have even blamed Hamas for the current tensions between Egypt and Hizbullah.

The situation in the region, we all know, is delicate right now. The Lebanese are going to have elections soon, Hamas is attracting considerable attention on the world scene, the Americans are rethinking their policy on Iran, and the Turks are receiving considerable international recognition. These are all things that make the Egyptians think of where they stand. These are also things that make them eager to see progress in inter- Palestinian talks.

There is a lot on Cairo's mind these days, not least the matter of keeping the crossings to Gaza open. There is also concern over the relation between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Egypt takes no pleasure in Palestinian suffering, but it has its own internal concerns and international obligations with regards to Gaza's crossing points. Egypt is particularly concerned that Israel would manipulating the crossings so as to embarrass Egypt and perhaps even get the Palestinians to start firing rockets once again.

Egypt is also disappointed to see peace talks come to a standstill. Hopefully, a meeting scheduled soon between King Abdullah of Jordan and US President Barack Obama may pave the way for resumption of peace efforts.

No one denies Egypt's right to defend its security. No one denies Egypt's duty to protect its stability. But a standoff between Egypt and Hizbullah only adds to the awkwardness of Arab politics. There are ways to make a point without making things harder for everyone.

For example, Egypt could have asked Hamas leaders about circumstances surrounding the smuggling of weapons and ammunition across its land. Egypt has many channels of information, official and non-official, that could help determine Hizbullah's exact level of involvement. And there is no shortage of Arab countries that could have demanded and obtained a straight answer from Hizbullah.

Egypt's regional security is too precarious to go looking for new enemies. And once the dust has settled on this crisis, we will all discover that Israel is the only one that benefited from inter-Arab vitriol.