CAIRO: In the latest bout of the public relations war between Hezbollah and the Egyptian regime since the discovery of an alleged terror cell in Egypt, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah praised the Egyptian army for its "heroic history in wars against Israel. On the anniversary of El-Nakba of 1948, the Hezbollah leader spoke of the sacrifices of the Arab and Islamic people as well as its armies. Speaking on Monday, Nasrallah commended the Egyptian and Syrian armies specifically, which "underwent brutal and tough wars as well as wars of attrition with Israel and offered heroic battles against Israel that history will not forget. Forty-nine people, 22 of which are in custody, are being charged with operating a cell in Egypt which was taking orders from Hezbollah. The case has led to a war of words between the Egyptian government and Hezbollah, with each side attacking the other since the detention of the operatives was announced. Nasrallah's praise of Egypt's army "is an attempt by the Hezbollah leader to limit the damage [resulting from] the discovery of the cell. It comes in the wake of attempts by other Lebanese leaders trying to calm the dispute that has arisen from this, said Nabil Abdel-Fatah from Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. Shoura Council member and Secretary of Youth at the ruling National Democratic Party Mohamed Heeba told Daily News Egypt that it was too late for moves of appeasement by Nasrallah. "Egypt has red lines which cannot be crossed, which is its sovereignty. Hezbollah crossed this line, and it wasn't because he wanted to send aid to Palestinians. He has transformed resistance into an arm of Iranian interests in the region; he is following Iranian orders. So the issue is now much bigger than for him to apologize, he said. "Egypt is the only country that has sacrificed for Palestine with 120,000 martyrs, and we know very well what the Palestinian cause is all about. Nasrallah has been exposed [on the issue of Palestine] and even big Shia clerics have condemned him, Heeba added. Nasrallah also praised the armed resistance of the Palestinians which has lasted 61 years against what he labeled as international conspiracies on the Palestinian people, pointing out that they were in a state of uprising when everyone expected them to surrender. Lawyer for many of the Hezbollah detainees Montasser Al-Zayat announced that the anger of President Hosni Mubarak regarding this case has him worried. Speaking to Daily News Egypt from Doha, Qatar, Al-Zayat said that he was worried that investigators working on the case might feel pressured by the presidential statement to take more adverse actions. The case is yet to be referred to court although investigations have presumably ended. Al-Zayat singled out the speech that Mubarak had given to commemorate Labor Day, in which he unequivocally sounded his objections to the presence of the Hezbollah cell operating on Egyptian soil. The statement, Al-Zayat said, "might veer the case to a military tribunal, and it might also formulate pressure on the nature of the investigations. The lack of an announcement as to when the trial will take place is what is worrying.
