CAIRO: The uncovering of a Hezbollah cell in Egypt last week has created a battlefront within the Egyptian blogging community's pro and anti Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah camps. The Egyptian media's outrage over the Lebanese group's alleged transgression of Egyptian sovereignty is mirrored in the position adopted by blogger Wael Abbas, a particularly vocal critic of Nasrallah. Abbas addresses the leader directly on microblogging service Twitter: "To Hassan Nasrallah the pimp: you're the last thing we bloody need. Keep to yourself and leave us alone, God damn you. Abbas suggests that a demonstration be organized against Nasrallah. "Didn't some m**f** hold a demonstration in front of the Egyptian embassy in Beirut because of the [Rafah] crossing? Why don't we hold a demonstration against Hassan Nasrallah too - hasn't Hezbollah become part of the government? The blogger also casts scorn on Hezbollah supporters in the Arab region. "Shame on all those so-called intellectuals of our region who support f**** Hezbollah the fascists!!! Shame on you shame on you!!! And in a separate Twitter posting, "Shame on any m**f** who supports Hezbollah's interference in Egypt against the will of its own people! Why blame America then! Meanwhile, Socialist blogger and activist Hossam El-Hamalawy responds with a series of Twitter messages which question why outrage at violations of Egyptian sovereignty is absent when carried out by Israel. "Those crying over Hezbollah's 'violation of Egyptian sovereignty' are usually not heard when Israeli planes violate this 'sovereignty'! El-Hamalawy writes. "We only hear their 'indignation' when Hamas shoots Egyptian police officers who are nothing but criminals in uniform aiding Israel's siege [of Gaza]. "But we never hear this 'indignation' when Israel shoots Egyptian police officers. Writing on his She2i2 blog, Jano Charbel declares his support for Nasrallah. "In Mubarak's Egypt Hassan Nasrallah is being branded as a war criminal - for assisting in the resistance effort in Gaza; in fact it is the old dictator who is the real war criminal - for insisting upon the closure of the Rafah border crossing, and actively partaking in the Israeli siege against the 1.5 million residents of the Gaza Strip, Charbel writes. Ishteraky Thawry (Revolutionary Socialist) writes, "I am glad to see that Mubarak is busy nowadays digging his own grave. When the revolution comes he will pay for his collaboration and his repression of the resistance. Does Mubarak's regime really believe that anyone except the sycophants in the government press and in the NDP [National Democratic Party] will be fooled by their collaborationist actions [i.e. with the US] towards Hezbollah??? The E-Socialists blog writes that unconditional support for "the single remaining symbol of resistance is crucial because "defeat of the resistance is undoubtedly a step backwards and in the interests of Israel and America. This does not mean though, the blog post adds, that Hezbollah is "above criticism or that Nasrallah should be "venerated or worshipped...because - without wanting to ignore the importance of the role played by individuals - liberation is in the end conditional on the will of the people. Blogger Zeinobia wonders why Mubarak "suddenly remembered now that our borders are being violated by foreigners pointing to the kidnapping of tourists by non-Egyptian nationals last year in the Western desert. "Was this not a terrible violation of our borders and our sovereignty? Why did Mubarak not speak about this?? Oh yes I know maybe because they are poor Africans who were not backed up by Iran!! Zeinobia writes. "Or maybe [it s because] this is our southern borders which are not as important or explosive as our Eastern borders, she continues. Pointing out that Israel "violated our skies several times...during the last war in Gaza Zeinobia is clear about whether the blame should be placed for the presence of a Hezbollah cell in Egypt. "Do not blame Nasrallah, blame whoever made us a weak nation with no sovereignty . Analyst The Arabist says that the imbroglio may simultaneously turn public opinion against Hezbollah, and highlight Egypt s role in choking Hamas supply lines. "Although the brouhaha over this affair will probably have the intended effect of turning part of Egyptian public opinion against Hezbollah on nationalist grounds ? and I would certainly agree that any country should be concerned about arms smuggling and espionage operations taking place ? it is also highlighting Egypt's stranglehold on Hamas supply lines (financial and military) which the likes of columnists Fahmy Howeidy, the Muslim Brothers' General Guide Mahdi Akef and others are condemning, the Arabist writes. "Nasrallah, in his unusual confession that Hezbollah does have operatives in Egypt, also reiterated the helping-Hamas-as-a-duty line that has some resonance here, and not just among Islamists.
