14/04/2009 At a time Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were still suffering from a shortage of humanitarian aids due to the Israeli siege along with the closure of the Rafah crossing that connects Gaza to the outer world through Egypt, Cairo is engaged in a late campaign against Hezbollah and its Secretary General who had called on the Egyptian regime to open the Rafah crossing for the stricken Palestinians.
 
Egypt continued its campaign against Hezbollah on the political, security and media levels amid expectations of a more aggressive tone in the coming days. So far, “confessions” made in the framework of investigations and interrogations with the Hezbollah operative in Egypt have been frivolous.
 
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah revealed that the man arrested in Sinai was a Hezbollah member and that he was engaged in provide logistical support to the Palestinian resistance in Gaza. However Hezbollah firmly denied Egyptian regime allegations about a Hezbollah cell seeking to destabilize Egypt.
 
The timing of the Egyptian regime’s campaign is questionable especially that the detention of the Hezbollah operative had taken place even before the Israeli war on Gaza last year. Cairo had negatively reacted to Sayyed Nasrallah’s calls to open the Rafah crossing for Palestinians during the war that changed part of the political map in the Middle East.
 
Ever since the war ended, the Egyptian regime had begun to sense isolation within its Arab milieu. This notion was established in the most recent Arab Summit in Doha, where Egypt’s low representation did little to disrupt a reconciliation trend amongst Arab leaders.
 
On the wider scale, the Egyptian regime’s stature as a leading player and mediator to solve inter Arab differences seems to be fading, particularly after US President Barack Obama’s chose Turkey, not Egypt, to be the link between Washington and the Arab and Islamic worlds. Turkey had also played as a host for indirect talks between Israel and Syria before Damascus announced these talks over in the wake of the Israeli war on Gaza.
 
The recent hours have revealed an Israeli role in the Egyptian regime’s allegations and incitement against Hezbollah. In occupied Palestine, news emerged this week that foreign intelligence services - including Israel's Mossad - provided Egyptian authorities with intelligence and the claims against the Lebanese resistance movement, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz. Egypt's chief of intelligence, General Omar Suleiman, is a frequent visitor to Israel and the doors of his counterparts in Tel Aviv are always open, as are those of the Israeli Prime Minister's bureau.
 
Israeli President Shimon Peres has connected between the Egyptian allegations against Hezbollah and Iran and launched his personal attack against Sayyed Nasrallah.
 
Haaretz expressed Israel’s relief to the current situation and latest developments between Cairo and Hezbollah saying that Egyptian intelligence was constantly informing the Israeli intelligence on the course of investigations with the “Hezbollah cell”, adding that “Israel is profiting from Egypt-Hezbollah quarrel.”
 
Haaretz also said that “It is true that (Sayyed) Nasrallah is proving again that he is not afraid of confronting the leaders of big and strong countries but this conflict might also impact the upcoming elections in Lebanon. It is unlikely all voters will be happy about the affair, which highlights Iran's control over Hezbollah and creates tension between Beirut and Cairo.”
 
According to reports, Sayyed Nasrallah’s transparency and acknowledgment of supporting the Palestinians resistance as an obligation every Arab and Muslim should observe, will certainly raise Hezbollah’s popularity and admiration whether by his allies or his foes. On the international level, reactions from leading western powers have further confirmed the Egyptian regime’s politically motivated campaign against Hezbollah. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times Monday, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said “in recent years, the Western perception of Hezbollah has changed. Even governments have started to look for reasons to communicate and have relations with Hezbollah ... This indicates that the Islamic resistance has convinced the West it is a popular, authentic and important movement that cannot be ignored.”