Hizbullah Cell in Egypt: A Race of Mediations and Trials
The Hizbullah cell case will be referred to the Egyptian state security court amid repots that Lebanese and Arab officials are making mediation efforts to resolve the crisis between Hizbullah and Cairo.
Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said Saturday that the case will be referred to the state security court within days and that contacts are underway between Speaker Nabih Berri and Egyptian authorities to find a solution to the crisis.
Egyptian police have been searching for members of an alleged Hizbullah cell which Egypt says planned attacks in the country.
Egypt”s public prosecutor announced last week that a security investigation had found that a cell of 49 members, headed by Lebanese Sami Shehab, had been planning "hostile operations" in Egypt at the behest of Hizbullah. Some 25 members of the cell have been arrested.
Asked about the results of his efforts, Berri said: "Things are positive. This does not mean that the problem is over. We will continue our efforts to see where they would lead us to."
Berri refused to give more details, saying "there are messages between me and the Egyptian officials and we hope for the best."
Haaretz newspaper also reported that secret reconciliation contacts are underway between Egypt and Hizbullah. It said Arab mediators are trying to cool down the crisis between the two sides.
Haaretz said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has made several demands to settle the issue, including an apology from Hizbullah for violating Egyptian sovereignty.
However, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hussam Zaki said Cairo will not accept political settlements in the Hizbullah cell case.
"Settlements are for political issues. This is a judicial and security issue," he stressed, adding that the public prosecutor has the authority in the case and is dealing with investigation results.
Meanwhile, head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said in his first public appearance since the December-January Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave that the crisis between Egypt and Hizbullah should be solved as soon as possible.
He said during a mosque sermon on Friday that he is following up with "big interest and concern the crisis" between Egypt and Hizbullah. "We respect the stability, sovereignty and security of Arab countries because their security (stems) from our security."
"Resistance movements in Palestine, Lebanon and other Arab countries should be respected," he said. Haniyeh also hoped that "the Hizbullah-Egypt case would not affect continued support for the Palestinian people and the Gaza Strip in particular."
The top Hamas official in Gaza also called for solving the Hizbullah cell case as soon as possible through "diplomatic ways" and "turn the page."
Another leading member of the Islamist group Mahmoud Zahar also appeared in public on Friday for the first time since the Israeli offensive on Gaza.
Haniyeh and Zahar preached in different mosques in Gaza City.