Nasrallah: Hezbollah running guns to Gaza through Egypt

[Behind the Aegis]

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said Egypt was holding a member of the Lebanese Shi'ite militia who was in Egypt "working to help the resistance of Palestine."

Nasrallah said the Lebanese man, identified as Sami Shehab, was arrested Nov. 19 along with other Egyptian and Palestinian citizens on charges of smuggling arms and equipment to Gaza through the Egyptian border.

This is the first time the militant group has acknowledged Shehab was a member, although media reports in November linked him to the group.


"What he really did was a kind of logistic work to help Palestinian brothers in transporting men and equipment for the resistance inside Palestine," Nasrallah said.

During a live television address, Nasrallah denied accusations that Hezbollah is trying to harm Egyptian security or is planning attacks on Egyptian targets, saying such claims "are meant to sully the image of Hezbollah among the Egyptian people."

more...

[aquart]

1. "...sully the image of Hezbollah..." LOL!

Not to worry, fella. Not to worry.

[Chulanowa]

2. Well, hell

It's not like the Palestinians have the luxury of a filthy rich nation handing them a yearly blank check and all the "surplus" high-tech weaponry they can eat, after all.

[oberliner]

3. U.S. Pledges $900 Million in Aid to Palestinians

Clinton used an international donors conference to issue a call for action in the effort to forge a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. She also signaled a possible warming in U.S. relations with Syria after several years of division.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/middle_east/jan-june09/gazaaid_03-02.html

Palestinian Security Forces Training Center Opens

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) David Johnson and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad formally opened the Presidential Guard Training Center in Jericho. The training center was built with $10.1 million of State Department assistance.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/03/120446.htm

[Alamuti Lotus]

4. don't have a problem with that

Egypt however, should not be acting as Israel's enforcer.

[Neo Atheist]

5. So Hezbollah terrorists running weapons to Hamas terrorists isn't a bad thing?

[Alamuti Lotus]

6. to bring the terrorist state of Israel to justice, no not really

[Neo Atheist]

7. so murder is alright

that's quite a bold stand. living in nc, i thought i was bold to declare that there is no god, jesus never existed, and a host of other things of that sort, but damn, you've got me beat.

[Alamuti Lotus]

8. thanks? you are too kind!

I am truly, truly touched that a US/NATO/Israeli war apologist has seen fit to bestow such grace upon my brow. Actually, given some of the other things I've seen out of you, a real compliment would bother me more. Good day, sir.

[Neo Atheist]

11. I'd rather apologize for Israel

than defend a group of theocratic fascists who view armageddon and the apocalypse as good things.

I feel no problem defending a country which gives women the right to vote and allows women to run the country over a group like Hamas that won't even let women decide what to wear. But you keep on defending widespread repression of women in the Middle East, it's the real liberal position, right?

[Violet_Crumble]

12. Why? The Israeli govt contains fascists...

Or is that sort of thing not a problem for you if they're Israeli?

[Neo Atheist]

14. look at what i've said about fascist Avigdor Lieberman before saying something idiotic

[Kurska]

15. Define Fascist?

Lieberman doesn't believe in a dictorial style of governance for one, you can say many bad things about him (Most completely justified), but he does believe in and respect the democratic outcomes of elections.

[Neo Atheist]

16. I haven't heard him regret his role in Kahane's Kach Movement

in fact I have seen much from him that sounds like it would come from Meir Kahane's mouth. Lieberman wants "loyalty" bullshit from even Jews living in Israel. The man views Arabs as Tom Tancredo views Mexican immigrants. The loyalty oaths, the suppression of the civil rights of Arabs living within Israel, the ultra-militaristic tone he takes, it's at least comparable to fascism. While I have an extreme disagreement with the religious philosophy of the Arab population within Palestine and Israel, they still deserve to have every single civil right afforded to Jews living within the Palestinian-Israeli borders.

[Kurska]

18. I'd hazard him a agreesive nationalist bastard

Not a fascist, thats just what I think of his ideology. I'm not saying Fascist is hyperbole, I'm saying it's just not entirely accurate and a sensitive word for the Jewish people.

[Neo Atheist]

22. A spade has to be called a spade

Fascism as an ideology is more than simply what the Nazis practiced and what Jean Marie Le Pen would like to bring back to France. Aggressive nationalism is pretty much the defining characteristic, whether one believes in an "Aryan Nation," or its more modern European form which talks about the "white nation" among groups like Vlaams Belang, the BNP, JMLP's National Front, or the Greater Romania Party.

Lieberman's rhetoric is comparable to the hideous bullshit one can find from many of these aforementioned groups with the obvious exception of the Nazis.

[Violet_Crumble]

17. I'll leave the saying idiotic stuff to you as you do it so well...

My question still stands. Why would you want to be an apologist for a govt that contains fascists? Because you said you'd rather be an apologist for Israel....

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Alamuti Lotus]

20. didn't block you, just found better things to do..

including a bit of Retarded Alamo upstairs with a few other rabid keyboard commandos, but I lose interest there too.. I'm not a weakling, I just don't take most people seriously enough to whip out my A-Game at all times.

[Kurska]

21. As long as hamas is around to bring justice we'll all be alright n/t

[Alamuti Lotus]

23. I forgive you for not noticing the (somewhat veiled?) irony in that line..

all the "tarrist" this and "turrest" that talk made me think of W, so I hacked into Rove's teleprompter and dug out the "justice" gem. Alas, a bit too occult of an approach for my audience..

[Kurska]

24. No really, If I've taken you wrong I apologize, but do you really

Believe hamas is "bringing justice" to Israel, if not what do you mean?
Sarcasm rarely works on the internet.

[Alamuti Lotus]

25. see the revised additional text to the previous post

but I suppose if I have to explain it, then it wasn't funny..

[Kurska]

28. It's amazing that such hyperbole can be mistaken as serious comment.

What a crazy crazy conflict, with such differing sides.

[Alamuti Lotus]

30. indeed

but nonetheless, the initial comment 'don't have a problem with that' does stand, and I do (conditionally) favour the protagonists in question.. so the opposition to me is not all in vain.

[Kurska]

31. If you intend to transports something across egyptian land it becomes egypt's business.

[Alamuti Lotus]

33. true, to a point

their priorities are misplaced; they should not be in the position of being guardians and abettors of the ongoing assault on Gaza.

[Neo Atheist]

26. then i misunderstood your "good day, sir"

my bad.

[Alamuti Lotus]

27. once again, a misfired joke reference on my part

the next would conclude with "I said good day".... it's a reference to how insults have evolved over time. "I said good day" used to be the verbal equivalent of the gauntlet hitting the dirt, but my apathy ruined the whole thing. Worry not, this botched abortion of an argument will probably be carefully edited out before it hits the airwaves.

[Alamuti Lotus]

35. aha! the voice in my head was Gene Wilder @ Wonka

that's been bugging me since yesterday.

[Violet_Crumble]

32. I'm an apologist for Hamas and Hezbollah? They'll be shocked to know that!

Tell me, was it the way kewl secret handshake and membership card to the Hamas Apologist Society that gave me away? I need to know so I can ring my Hamas boss and tell him to change the handshake to something a bit more fancy, possibly set to a Britney Spears song for added secrecy! ;)



Wow, I didn't know any member of the BNP was a Cabinet Minister, let alone Foreign Minister. Seriously, you should have problems with any sort of political structure that gives fascists as much power as they get in Israel...

Also, I think anyone that says they support a govt just coz it's in a country on the Good List is missing something vital. I didn't support the Australian govt under John Howard for 11 years. I didn't support the US govt for the eight years of Bush, and I most certainly don't support the current Israeli govt. Why should we blindly support governments regardless of what their composition and policies are?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

34. ...The BNP is involved in the government of Britain?

Not merely are there no BNP members in the government, the BNP doesn't even have any MPs.

It has one seat out of 25, firmly in opposition, on the London Assembly, and a scattering of local councillors, again treated as pariahs by the governing parties.

So I don't know where you get the idea that it's involved in the government from...

[Kurska]

13. Haha wow, Hamas is now the deliever of justice

So when is that shipment of justice coming in from hamas, will it be before or after they break the legs of or execute rival fatah political opponents?

Don't worry, as soon as hamas finishes killing gays and oppressing women, it'll get right around to brining justice to israel.

[bemildred]

9. ANALYSIS / On collision course with Egypt, Nasrallah doesn't flinch

In what was apparently one of Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah's most important speeches since taking office in 1992, on Friday he admitted for the first time in the organization's history that it was operating on Egyptian soil. Nasrallah mentioned the swearing-in of Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, but it was clear that, in the context of Friday's speech, the real enemy was the Egyptian regime.

Nasrallah did not try to contradict Egyptian reports about the uncovering of Hezbollah's network in Egypt: "We do not deny it and we do not apologize." He claimed only that the reports were inaccurate - there were "only" 10 Hezbollah operatives in Egypt, not 50, as Cairo had stated. Hezbollah was merely trying to provide logistical assistance to the Palestinians besieged in the Gaza Strip, Nasrallah said. But he did not make do with a partial confession of the facts. He excoriated the Egyptian regime for failing to act to lift the siege on Gaza and accused it of collaboration with Israel and the United States.

---

The Egyptian response, for now, is somewhat hesitant, despite the firm steps it has taken on the ground. The most senior official to mention the affair as of last night has been a representative of the general prosecution in Cairo. So far, only anonymous officials have been quoted, warning that Mubarak would not allow Hezbollah to turn his country into a second Lebanon. Weekend editorials in the Egyptian press called Nasrallah an "Iranian agent." In terms of practical steps, the past two days have seen reports of the uncovering of a rocket factory in Egyptian Rafah, the arrest of smugglers on the Israeli border and the capture of a man attempting to smuggle $2 million to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The conflict between Egypt and Iran and Hezbollah 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.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077896.html

[Alamuti Lotus]

29. a more complete report on the speech

Sayyed Nasrallah Denies Claims, Rejects Enmity with Any Arab State

[bemildred]

10. Hezbollah denies Egypt accusations

Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, has rejected Egyptian claims that his group is involved in planning attacks aimed at destablising the country.

Nasrallah did, however, acknowledge on Friday that one of 49 people detained in Egypt was a member of the Lebanese group.

"The brother Sami Shihab is a member of Hezbollah," he said in a televised address.

"We do not deny it and we are not ashamed of it."

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/04/200941019538502350.html