Cairo Accused of Inventing Hezbollah Plot

The Syrian pro-government paper Al-Watan claims that Egypt probably fabricated its claim to have foiled an attack from militant group Hezbollah in an attempt to undermine Iran,



Last week, officials in Cairo announced that a cell of 49 men with links to the Lebanese Hezbollah had been planning attacks in Egypt.



Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah denied the allegation.



In an April 12 opinion column in Al-Watan, Eyad Wannos cast doubt on the Egyptian version of events.



Hezbollah hopes to make significant gains in the upcoming Lebanese parliamentary elections, and has nothing to gain from staging an attack in another Arab country, he argued. Instead, he said, the real target of Egypt’s allegations was Iran, the principal backer of the Shia group.



Cairo was hostile towards Tehran, a stance he argued was a result of the Egyptian’s over-familiar relationship with Israel.



Al-Watan joined other Syrian news organisations in criticising leaders in Cairo for not doing enough during the recent Israeli offensive in Gaza.



“Egypt should not be concerned about Hezbollah,” wrote Wannos.



“It should be concerned about regaining the trust of its Arab neighbours as a result of its inappropriate friendship with the Israelis.”