WarSclerotic

Egypt Jails 26 Accused of Plotting Hezbollah Attacks Update1 – BusinessWeek.

April 28, 2010, 10:33 AM EDT

By Alaa Shahine

April 28 (Bloomberg) — A court in Cairo found 26 men guilty of plotting attacks in Egypt on behalf of the Iranian- backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

Judge Adel Gomaa sentenced the men today to jail terms ranging from six months to 25 years, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported. They include two Lebanese nationals, five Palestinians and one Sudanese citizen, as well as 18 Egyptians, the agency said.

“Hezbollah’s aim was to hit the Egyptian economy, tear the fabric of the people, and spread chaos and instability,” Gomaa said in his ruling at the Cairo-based State Security Court, according to MENA. Hezbollah denied the claims last April, after the men were referred for trial.

Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, has accused Iran of using groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip to interfere in the politics of other Middle East countries.

In the annual summit for Arab heads of state last month, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, another U.S. ally, shot down a proposal by Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa to open a dialogue with Iran, saying the Islamic state would first have to change its policies in the region.

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, said in April last year that the men were trying to provide weapons to the Gaza Strip. The group has criticized Egypt for joining an Israeli blockade of the Palestinian enclave, where Hamas has ruled since 2007.

Gaza Tunnels

The court said today the defendants dug tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip and illegally obtained explosives. Prosecutors said members of the cell also monitored the movements of foreign tourists in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Egypt hasn’t had a major militant attack since a series of bombings in the Sinai resorts of Taba, Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab between 2004 and 2006. Those attacks killed more than 150 Egyptians and foreign tourists. The government blamed the bombings on Sinai-based Islamist groups.

The U.S. and Israel list Hezbollah as a terrorist group. The organization, which has representation in the Lebanese parliament and government, says it has a duty to resist the Israeli occupation of Arab territories.

–Editors: Digby Lidstone, Heather Langan

This entry was posted on April 28, 2010 at 8:02 PM and is filed under Iran / Israel War. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.