A source of condemnation, not pride

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, affiliated to Hezbollah, recently published an important news piece. It is clear that Hezbollah sought to publish the article as a means of propaganda against the backdrop of Israeli aggression on Gaza, but the news actually serves as condemnation of the dangerous role being played by Hezbollah in the region, with the help of Iran. The article, published the day before yesterday, revealed that “during the past few hours” a call to arms has been issued from the ranks of Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards towards all those who know how to smuggle weapons from Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Sudan (and others) to the Gaza Strip. The article then outlines that weapons are transferred from Iranian and Syrian ports to Sudan, from Sudan to Egypt - Sinai specifically - and then from there to the Gaza Strip. Here I would like to draw special attention to the words “from Sudan to Egypt - Sinai specifically”. The article also mentions how Hezbollah used to suffer from the severity of the Egyptian security services during the reign of Mubarak, and likewise from the rigorous security in Jordan. This suggests that Hezbollah’s involvement in the transfer of arms, and in smuggling them to our states, is a continuous process, with the help of Iran and the al-Assad regime before the Syrian revolution. The purpose of this is to ignite proxy wars in our region, and to destabilize the security and stability of Egypt and Jordan and others. Here we must also not forget the [arming of the] Houthis in Yemen, which is not a frontline state, which shows the extent of the aggressive intentions of Iran and its agents towards our countries. When I say that the Lebanese newspaper’s propaganda is damning evidence of Hezbollah, which wants to drag the region into proxy wars, specifically Egypt through Sinai, this is not an exaggeration. Here it is worth considering what my colleague Abdel-Nasser Salama, editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram newspaper, wrote two days ago. He said that if a disaster occurs in Sinai, then the former Egyptian regime should be held to account for it neglected the region and reduced it to a tourist resort, whilst the current government should also be held to account for it allowed Sinai to fall into the hands of extremists and outside agents. Salama argued that the people would ultimately pay the price for such a disaster, namely the loss and elimination of the most important part of Egypt’s geography. However, he went on to say that the real catastrophe in Egypt’s modern history is the strange public silence towards what is happening, and the insulting official dealings with the crisis. There is now a reality that everyone must recognize; the fall of Sinai. Salama claimed that Sinai is now is in the grip of bullying and terrorism, and is only subject to the official state authority on rare occasions. Finally, he concluded that the situation there is getting worse every day, contrary to what is being declared officially. There are new extremists entering the region and modern weapons are being smuggled into Sinai almost on a daily basis. By comparing Hezbollah’s propaganda to the editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram’s wakeup call, we become aware of the magnitude of the disaster being constructed by Hezbollah against our countries. The party is taking advantage of false slogans in an organized campaign of misinformation, which is influencing many, including some Arab regimes. When will this region wake up? God Knows! --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.