Two weeks after the revelation of a Hezbollah network in Egypt, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has threatened Iran’s revolutionary regime and Hezbollah with harsh language.
“We are well aware of your plans,” he said. “We will reveal your plots and grab you by your necks. Stop hiding behind the Palestinian cause. Beware the wrath of Egypt and its people.”
In the course of the speech, which was his most bitter to date aimed at Iran and its allies, the Egyptian president also accused Iran of being hostile to peace and of pushing the region to the brink of hell.
“They wish to force their influence and agenda on our Arab world, and they ignite disharmony in the Palestinian and Arab arena,” he said “They infiltrate their agents in the region in order to threaten Egypt’s national security, to breach its borders and to shake its stability.”
Since the uncovering of the Hezbollah network, sources in Cairo have said they would act in a localized and efficient manner against the Shiite organization.
They have hinted that most of the damage would be to the weapons’ smuggling conducted along the Sinai roads and Suez Canal.
Mr. Mubarak’s speech came while his men continued to uncover more information in the course of the investigation.
The brains behind the Hezbollah network in Egypt – Hezbollah’s intelligence officer Mohamed Kablan – trained and qualified Palestinian suicide bombers for attacks in Israel. Mr. Kablan is a senior officer in Hezbollah’s 1800 unit, a secret body that aids Hamas and other Palestinian factions in their struggle against Israel.
Information on his involvement in attacks against Israel emerged in the course of the interrogation of the affair’s main suspect, the Lebanese Mohammad Yussuf Mansur, aka Sami Shihab.
“Mohamed Kablan is responsible for preparing the Palestinians who left for Jihad,” Mr. Shihab told his interrogators, “This is due to his proficiency in the language and his great ability to spark enthusiasm in the hearts of the holy warriors.”
Mr. Kablan lived in Egypt in the past for a long period and is fluent in the Egyptian dialect of Arabic.
David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com