2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt

Last updated

The 2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt involved the arrest of 49 men by Egyptian authorities in the five months preceding April 2009. Egypt accused them of being Hezbollah agents planning attacks against Israeli and Egyptian targets in the Sinai Peninsula. [1] The arrests led to tensions between the Egyptian government and Hezbollah, as well as between Egypt and Iran. [2]

Contents

Tension had been high since Israel's Gaza War. Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah had accused Egypt of being a partner to the killing of Palestinians there, saying if it did not open the Rafah crossing it would be considered a "partner in the killing of Palestinians by the IDF." [3]

The plot prompted the Egyptian government to officially designate Hezbollah a "terrorist group". [4]

Activities

In Port Said, a cell was set up to monitor ship activity in the Suez Canal. The cell was to buy a boat as well as set up a fish shop in order to do this. [5]

Reports said the men had planned three major bomb attacks in Taba, popular with Israeli tourists, using explosive belts and car bombs. [6]

Reaction

Egyptian

Egypt's reaction was hostile. President Hosni Mubarak issued a strong statement denouncing the Lebanese group and its supporters. "They [Hezbollah and Iran] aspire to impose their influence on our Arab world by introducing hostile elements into the region, in efforts to threaten Egypt's national security," Mubarak said. He added, "[W]e will uncover their plot; beware of Egypt's wrath." [7] In addition, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram claimed that Iran, Syria, and Qatar were working to overthrow the Egyptian government. [8]

Hezbollah

Hezbollah said one of the men was indeed one of their operatives, but that he had been trying to smuggle weapons into Gaza for Hamas. The group said the terror plot claims were "fabricated" to "sully Hezbollah’s image" and that the allegations were retaliation for Hezbollah's comments during Operation Cast Lead. [9]

Sudan

A Sudanese official claimed rebel groups had collaborated with Hezbollah in smuggling weapons to Egypt. He condemned “any sabotage to a country’s sovereignty under any circumstances”. [10]

Convictions

On April 28, 2010, 26 men were convicted of planning the attacks and given sentences from six months to life imprisonment. Four men were convicted in absentia . [11]

Escape

In the midst of the 2011 Egyptian protests, the cell's ringleader and 21 other Hezbollah suspects escaped from the Wadi El Natrun prison north of Cairo. Some later appeared back in Beirut. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hezbollah</span> Lebanese political party and militant group

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group. Its paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council. Hezbollah was led by Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah from 1992 until his assassination in an airstrike in Beirut in September 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hassan Nasrallah</span> Secretary-General of Hezbollah from 1992 to 2024

Hassan Nasrallah was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from 1992 until his assassination in September 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imad Mughniyeh</span> Lebanese militant leader (1962–2008)

Imad Fayez Mughniyeh, alias al-Hajj Radwan, was a Lebanese militant leader who was the founding member of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah's leadership. Information about Mughniyeh is limited, but he is believed to have been Hezbollah's chief of staff and understood to have overseen Hezbollah's military, intelligence, and security apparatuses. He was one of the main founders of Hezbollah in the 1980s. He has been described as "a brilliant military tactician and very elusive". He was often referred to as an ‘untraceable ghost’.

This is a timeline of events related to the 2006 Lebanon War.

Military operations of the 2006 Lebanon War refer to armed engagements initiated by Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah during the 2006 conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Lebanon War</span> Armed conflict primarily between Israel and Hezbollah

The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War, was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, northern Israel and the Golan Heights. The principal parties were Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The conflict started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, though it formally ended on 8 September 2006 when Israel lifted its naval blockade of Lebanon. Due to unprecedented Iranian military support to Hezbollah before and during the war, some consider it the first round of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, rather than a continuation of the Arab–Israeli conflict.

Hezbollah has a military branch and is the sponsor of a number of lesser-known groups, some of which may be little more than fronts for Hezbollah itself. These groups include the Organization of the Oppressed, the Revolutionary Justice Organization, the Organization of Right Against Wrong, and Followers of the Prophet Muhammad.

The funding of Hezbollah comes from Lebanese business groups, private persons, businessmen, the Lebanese diaspora involved in African diamond exploration, other Islamic groups and countries, and the taxes paid by the Shia Lebanese. Hezbollah says that the main source of its income comes from its own investment portfolios and donations by Muslims.

Subhi al-Tufayli is a Lebanese senior Shi'ite cleric and politician who founded the Hezbollah militant group in 1982 and was its first secretary-general from 1989 until 1991. From a comparatively young age, Tufayli achieved popular following amongst Lebanese Shi'ite community, who viewed him as the most learned Shi'ite scholar in the Beqaa Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egypt–Israel relations</span> Bilateral relations

Egypt–Israel relations are foreign relations between Egypt and Israel. The state of war between both countries which dated back to the 1948 Arab–Israeli War culminated in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and was followed by the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty a year after the Camp David Accords, mediated by U.S. president Jimmy Carter. Full diplomatic relations were established on January 26, 1980, and the formal exchange of ambassadors took place one month later, on February 26, 1980, with Eliyahu Ben-Elissar serving as the first Israeli Ambassador to Egypt, and Saad Mortada as the first Egyptian Ambassador to Israel. Egypt has an embassy in Tel Aviv and a consulate in Eilat. Israel has an embassy in Cairo and a consulate in Alexandria. Their shared border has two official crossings, one at Taba and one at Nitzana. The crossing at Nitzana is for commercial and tourist traffic only. The two countries' borders also meet at the shoreline of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egypt–Gaza barrier</span> Border barrier between Egypt and the Palestinian Gaza Strip

The Egypt–Gaza barrier is a steel border barrier constructed by Egypt along its 14 km border with the Gaza Strip. The Rafah border crossing is the only border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Hezbollah cross-border raid</span>

The 2005 Hezbollah cross-border raid was a failed attempt by Hezbollah to abduct Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. It was the largest operation of this type mounted prior to the 2006 Lebanon War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocket attacks on Eilat and Aqaba</span>

Rocket attacks on the neighboring cities of Eilat, in Israel, and Aqaba, in Jordan, have been a tactic used by militants from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and organizations linked with Al-Qaeda because of the relative ease of launching rocket attacks against these two cities from adjacent desert areas. Most of these attacks target Eilat, the last attack on Aqaba was in 2010.

Content from the United States diplomatic cables leak has depicted the United States' opinion of the Middle East-related subjects extensively. WikiLeaks has published these classified documents, diplomatic cables, between the United States Department of State and its diplomatic missions around the world. Many previously unknown statements or opinions about a variety of Middle Eastern topics have been revealed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mustafa Badreddine</span> Hezbollah member (1961–2016)


Mustafa Badreddine, also known as Mustafa Badr Al Din, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Mustafa Youssef Badreddine, Sami Issa, and Elias Fouad Saab, was a military leader of Hezbollah and both the cousin and brother-in-law of Imad Mughniyeh. He was nicknamed Dhu al-Fiqar referring to the legendary sword of Ali. His death was seen as one of the biggest blows in the Hezbollah leadership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammad Yazbek</span> Lebanese cleric and Hezbollah member (born 1950)

Mohammad Yazbek is a Lebanese cleric. He is one of the Hezbollah founders and the head of the Sharia or religious council of the organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran–Israel proxy conflict</span> Ongoing conflict in Western Asia

The Iran–Israel proxy conflict, also known as the Iran–Israel proxy war or Iran–Israel Cold War, is an ongoing proxy conflict between Iran and Israel. In the Israeli–Lebanese conflict, Iran has supported Lebanese Shia militias, most notably Hezbollah. In the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Iran has backed Palestinian groups such as Hamas. Israel has supported Iranian rebels, such as the People's Mujahedin of Iran, conducted airstrikes against Iranian allies in Syria and assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists. In 2018 Israeli forces directly attacked Iranian forces in Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hezbollah–Iran relations</span> Bilateral relations and Iranian support for Hezbollah

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a key patron of the Lebanese Shia Islamist militia and political party Hezbollah.

References

  1. ↑ Andrew Wander. "Egypt's Brotherhood backs Hizbullah in a spat with Cairo". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "AFP: Egypt summons Iran envoy over Hezbollah spat". Archived from the original on 2009-04-28. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  3. ↑ Nahmias, Roee (28 December 2008). "Nasrallah: Egypt accomplice in 'Gaza crime'". Ynetnews. Archived from the original on 2009-02-04. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  4. ↑ EGYPT: Cairo calls Hezbollah terrorist organization. LA Times, April 13, 2009
  5. ↑ Wajdi BouKhaled <>. "The Daily Star - Politics - Egyptian media says Hizbullah cell planned bombings in Taba". Archived from the original on 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  6. ↑ "Loading..." Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  7. ↑ Haaretz Service (23 April 2009). "Mubarak to Hezbollah: Beware of Egypt's wrath". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Yoav Stern (19 April 2009). "Al-Ahram: Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah tried to overthrow Egypt's Mubarak". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "BBC NEWS - Middle East - Hezbollah alleges Egypt vendetta". 15 April 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Sudan says rebels may have assisted Hezbollah in arms smuggling". Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Egypt sentences 'Hezbollah cell' BBC, April 28, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Hezbollah man escapes Egypt jail". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.