The foreign minister’s remarks echoed comments made by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the beginning of the war, in which he warned terrorist groups in Gaza and Lebanon to consider the cost-benefit ratio of entering into a conflict with Israel.
On Monday, Aboul Gheit reiterated the president’s words, chiding Hizbullah for moving ahead with a plan that did not take into account the price its people would pay. Although he acknowledged that Hizbullah is very popular in the Muslim world, Aboul Gheit said nonetheless that it is his job to ensure peace and stability in the region.
“How about the hundreds and hundreds of Lebanese children who have been lost?” he said. “There is a feeling of deep anger that the West jumps and attacks this part of the world.”
Echoing Mubarak's statements that the terror organization should have known that Israel would respond to the attacks on its people, he said, “Hizbullah should have been careful.” He added that Israel used the rocket attacks as a pretext to strike.
Aboul Gheit reprimanded both sides for having entered into a war which created hardship for everyone in the region. In an interview with Reuters, Egypt’s foreign minister was careful to be even-handed in his remarks.
The Israeli foray, he said, “led to the difficulties that everybody is facing,” blaming the Jewish state for starting the war. As for Hizbullah, Aboul Gheit praised the terror organization’s fighting ability and endurance – “they fought with honor,” he said - but “the result, after all, is a disaster for Lebanon.”
Ultimately, said Aboul Gheit, the real cause of the conflict is the “Palestinian problem,” noting that other Arab governments friendly with the United States hold the same view. The problem, he said, was not terrorism. “Terrorism is a reflection of the malaise that we are all suffering.”
On Monday, Aboul Gheit reiterated the president’s words, chiding Hizbullah for moving ahead with a plan that did not take into account the price its people would pay. Although he acknowledged that Hizbullah is very popular in the Muslim world, Aboul Gheit said nonetheless that it is his job to ensure peace and stability in the region.
“How about the hundreds and hundreds of Lebanese children who have been lost?” he said. “There is a feeling of deep anger that the West jumps and attacks this part of the world.”
Echoing Mubarak's statements that the terror organization should have known that Israel would respond to the attacks on its people, he said, “Hizbullah should have been careful.” He added that Israel used the rocket attacks as a pretext to strike.
Aboul Gheit reprimanded both sides for having entered into a war which created hardship for everyone in the region. In an interview with Reuters, Egypt’s foreign minister was careful to be even-handed in his remarks.
The Israeli foray, he said, “led to the difficulties that everybody is facing,” blaming the Jewish state for starting the war. As for Hizbullah, Aboul Gheit praised the terror organization’s fighting ability and endurance – “they fought with honor,” he said - but “the result, after all, is a disaster for Lebanon.”
Ultimately, said Aboul Gheit, the real cause of the conflict is the “Palestinian problem,” noting that other Arab governments friendly with the United States hold the same view. The problem, he said, was not terrorism. “Terrorism is a reflection of the malaise that we are all suffering.”