CAIRO: Egypt’s state prosecutor on Wednesday accused Hezbollah of plotting to carry out attacks inside the country.
“The state prosecutor has received a statement from state security which shows that leaders from the Lebanese Hezbollah have called on its cadres to recruit members to its movement, according to a statement from the prosecutor obtained by AFP.
Earlier, State Security has allegedly arrested 50 people near the Gaza border for ties to Hezbollah and Hamas.
Those arrested include Lebanese, Palestinians and Egyptians and they are allegedly being investigated for smuggling activities beneath the Egypt-Gaza border at the town of Rafah.
Sources in the area told Daily News Egypt that some of the arrests had been carried out several months ago, with later arrest conducted in the intervening period. Initially, seven Egyptians, seven Palestinians and three Lebanese were taken for questioning some four months ago.
Islamist lawyer Muntasir Al-Zayat told Al Jazeera Tuesday the detainees are suspected of supplying funds to Hamas and that one of the Lebanese detainees is suspected of being the Hezbollah liaison with Hamas in Gaza.
The man accused of being the Hezbollah liaison is 28-year-old Samy Hany, who was reportedly found to be in possession of ownership contracts for houses in Rafah along the border which were believed to have been used for smuggling weapons and funds for Hamas in Gaza.
Al-Zayat said he had been contacted by families of the detainees to represent them and that afterwards he was not permitted to attend the State Security Prosecutor investigations with the detainees.
The detainees were accused of “helping Hezbollah elements to send money and aid and food to Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza, he said, “We’ve not been able to find out the official charges, but they revolve around supporting Hamas and Hezbollah.
Sources near the border told Daily News Egypt that 40 out of the 50 arrested were Egyptians suspected of being involved in the tunnel smuggling into Gaza alongside the seven Palestinians and three Lebanese detainees.
“The information I’m getting is that State Security is investigating the Egyptians’ connections with these Lebanese elements that the authorities say act as a link with Palestinians in Gaza, Al-Zayat said.
Other reports say some of the arrests may have taken place in Cairo. One man was arrested in Cairo with a reported $7 million in funds intended for Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
