Egypt Convicts 26 As Agents of Hizbullah

An Egyptian court has convicted 26 men who were alleged to have been planning terror attacks on behalf of the Lebanese-based Hizbullah terrorist organization. Prosecutors demanded the death penalty, but sentences ranged from six months to 15 years;  4 of the convictions being issued in absentia. The defendants were said to have been planning to attack tourist sites and ships in the Suez Canal. Hizbullah and the defendants themselves insist that they were dispatched to provide assistance to Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip in carrying out terror attacks on Israeli targets and that there were no plans to strike inside of Egypt. But the judge in the case rejected the argument, asking rhetorically, “Is targeting ships in the Canal support for the Palestinian cause? Is preparing explosives and targeting tourist resorts support for the Palestinians?” Hizbullah chief Sheikh Sayyid Hasan Na’srallah called the court’s decisions “political and unjust.”