(TIMES OF ISRAEL) Egypt’s ambassador to Lebanon said his country will pursue a relationship with Hezbollah, a “real political and military force,” The Daily Star reported Saturday. If implemented, the decision would constitute a dramatic policy shift from that of the former Hosni Mubarak administration.
Egypt’s relations with Hezbollah, a Shi’ite Islamic group that is considered a terror organization by the United States, have been strained, in large part, by Cairo’s 1979 peace accord with Israel. The ambassador’s comments on a possible Hezbollah-Egyptian rapprochement came on the heels of the passage of the controversial Muslim Brotherhood-backed constitution by President Mohammed Morsi last week.
Speaking from his office in Beirut, Ashraf Hamdy told the Lebanese news source that Egypt’s new foreign policy objectives include the need to explore fresh modes of communications, which means keeping regional contacts “tight,” even with its enemies.