The Egyptian press on Sunday slammed Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah as a "war criminal" who should be put on trial after he admitted that his followers in Cairo were helping Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"A criminal who knows no mercy" cried the blood-red headline in the state-owned Al-Gomhuria which repeatedly referred to Nasrallah as "Sheikh Monkey." "Sheikh Monkey, we will not allow you to belittle our judicial symbols, for you are a highway robber, a pure criminal who has killed his own people but we will not allow you to threaten the peace and security of Egypt," editor Mohammed Ali Ibrahim wrote, according to AFP.
"You and your gang are terrorists and soon... the public prosecutor will issue details of an investigation into your terrorist organisation," he said.
Al-Ahram newspaper, which is also state-owned, said Nasrallah's admission that HIzbUllah is operating in Egypt provided grounds for prosecution. "The admission by (Nasrallah) of sending agents into Egypt... puts him at the forefront of accusations and requires dealing with him under Egyptian law, or international law and issuing an (Interpol) red notice for his arrest," said editorial writer Ahmed Mussa.
"Egypt must start proceedings to try him in an international court. He has admitted to the crime. He must be handed to the Lebanese government as a war criminal," Karam Gabr, editor of the pro-regime Rose Al-Yussef, told Egyptian television.
