Last update - 15:13 14/08/2006
Egypt FM hails Hezbollah for having 'fought with honor'
By Reuters

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Monday praised the way Hezbollah held out against Israel for over four weeks, but faulted the Islamist group for possible carelessness.

In an interview with Reuters, Aboul Gheit was more critical of the Israeli response to a Hizbollah raid into Israel on July 12, the incident which preceded Israeli air raids and ground attacks which drove 1 million people from their homes.

He said the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah was inconclusive militarily and its political consequences might not be evident for weeks or months.

He described as hasty, violent and irresponsible the Israeli offensive, which killed hundreds of Lebanese civilians and failed to destroy Hizbollah. "It (Israeli behaviour) led to the difficulties that everybody is facing," he said.

On Hezbollah, he said: "They conducted themselves in a manner that showed their ability to resist and they fought with honor ... but the result after all is a disaster for Lebanon."

How can Egypt a country that is supposed to be at peace with Israel praises a terrorist group for fighting Israel? Only in the Middle East.