Egypt chose to show high-profile support for Lebanon which has been sustaining heavy Israeli bombardment in retaliation for Lebanese resistance against Israeli occupation. A dramatic scenario followed. President Hosni Mubarak arrives in Beirut where he declares solidarity with Lebanon and support for the Lebanese resistance of Israeli occupation.
Israeli officials launch yet another war of words against Egypt.
Cairo shrugs its shoulders. Israel says that it cannot tolerate the security menace of the Hizbullah resistance and that it would expect Egypt to be understanding of its security concerns. Both sides affirm the need to resume the peace process on all its tracks with Cairo saying that Arab rights should not be ignored and Tel Aviv asserting that its concerns have to be taken into consideration. This has been at the core of tensions in Egyptian-Israeli relations. This last episode of overt disagreement over Lebanon climaxed the tension that has been simmering for the past few weeks since Egypt moved to stop Israel's attempts to manipulate the peace process in its own favour.