Egypt formally invites Nasrallah

Egypt invited Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah to a formal visit to Cairo, the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar reported Tuesday.

According to the report, the visit is intended before the end of 2008. It is unclear whether Nasrallah will visit himself or send Muhammah Fneish, a Hizbullah member of the Lebanese parliament, in his stead.

In recent days, Egyptian officials have been making contact with various Lebanese sources, both to attempt to help mediate intra-state conflict within Lebanon and to bridge gaps between Lebanon and Syria.

Arab media reported in recent weeks that Nasrallah also received a visit invitation from the Saudi leadership, this too in order to discuss issues of internal Lebanese conflict.

Nasrallah has gone underground since the Second Lebanon War in 2006 and has refrained from making many public appearances. A visit to Egypt would mark constitute his first venture outside of Lebanon since the war.

Despite the Egyptian overtures, the Lebanese organization remains adamant in its extremist stance. Just last week, Nasrallah's second-in-command, Sheikh Naim Kassem censured the UN Security Council for its support of Israel and said that the UN would not be able to "suppress the resistance."

In July, Kassem was quoted as saying that Hizbullah would continue to resist Israel, regardless of whether the Shebaa Farms region was returned to Lebanon.

Nasrallah similarly asserted his organization's intention for ongoing resistance in a September speech and called for the return of "all of Palestine, from the river to the sea."