Case closed?
The furore continues over accusations that Israel eliminated unarmed Egyptian soldiers.
Dina Ezzat reports
On 5 June when Egypt remembers the 40 anniversary of the horrific military defeat it sustained in 1967, the painful memories will be compounded by the recent Israeli documentary over Israel's alleged involvement in killing unarmed Egyptian soldiers, possibly POWs.
By that time the Arabs Against Discrimination (AAD), a non-government organisation that documents Israeli anti-Arab racism, would have compiled a comprehensive file with considerable legal evidence that Israel was in fact involved in killing Egyptian POWs and unarmed retreating Egyptian soldiers in the wake of the 1956 and 1967 wars. The file, said Emad Gad, AAD general director, would then be presented to the Egyptian authorities who should decide whether they wish to use it to prosecute the Israelis involved in committing possible war crimes, in accordance with international law.
The documentary, The Spirit of Shaked, aired by Israeli Channel One TV as part of a series of documentaries to commemorate the 1967 war, ignited a firestorm in Egypt over the alleged killing of 250 Egyptian POWs by Israeli soldiers under the command of the current Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Benyamin Ben-Eliezer. Israeli officials, including Ben-Eliezer, have denied the accusations, insisting it was a unit of Palestinian commandos that the documentary was referring to. To the conviction of few, the director of the documentary himself went public with an apology for an unintentional error, that the documentary referred to the Palestinian unit as Egyptian. Israel's ambassador in Egypt called the story "a faked account on the part of those who wish to undermine peace between Egypt and Israel."
Meanwhile, parliamentarians and intellectuals have been appealing to the state to take firm political and legal action against Israel and especially Ben-Eliezer. Only the Foreign Ministry has made official statements on the matter, to the displeasure of public opinion fuming over yet another episode of Israeli atrocities against Arabs in general and Egyptians in particular. Given that The Spirit of Shaked brought back memories of previous testimonies and accusations leveled against Israelis, including retired army generals, over Israeli war crimes, the Egyptian public demanded a clear stance from the state on the issue of Israeli atrocities against Egyptians, first brought to the public's attention in the mid-1990s with similar accusations leveled by an Israeli historian against former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"At the time the state did not choose to do much. Today, the exact same decision has been taken," said Gad.
According to Gad who watched the full documentary currently being subtitled and shown to concerned bodies by the AAD, the documentary might not provide sufficient evidence for a legal case to be pursued. However, he added, "it certainly offers enough clues for the state to pursue the matter if it wishes to."
A similar account has been offered to public opinion by the Foreign Ministry this week. To massive displays of anger, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit indicated there was nothing so detrimental in the documentary that would prompt the state to pursue action against Israel, including severing diplomatic relations established following the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty in 1979. Abul-Gheit, however, said the matter would be subject to further consideration. This week, he sent an angry letter to his Israeli counterpart asking the government of Israel to provide Cairo with all relevant information and details as soon as possible.
In the letter, Abul-Gheit stressed that "The Spirit of Shaked" poses many questions and queries about whether the brigade in question has complied with the international, legally binding and well-established norms and principles governing the means and methods of war. The foreign minister emphasised that it is the duty of Israel to undertake an immediate and thorough inquiry into the events portrayed in the documentary, and to relay and inform Egypt of the conclusions of this inquiry.
The foreign minister has been weighed down by the public handling of the file which essentially falls within much higher jurisdiction. This as such, say critics, is a clear sign that there has been a decision taken by the state not to over-state the matter.
According to a press statement issued by Foreign Ministry spokesman, Alaa El-Hadidi: "There are so many technical and legal factors that have to be taken into consideration before pursuing any legal action." The statement added that the Foreign Ministry "is currently involved in a process of assessment, analysis and examination of alternatives".
"The fact of the matter is that we have to have compelling evidence if we want to pursue legal action because it is simply unproductive for legal proceedings to be taken if we have no solid evidence to present," said Hesham El-Naqib, director of the Foreign Ministry Media Department. El-Naqib, who has seen the documentary, said: "There is no mention in the documentary on the part of Israeli officials of any POWs." He said once evidence is made available the Foreign Ministry would propose all possible legal and political moves.
Foreign Ministry officials who spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly on and off the record, seemed sympathetic with the public. Many were keen to refer to family members who were killed, captured or maimed during Arab- Israeli wars. However, they all seemed to agree that the Foreign Ministry has no compelling evidence to pursue a legal case.
The ministry has provided all daily newspapers with a translated transcript of the documentary. Moreover, a subtitled copy was sent to parliament with clarification that no evidence has been found and as such, no diplomatic or legal steps can be taken.
In press statements on Tuesday, presidential spokesman, Suleiman Awad, said the public mood over the death of Egyptian soldiers in uniform was expected. However, he added, "the key message that we should all take into consideration as we deal with this file [through all legal and diplomatic channels] is that in 1967 our soldiers were let down... We should always remember this and never allow it to happen again."
According to Gad this is only part of the truth. The whole truth, he said, is that in the documentary the soldiers in question had put down their arms, yet were shot dead for no apparent reason as one Israeli general said in the documentary."
In a study published by the Foreign Ministry bulletin The Diplomat, retired ambassador, Samir Borhan, said that according to the rules of international law, "any soldier who puts down his arms and is unable to continue combat either due to injuries, lack of ammunition or a wish to surrender, is by law entitled to personal safety and integrity by the enemy state." As such, Borhan's study argued, there is criminal responsibility to be taken up against those who commit such war crimes against soldiers whether they are Egyptians or Palestinian commandos fighting in affiliation or volunteering with the Egyptian army.
According to Borhan's study, Israel should have at least made public statements to express dismay at any wrongdoing and to order an independent investigation into the affair. This, he said, would have served the interests of Egyptian-Israeli relations. Moreover, he added, an apology and compensation have become an Israeli responsibility should evidence be produced to support the alleged killings.
Gad, however, is convinced that beyond, and for that matter before, The Spirit of Shaked there is evidence and testimonies to bolster a solid legal case against Israel for war crimes during the 1956 and 1967 wars. "We have indicated more than once that we are working on the compilation of such a file but we have not been approached by any official side, neither the Foreign Ministry nor anybody else to provide material," Gad said. "It is frustrating, but I think there is a decision not to take affirmative action in this direction due to some political calculations."
Gad is hopeful that by the time the AAD compiles the file, within three months, public opinion might prompt a change in the official position.
According to an opinion piece written by prominent poet Farouq Goweida in Al-Ahram on Friday, nobody is calling for a war with Israel, but there are many people pleading for a reconsideration on the level of economic and cultural cooperation between Egypt and Israel.
Wrote Goweida: "The objective should not be to pursue compensation or garner international condemnation of Israel. Compensation will not bring back the martyrs and international condemnation has no bearing on Israel. Our objective should be to reassess our stance concerning relations with Israel."
Goweida said the harm inflicted by Israel on Egypt goes beyond the atrocities of the past to the aggravations of the present and the future. "This society has been so profoundly penetrated by Israel...We need to reconsider the activities of many governmental and non-governmental organisations that have suspicious relations with Israel... We want to re-examine the files of our young men who went to Israel where they lived after having married Israeli women," Goweida said. He added that in addition to the vital cultural and social fronts, Egypt also needs to re-examine its political and economic cooperation with Israel before it is too late.
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