Tag: Israel

Were They Collected As Trophies From Murdered POWs ??

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Nobody saw this coming nor expected something similar like this to happen , as a son of a late Israeli paratrooper decided to return back the ID and letters his dad collected from the dead Egyptian soldiers and officers in  the six days war to the families of those soldiers and officers. He decided to give them back to Yedoit Ahronot to help him in locating the relatives and relatives of these soldiers and officers “where is our embassy??”   Theses families and relatives  have been awaiting for 42 years to know anything about their men who went to that war and never came back.These souvenirs were telling the story from the other side according to the newspaper which gave me the impression that they do not consider us as humans who have a life too !!!?

The souvenirs include IDs,photos,permissions, letters and diaries of soldiers and officers on the front you can see them below here

Here are the names of these late officers and soldiers God bless their souls mentioned in the report :

  1. Ali Hassan Ali , a solider from Cairo who was born in 1905 and used to work as a conductor
  2. Fathi Abdel Khalek Shahin from Sharkia , who owned a pastry shop and was a musician at the same time ; Mr.Shahin was ready to sing in weddings and parties.
  3. Hassan Salim Agowa , a solider who took a leave from the base from 30/4/1967 to 1/5/1967 ; a very short leave indeed
  4. EAF officer Mohamed Ibrahim who took a leave and returned back to his fate.
  5. Soldier Mahmoud Ibrahim , No. 904841 in in unit 451031 who used to write his memories where he said that his unit captured 8 IDF soldiers
  6. Galal Said Abdel Hamid from Ismailia who lived at no.5 at the Plage street
  7. Mahmoud Abed

Yedoit Ahronot published this as a special report and I do not know if they expect  the level of controversy they will create back in Egypt as this report , these souvenirs will open the door of the Egyptian POWs files again and thank God they will do it.

Some people including me believe that these souvenirs were taken from Egyptian murdered POWs and this is because some reasons :

1- The newspaper for some unknown reason did not identify the name of the Israeli paratrooper nor his son , only “Y” ; why are they afraid from mentioning his full name ?? Already I believe we should thank the son of Mr. “Y” for his desire to return those stuff to where they do really belong !!??

The fact that they hid his name and the name of his family not to mention the detail of his father’s military background as which battalion he used to be at .. etc except that he is a paratroop raises many questions.

2- The father wanted to return these stuff to Egypt for decades but he was afraid and I only wonder the reason behind; why he was afraid from returning back these stuff to the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv ; was he afraid from accountability and that our diplomats may ask questions on how he got them other than he took from dead Egyptians.

3- Some people believe that Mr. Y, the father was a member in Shaked battalion but I doubt it because Shaked was not the only battalion that killed our POWs. Also if he were from Shaked battalion I would bet that these souvenirs would have been destroyed by now to protect Ben Elizer from any accountability.

4-The father said nothing to his son about the circumstance of the fights

The son of that paratrooper decided to return back these Egyptian collectibles  after the death of his father by a year and half.

I believe the least thing our embassy in Tel Aviv must do is to restore these items immediately and return back to rightful owners, we need to have them back. I do not even dare to ask them to investigate who that Mr. Y was !!

P.S Al Shorouk Newspaper is calling the families of these men in the photos to contact the newspaper and share their stories.

They Were Not Murdered in Action But They Were Murdered in Capture

Zeinobia 2 Comments

Many people in the world think that our soldiers and officers had been murdered in action during the six days war just like an army during a war , especially a defeated army , there is no argue in this but unfortunately many of our soldiers and officers had not be murdered in action but rather murdered in capture in the six days war.

First of all you must know that in 1967 the Egyptian army had just come out from the Yemen war exhausted , there was new recruitment process in the army , many young men from all around the country were dispatched to the front even without training or even receiving their uniforms.When the war broke and we seemed on the verge on a terrible defeat ,

inexperienced minister of war then Abdel Hakim Amar issued a withdrawal order that has been considered one of the most worst withdrawal ever issued in the modern military history. Without going in to too much details the withdrawal order was simply getting away from Sinai as soon as possible with no organization or defense plan at all. The sudden withdrawal plan by the way is from the X-Files in this war, there is no justification for why the Egyptian forces had to leave the peninsula without a single real fight despite they were capable of doing it and the officers were willing to do it.The forces had to leave everything behind them even weapons to be swift and move as quickly as they could to the second bank. Of course we are talking about Sinai in June , a hell in the desert especially with water and food running out.  It was a tough experience of being lost and chased especially there was no direction home in that vast desert.

In this unorganized withdrawal the IDF found a golden opportunity to destroy the Egyptian totally through hunting down the tired soldiers and officers who thought that it would not be the end of the world if they were captured but unfortunately it was for them. Many Egyptians who surrendered to the IDF in their way to Suez Canal were shot either in their place or in mess graves they were forced to dig  by their own hands according to eye witnesses from locals and survivors who managed to escape this hell. The Egyptian soldiers and officers thought that they would be treated like any POW around the world according to the Geneva conventions but of course they were mistaken.The policy of the IDF , in fact the Israeli regime then was to send a powerful message to Egypt that it was over , no more Egyptian army.

The people of Al Arish still remember very well in vivid details how the city from North to South drunk from the Egyptian blood of Egyptian soldiers and officers who were murdered while raising their hands up. The city is full of mess graves which the locals made for our men who were left to decay for days. This was just the tip of the ice-berg , you should only hear from the very few who were transferred to Atilt prison what hell really meant and how it was an ugly copy from the Nazi concentration camps to know what does it mean to be murdered in capture.

I do not know how we can’t considered pouring napalm over the walking withdrawn troops from flying jets as war crime !!??

I do not know how we can’t considered shooting in an execution style the withdrawn and surrendered troops as war crime !!??

What happened in the six days war from war crimes against the Egyptian army is an outrageous crime against humanity and it kills me that our regime pretends as if it never happened despite all the evidences that could send help of the Israeli commanders and officers  in 1967 behind bars for war crimes !!??

FYI the Egyptians who were considered missing in action in the six days war were more than in any other war we fought in the 20th century. Up till now there are thousands of Egyptian families who do not what exactly happened to that young uncle in the black and white photo hanging on the wall of their granny’s chamber except that he was in Sinai during the six days war and that he will never come back again !!

The 1973 Egyptian POWs

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In 1973 Egyptian POWs were captured by the IDF , of course their numbers were too small comparing to those who were captured in 1967 not to mention all the spot lights were highlighted on the Israeli POWs captured by the Egyptian side.

As expected the Egyptian POWs in 1973 like their brothers in 1967 and 1956 did not receive the same treatment which the Israeli POWs received in Egypt.

It is enough that the Egyptian POWs of 1973 are accusing the IDF of injecting them by HCV and of using them in medical experiments in Atlit prison camp. Already this would not be the first time it happens, it happened before in 1967.

Most of the Egyptian POWs of 1973 have passed away by liver cancer and hepatitis diseases which they brought with them from their capture. The only remaining Egyptian POW from them is Abdel Rahman Mohamed Kadous ,who is currently suffering from liver cancer and also the neglect of the regime. kadous once tried to sue the Israeli government but the court for some reason refused the lawsuit.

We are currently celebrating the 1973 nowadays in Egypt and I believe we should not neglect the file of the Egyptian POWs in 1973 especially on the other side we treated the Israeli POWs as it should.

POW No.36715 Speaks

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Steps on  steps on a jailed landa jailed land
Steps on a jailed land

POW No.36715 is Mohamed Hussein Yunis who was captured by the IDF during the six days war 1967 and he has published a new edition from his memories about this tough experience. The book is called “Steps on jailed land” and it was published by “Dar Al-Shorouk” in Cairo in 2008 after its first print in 1982. The memories are like a novel , conversations between a POW who just had returned back home and his psychiatrist

Yunis describes the feelings of humiliation the Egyptian soldiers and officers whether in the six days war itself or their capture in Atlit prison. He describes in details both the physical and psychological warfare the Israeli army practiced against the Egyptian POWs.

According to critics the book is a documentary written by the feelings of a poet and the spirit of artist , an artist with No.36715.

Unfortunately the book is currently available in Arabic and in Egypt only for the time being , you can find it in book stores in Egypt especially Al-Shorouk Bookstores

And Who Will Remember The Shadow of Our POWs

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I would like you to read for few minutes this post from Global Post website about Japan’s POWs black history in WWII. Australian POWs have not forgotten what happened to them during their captivity year and  strangely they are demanding the same demands the Egyptians POWs and their

Coombs and his follow Australian POWs
Coombs and his follow Australian POWs

families are demanding from the Israeli government and official : An Official apology and a monetary compensation from the Current Prime Minister of Japan Taro Aso whose father Takakichi Aso used to own mines where more than hundred Australian and British POWs used to work on a daily basis in WWII in conditions less described as inhuman.

I read this and I wonder why the Australian government did not stop Joe Coombs , that POW veteran from the quest of his life now !!?? I think the Japanese-Australian relations despite the hard times of WWII are much normal than the Egyptian-Israeli relations.

We have many Joe Coombs in Egypt and I wish that the day will come and the world will recognize their rights just like Mr.Coombs.

What I like in Mr.Coombs is that he did not give up his or his Co-Pows rights despite his old age.

Dayan Rock as a memorial for the Egyptian POWs

Zeinobia 4 Comments

Moshe Dayan and the IDF left a very ugly memorial dedicated to 11 IAF pilots who were killed in 1967 in Al Arish at Sheikh Zowaid area. It is a rock scribed on its faces the names of those Israeli pilots who shut down by two Egyptian pilots in the six days war.

It is very provoking to all of us especially the people in Sinai.This is a memorial of an ugly invasion that should be removed , I do not think that in France there is a monument for the Nazis !! ??

What makes it worse is that in that particular area not less than 200 Egyptian POWs were killed in a cold blood by the IDF deliberately.

Dayan´s rock in Al Arish
Dayan´s rock in Al Arish

The land where that memorial is located,is owned by Shaikh “Ismail El-Khataby” . Shaikh “Ismail” wants this memorial to be removed from his land that buried many Egyptian POWs and drunk from their blood in 1967. Shaikh “Ismail” is suing the Egyptian government and is not giving up till it removes this ugly provoking piece of rock from his land.He does not want any more Israelis to come and to pay respect to their pilots over the dead bodies of our men

Shaikh “Ismail” who was a member in the National guards in 1967 still remembers till now the massacre he witnessed against the Egyptian officers ,soldiers and even civilians at Al Arish, he witnessed how the Napalm was used against the Egyptian Civilians and military  alike on the 5th of June 1967 and the terrible massacre against the Egyptian POWs behind that ugly rock at the same location , in that terrible massacre not more than 200 Egyptian POWs were killed from the bank after their surrender to the IDF !!

He and another great Egyptians from the people of Al Arish buried those beautiful Egyptians by their own hands in that area and this is why he believes it is an insult to those Egyptians to have that memorial on the same land that holds them in.

I have better suggestion , instead of having that memorial dedicated to the IAF pilots ,why we do not change it to dedicate to the thousands of Egyptian POWs who were killed in 1967 in the great city of Al Arish , we got many artists I am sure who are ready to remove all those scribed on the faces of that memorial to become Egyptian.

This is a memorial on an Egyptian land and thus it must respect the feelings of the Egyptians , we will not glorify pilots who used to bomb our cities and people with Napalm for God Sake !!

Source : Wald El-Bald {Here are the most beautiful Egyptians rest}

Never Seen Before Photos

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During the times of wars it is a normal thing that the news and the photos coming from the war zone is filtered , media is very powerful double edged weapon in time of war that can affect the people’s spirit whether positively or negatively , if you search in our modern history you will find out that during the times of war even the biggest democracies in the world had to censor and filter the news and photos coming from the war zone especially those issued by the enemy.

For that particular reason I am not surprised or shocked that the Nasser regime did not publish the photos the Israelis released to the wire services from humiliating shots to our Egyptian POWs during the captivity.There are many photos in this website Egyptians have not seen for decades , they only heard about their details and circumstance from the 1967 veterans who survived that shocking defeat , for sure the veterans accounts were even much horrible than those photos.

I have never stopped to search for new material from photos and accounts to add to the website and fortunately through our Egyptian groups in facebook I found couple of photos that led to huge patch of photos that have never been published to public in Egypt. I found the photos in Magnum Photo agency . Most of these photos were taken by Israeli photographers who accompanied the IDF during the war like for instance Micha Bar Am

Micha Bar Am on the Suez Canal in 1967
Micha Bar Am on the Suez Canal in 1967

The photos I found are very sad and can be provocative to any Egyptian , you do not have to live during that era to feel how sad to see such moments , seriously I understand why the Egyptian regime then had decided not to publish these photos. (( Of course I am totally against the decision of the regime then to lie on the public in the first hours of the defeat))

I added the new photos to the photos section in 1967 , already I will show some of them below here too

I must warn the Egyptian visitors that some of the shots are really shocking

Left on the beach
The remaings of an Egyptian officer
The underwear parade
The underwear parade
Passing By
Passing by
Shall I guess their fate ??
Blindfolded POWs
Hands up
Hands Up

This was just the tip of the ice-berg, already from the photos you find violations to international laws and human rights treaties and agreements.

In 1967 just like Micha Bar Am was in the Israeli side we had our legendary Akhbar Al Youm Photographer Ahmed Youssef  was in the Egyptian side ,he shot two set of films while the withdrawal from Gaza and Al Arish yet he hided his camera bag well before his capture in the desert by the IDF , he swore to my grandfather who was his friend and co-journalist in Akher Saa that he hided them well in some kind of boxes that would preserve them from the desert and time. The man till his death wanted so much to get back and retrieve those films because what he shot was a real evidence of war crimes against Egyptian POWs. I wish one day seriously that someone would find Ahmed Youssef’s camera.

BY the way I was very careful in my search for these lost photos because I found some photos that did not belong to the six days war and belong to other wars and other countries ; this was very sad because we do not need this.

Also if you want to save the photos or post them in your website , you are most welcome but please mention the Egyptianpows.net

The world should know what happened back then , we can get back the rights of these men if we want by law.

Syrian POWs in 1967

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These are two photos I found while my search for Egyptian POWs photos ,these photos were for Syrian POWs heading back to Damascus after spending some time in infamous Atlit prison. The Syrian POWs were too few compared to the Egyptian POWs. They also left the POWs camp before the Egyptian POWs. The Syrian POWs were few because Golan was technically empty from the Syrian army by the 6th of June 1067 thanks to the withdrawal announcement issued by Hafiz Al-Assad and what preceded it from strange decision taken by Al-Assad and his men in Golan. Already the losses of the Syrian army official in 1967 war were 120 officers and soldiers !!!!!!!!

Can please someone tell me what that “W” written on their back meant or referred to ??

Syrian POWs heading back to Syria
Heading back from Atilt camp
Syrian POWs.1
Syrian POWs Marked With "W"

To read more about the Golan invasion circumstance ,please read the following posts :

El-Mealem’s brother

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Many people do not know the fact that El-Mealem Hassan Shehata’s brother was among our lost officers in 1967.Yes Hassan Shehate brother is among our men that went to Sinai in 1967 and had never returned since then. He was among that reportedly missing .The 1967 year was very special in the life of our favourite national team coach on all levels. Besides the loss of his brother ,the Egyptian league was freezed and Shehata had to travel to play in Kuwait in 1968 where it led through years to become the first Egyptian footballer to gain the title “The best footballer in Asia”.

Hassan Shehata seldomoly speaks about his family just like the rest of celebs in Egypt , I hope that he changes his mind and one day he will speak about how his family had suffered for not knowing the fate of their son whether he was killed in action or killed as a POW.

Shehata now is a world celeb ,he can be a strong ambassador to this cause just like he is strong and firm in the stadium

Hassan Shehate
Hassan Shehate

The Start of the Naksa

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Naksa was the term the Nasserite Regime used to describe the Six days war defeat to lessen its effect.
Naksa means in Arabic “Set-back” ,the word “Defeat” was not used then.
Today is the memorial of the Naksa , our own definition of the six days war. Today from 42 years ago a human tragedy has started in Sinai where innocent people were killed brutality against international and even human laws and moral.
Today fro 42 years ago the agony of the Egyptians POWs has started and up till now it has not finished yet.
It will finish when those who killed those innocent men are punished just like the international laws say so

Egyptian POWs in 1967
Egyptian POWs in 1967