No News No Bad News

Dostor newspaper whether daily or weekly has not published anything new information or follow up the Egyptian POWs file they opened in last May 2010.

At first I thought it had to do with the instabilities happening in the last couple of months at North of Sinai so I asked Wael Mamdouh and he told me that there was nothing new to add which is true to be realistic , the update should come from the public opinion.

Amidst all the problems and crises Egypt is suffering from now , it seems that the POWs case is lost but not for too long because if anything I learned from this case is that it refuses to be forgotten.

Al Jazeera International’s First Person:Egyptian POWs

This old video below goes back to 2007 in the 40th anniversary of the Six Days war and it shows  Ex-Sergeant Amin Ramadan who speaks about his experience in captivity at notorious Atlit along his friend and co-worker for 40 years Goma’a Hassan who is still suffering from physical injury hunting him down since the Atlit days. I talked about this video in 2007 as a report that was published in Al Jazeera international , I did not know that it was based upon a video that aired on the channel but it is never too late.

Ramadan and Gomaa

Ramadan who has become a kind of an activist for the 1967 POWs , is already suing the Israeli government among others for a just compensation on what they have seen and suffered on the hands of the IDF in 1967. His testimony is from the important living testimonies that prove the involvement of Ben-Eliezer in the mistreatment and abuse of our POWs against international laws.

Did Or Did Not Rabin Admitt it in 1995 ??

This is not the Egyptian Press , this is not the Arabic press , this is the French Press archives : A Libération article from 1995

Rabin reconnaît le massacre de soldats égyptiens par Israël

Rabin recognizes the massacre of Egyptian soldiers

According to that old article which was based upon quotes of  Israeli foreign minister and the current President now Shimon Perez to Radio Israel late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin admitted the Israeli responsibility for the IDF crimes in both Suez War and six days war in a meeting with President Mubarak in Washington D.C in 1995 during the Oslo 2 agreement.

Again this is a French newspaper not an Arabic newspaper.

I tried to search in international archives regarding this incident and I found out that the Israeli Press said the opposite as usual :

From Jerusalem Post :Rabin , Mubarak pledge not to let POW issue to ruin relations.

From that small excerpt you will see how the Israeli media fools the Israeli public claiming that “The Mubarak government has been under pressure from Islamic militants in Egypt” to readdress the issue !!?? What Islamic

Mubarak and Rabin in 1995
Mubarak and Rabin in 1995

militants !!?? It was in fact Dr. Cherif Bassiouny who spoke with president Mubarak about the matter and he is no way associated with any militant group !!?? It was clearly that the media there was using the Israeli public fear from militant groups and was claiming that they were pushing the Egyptian regime , the Mubarak regime to reopen the war crimes against the Egyptian POWs file as if Biro did not brag with his crimes !!

If you check the dates you will find it goes with what Dr.Bassiouny had revealed that Mubarak met with pressure from the States and Israel to close the file , may be Rabin admitted Israel’s responsibility in that meeting by off the record and wanted to be in that way in front of a comprise or may be he had admitted and let Clinton pressure Mubarak  to close the file and let it not to ruin the so-called neutralized relations.

Neutralized relations are not built over the war crimes which will surface again one day.

Again the first links are from a French newspaper quoting Radio Israel which for long time was considered from the reliable sources of information in the Middle East. Of course if we search now in Radio Israel archives we will not find any record for that news in 1995.

My only hope regarding this incident if it took place for real that someone in the Egyptian delegation would have the courage to say that it took place and Rabin admitted Israel’s responsibility for the murder of our POWs in 1956 and 1967

Thanks for Egyptian in France for the link

Wael Mmdouh : Wait For More

I did a quick online interview with Egyptian journalist Wael Mmdouh who re-opened again the Egyptian POWs file in the Egyptian media in a way like no other. I asked him several questions about his report and he was kindly enough to answer my questions.

Egyptian POWs.net:  what made you search for the mass graves of the Egyptian POWs in this way that one has ever done and that was the beginning of the interview??

Journalist Wael Mmdouh
Journalist Wael Mmdouh

At first I was not sure that I was going to find mass grave like I have done, I only wanted to prove that these mess graves do exist; through research and the cooperation of the locals I was able to be sure completely that there are mass graves and thus I started to take this lead with the help of some of the locals; I also looked for eye witnesses to tell me the circumstance of the POWs murder and its right time and date.

Egyptian POWs.net: Did you meet any difficulties while talking with the locals??

Of course I did meet several difficulties while talking with the locals in the area , especially it is a desert area that does not accept strangers easily which made even harder ; the people there do not accept to speak with strangers easily and they never trust them at all.

At the end I was able to find some locals who had strong relations with eyes witnesses and those took care to win the confidence of the people there and assuring that I only seek the truth and that no names would be mentioned if requested and that what happened.

Still despite all this we met difficulties, for instance after agreeing with one of the sources near the Halal mount to speak and after long time in the way to get him, we found him refusing to speak to us ; I had to thank him in the end despite I could not document his testimony nor did he guide us to that mass grave “which is the biggest” between the mass graves I found yet this did not stop me to search for the rest mass graves and find them in the end besides documenting the witnesses’ testimonies.

Egyptian POWs.net: Did the security or the official authorities stand against the research or there was not an interest or completely absence!!??

This did not happen because I took my precautions in order to finish my reportage without the knowledge of the authorities and this is better because I can’t be their reaction for reportage like this; the authorities did not know about my reportage except when it was published.

Egyptian POWs.net: What was your feeling when you hold the bones of our POWs in your hand??

Frankly I can’t describe my feeling then, it was so difficult that you can imagine and it is enough to say that I stop working and speaking after burying the bones that appeared in the video. I could not continue working; I did not say one single word except after leaving the middle zone.

Egyptian POWs.net: Why did not you show the complete video especially in the mass graves in Dostor Channel??

It was for technical reasons, as YouTube does not allow long news material or documentaries, still it was required to be a short news report to support the story with photos and videos. I recorded long interviews but it would take long time to upload and download which will be bad for the readers. Already there is an idea to produce a long documentary with the testimonies and footage for the mass graves.

Egyptian POWs.net: Are there more pictures for the mass graves??

Yes there are more photos that will be published later in Dostor newspaper and its official websites for the sites as a follow up.

Besides there is a file from audio testimonies and photos currently prepared to help the legal committee which is being formed by Ambassador Ibrahim Youssry currently in order to sue the Israeli war criminal in the coming days.

Egyptian POWs.net: Has there been any official reaction you knew about regarding this reportage??

Officially there has been no reaction as if this reportage were published in another country, as if these soldiers were not Egyptians but off the record I know from personal sources that there are Egyptian Israeli moves to absorb the situation and not to escalate it like the gas issue, well I hope they fail.

Egyptian POWs.net: Will there be new material added to the report??

Of course there will be more to be revealed in the coming days especially the reportage was met with huge successful as I got many phone calls from people who want to document their testimonies and the physical evidences they have concerning the occupation era, this besides the people of Rafah, Sheikh Zowaid and on the borders villages who wanted to talk about the mass graves they found and feared to talk about. I think this report will continue and I will discover through it the biggest number of Israeli crimes to be documented.

Egyptian POWs.net: Did you document any of the sites on maps like Google maps??

It has not been done yet but I have the coordination of the middle zone on paper maps in order to prepare more precise maps to include the new cemeteries in the coming days.

NO News Bad News

It has been more than a week since that shocking report from Yediot Ahronot with its shocking findings reached to our press. It has been more than a week and since than there has not been a media follow up in Egypt at all expect the day after Ahronot published its report and after that it has been as if these stuff belong to other people than the Egyptian people !!

There was no official reaction at all ; not even a small announcement that our “embassy in Tel Aviv will follow the matter from there and restore back those items in order to return them to the families of those men !!”

I do not ask the regime to open an investigation on how exactly late Mr.Y got his trophies from the six days war , all I am asking is just simple announcement on the updates of this case.

FYI this case did not make it to our official media for some unknown reason I can’t guess !!

Were They Collected As Trophies From Murdered POWs ??

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.

POW No.36715 Speaks

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

Breaking News : 60 Seconds

First of all Arabic channels have just aired the video of Shalit , those expensive 60 seconds that prove he is a live and fine not to mention healthy

I will work to post it here. Shalit looks fine in fact great unlike the Palestinian and Arab prisoners. Shalit’s message was recorded last September 14, 2009 as the newspaper he was holding showed the date.

Today earlier Israel has released 19 female prisoners for those important 60 seconds, very important 60 seconds which are recorded for sure.

I want to say something , this small deal is very important , yes most of those 19 female prisoners were going to be released sooner next year but the fact that for just 60 seconds , 19 prisoners were released after years of negotiations.

Israel did not win in this deal as much as both Hamas and Omar Soliman did and I say Omar Soliman because this is a bounce for his foreign policies political record.

Here are the complete of the Palestinian female prisoners freed today by the Israeli forces :

  1. Ayat Kisi Original release date: November 18, 2009.
  2. Rojena Riyad Mohammed JinajiraOriginal release date: June 9, 2011.”
  3. Rimat abu Ayisha Original release date: November 13, 2009.”
  4. Haba Assad Halil Alantasha Original release date: March 03, 2011.”
  5. Samud Abdullah Halil Original release date: December 15, 2009.”
  6. Mimouna Javrin Held without bail pending trial”
  7. Jihad Abu-Turki Original release date: May 24, 2011″
  8. Barah Malki Original release date: November 11, 2009″
  9. Lila Mohammed Tzalah al-Buhari Original release date: October 31, 2010″
  10. Fatima Yunus al-Zak Held without bail pending trial”
  11. Nifin Halil Abdallah Dak Original release date: January 01, 2010″
  12. Kafah Bahash Original release date: September 08, 2010″
  13. Linan Yusuf Abu Ghulma Original release date: September 08, 2010″
  14. Shirin Mohammed Hasan Original release date: March 04, 2010″
  15. Sana’a Tzalah Hagargah Original release date: August 05, 2010″
  16. Sabeena Ziad Mohammed Manal Original release date: November 19, 2010″
  17. Zahoor Abed HamdanOriginal release date: May 15, 2011″
  18. Hiam Ahmed Yusuf Ba’id Original release date: May 07, 2010″
  19. Nahad Farhat Daghra Held without bail pending trial”
  20. Najuah Abed Alghani Held without bail pending trial”

The road to the ICC

ICC announced new rules to encourage somehow the war criminals to show up with their dignity  in the court !! They can return back to their countries during the trial ..etc. Of course this can happen in a perfect world.No war criminal will give up that easily
Already Amr Moussa , the general secretary of the Arab league is having talks with the ICC in order to sue the IDF for war crimes against the Palestinian People in Gaza as the evidence of war crimes was crystal clear. I respect Moussa’s quick and smart move but I wonder why he did not the same the thing with the Egyptian POWs case when he was a FM of Egypt or even in his current position with my all respect and support to the Palestinian cause ((according to sources like MP Hamden Sabahi he told him once that Egypt can’t sue Israel officially for war crimes against her POWs because the Jews will sue us for nationalization !! I do not think that it is powerful reason !!))
This is from the official side , unofficially some Arabic civil society and human rights organization will have a meeting today at San’a’ governorate in Yemen in order to form an alliance to sue the IDF war criminals abroad, again I wonder why our civil society organization did not think in this option before but it is a good step. But of course I do not want to be pessimistic already the civil society and human rights organizations in the Arab world are too weak .
On the other hand the Israeli government knows that its soldiers and officers can be sued from wars crimes and as their habit to break international laws and so it announced that it would protect any Israeli fighter accused of war crimes will be granted a state protection from prosecution over seas. Strangely Ehud Olmert who once said that he cried for the murder of the Palestinian children was the one who announced this statement.
Still the human rights organizations in Israel are giving hard time to the military establishment and also the radical Zionists. Yesh Din,an Israeli Human rights organization is calling the IDF to sack a military Rabbi who distributed religious books on the soldiers calling them to show no mercy to a cruel enemy .