Category: Egypt

A red rose for all our heroes in their day

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Today it marks the Martyr Day, today the 9th of March we celebrate in Egypt the memory of all those great men who sacrifice their lives  for Egypt , for all those great warriors who fall in our battles for freedom and honour , for liberty and greatness , those warriors who are the living proof that we have the best warriors in the world

A Beautiful red rose with the colour of blood to all those great men

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Some people forget this day but I remember it

By the way the 9th of March marks the martyrdom of General Abd El-Monaim Riyad ,the Chief of Staff on the Egyptian Front at the Suez Canal in 1969 , this great man was a brilliant military general and it is enough to know that this man in the six days war made some small victories in the Jordanian front “he was heading it” . Already if that man were heading the Egyptian army in 1967 ,surely the result was different , unfortunately he was not the favourite type field marshal Amar respected !!!

P.S There is something strange in Egyptian National TV , they have suddenly remembered it , the TV presenters are wearing red rose !! Since when the National Egyptian became so patriot !!??

The foreign ministry is officially responsible of the POW Case in Egypt

Zeinobia 1 Comment

On the 5th of March 2008, the Administrative court in Cairo issued a historical ruling oblighing the Egyptian foreign ministry to investigate the allegations that the Israeli Defense Forces “IDF” had killed Egyptian POWs in 1956 and 1967.

egyptianow-apThe court ordered the Egyptian foreign ministry to prepare a list with the names and numbers of the POWs killed by the IDF.The importance of that rule is that it is an official obligation on the Foreign

The importance of that rule is that it is an official obligation on the Foreign ministry.

The ministry should open an immediate investigation in this important case.This court order comes as the end of a very long lawsuit filed against the Egyptian government by the families of the POWs and ex-POWs

The lawyer who filed the Suit is Wahid El-Oksori , the head of Egyptian Arab socialist Party and a veteran officer.

This is very important court order, it does not recognize the crimes but it orders the Foreign ministry to investigate the allegations,it opens the door officially

Still, I doubt that the Foreign ministry will obey the court’s order and it will not be the first time nor the first ministry or governmental authority that will ignore a court’s order. By the way about the list with names and numbers of the POWs, they can be easily done with the records of the reported missing officers and Soldiers from 1956 and 1967 from the Egyptian army archives. 

Were they killed in 1949 or in 1906 ??

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The Controversy about the mass grave in found in Eilat is not finished yet despite there is no more news about it in the media. The Controversy now is not about whether the remains in the mass grave were for Egyptian or Jordanian Battalion in 1949 , the nationality is not our issue here this time , the historians in debate agree that these remains were for Egyptian battalion yet they disagree to by whom or when that Egyptian Battalion was killed . Yes the general idea or assumption based on the fact there is not serious investigation in the site itself that that Egyptian battalion was killed in year 1949 by the Israeli forces still there is another probability that this Egyptian Battalion was killed in 1906 by the Turkish Othman forces.

It is all related to Um Rashrash village and its official history. Officially Egypt lost this village to Palestine according to order issued by the Othman Empire. Egypt according to history did not give up the village without a fight especially that the Othman Empire sent a battalion in order to control the village on the sea.

Late Egyptian historian Yonan Labib Razek who died last week said from couple of weeks ago that he believed they could be the Egyptian Battalion in 1906 who were killed by the Othman Empire Battalion.

Egyptian Historian Amr El-Nasharti also agree on this assumption despite that he did not deny the possibility that they could be killed in year 1949 by the Israeli forces

I will check by myself in the history books about the 1906 incident. Already for me whether they were killed in 1906 or 1949 ,whether they were killed by the Othman Empire Soldiers or by the the IDF soldiers as it is a war crime in either ways

Were they Egyptians or Jordanians ??

Zeinobia 5 Comments

Do you remember the mass grave for Muslims in Eilat last month ?? Already  the Defense and National security committee in the Egyptian assembly should have discussed it yesterday ,unfortunately there were no news regarding this discussion as yesterday the El-Malt’s CAO report was the main topic in the media for the last two days and seriously I have to say it was much important and it is expected to take all the attention whether from the media or the members of Parliament.

On the other hand there is a great historical debate about the mass grave and its location , also it is expected thing , Um Rashrash is already a center of debate of whether it is an Egyptian land or not .

The historical debate started when 1948 veteran , free officers movement member and military historian General Gamal Hamad said to Gamal Hamad Masrawy website that those remains are not for Egyptian officers and soldiers and there was no Egyptian Battalion in the Um Rashrash village in year 1949 and that they were for Jordanian battalion

We did not fight the Israelis in any battle in the Um Rashrash region. These remains could be for Jordanian officers and soldiers as this region was following the Jordan

Of course the old veteran and famous military historian had contradicts totally with what the Front for restoring Um Rashrash is saying , especially the front includes many historians and many military personalities like General Saad El-Din Shazaaly.

Still it is very easy to know to which army those people used to belong to , through photos of their military uniforms or the remains of their uniforms to be accurate , also through the photos and the Holy Quran found in the site, we can know in which country it was printed and thus it will be an evidence for us.

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Strangely there is no one from Jordan claimed that these were remains for Jordanian Battalion till now.

Anyhow whether they are Jordanians or Egyptians ,the war crime is still there ,  the evidence is still there.

More updates about the New Sheikh Zowaid Mass grave

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Yesterday morning in the city of Sheikh Zowaid in the North Sinai Governate, citizen Khalil El-Mani’e had found bone remains “Skulls, teeth and bones “ for people in military boots while digging in order to building some building . It did not take much time to know that these remains were actually for Egyptian Soldiers from their military boots that were killed in 1967 as POWs.

Mr. El-Mani’e went and reported immediately to the Egyptian authorities represented by the Police forces (( I was correct it is not theSheikh Zowaid 1 Egyptian army but the Egyptian police )) , which immediately by its turn reported back to Cairo and made the area of the cemetery as restricted area, no cameras or photos are allowed except those which took shots before the restriction and they are already very few.

The restriction will be continued till a forensic team comes from and examine the remains in order to know their correct number “their estimated number according to the eye witnesses are 120 soldiers”, whether they were killed in action or as POWs which is very important as this will be an evidence that IDF committed war crimes against the Egyptian POWs during the six days war as the Egyptian regime seems to depend on science and does not depend on people’s testimonies!!

Already the area where the mass grave was found used to have a camp for the Egyptian Army during the six days war.

Already Daily El-Masry Youm made a scoop yesterday when their correspondent in Al-Arish made a short interview with an Eye witnesses from the natives who refused to share their names, these Eye witness had seen the burial of those soldiers from 40 years ago with other important details.

Eye Witness # 1 from the natives, he was born in 1960 and so in 1967 he was 7 years old when he had witnessed the burial of those soldiers from 40 years . He had seen Sheikh Salah El-Mani’e ((He may not related to the person who found the mass grave in direction connection but they belong to one tribe)) and his tribe burying those men in the Sheikh Zowaid which was unpopulated area during that time in a mass grave and that some wild animals had devouring some parts in the bodies.

Eye Witness#2 from the natives too , he said that they managed to save one of the officers who is called “Mohamed El-Mahdy” and he was from El-Mansoura despite his injure in this massacre as he was shot by 8 bullets and that he escaped through the sea

Also they managed to save lance corporal called “Mahmoud Arafa” and return him back to Cairo after forging Palestinian id for him. Till very near time they used to communicate with “Arafa” yet they do not know if he is dead or alive now.

Several eye witnesses said that it was a common thing during that time that their parents and chief tribes bury the POWs then they would pray the funeral Islamic prayer on their souls.

If I were from officials, I will start immediate search for officer “Mohamed El-Mahdy” and lance Corporal “Mahmoud Arafaa” as they are considered from the surviving victims and eye witnesses from the first degree

Till now there is no official statement issued from any official party regarding the incident, also the official media ignored the matter which the AFP transferred to the whole world yesterday, and naturally the Israeli press ignored the whole matter as they are busy with Bush’s visit.

Already I do not want to say it but this is a déjà Vu case, the same circumstance and the same testimonies yet nothing on the official level is taken to restore back the rights of the soldiers and their families from Israel according to international laws.

Sources:

More info about Yesterday’s POWs’ mass grave in North Sinai

Zeinobia 1 Comment

Even before I got the newspapers , here couple of details about the Mass grave that was found in North Sinai yesterday the wednesday the 9th of January 2008.

It turned that the Mass grave was found by accidently yesterday when one of the natives of Al-Arish city reported to the police authorities that he found while digging in order to build a new house remains of bones in military uniforms .

The place till now is not known but it is in the Sheikh Zowaid city which is between the city of Al-Arish , the capital of North Sinia Governate and the city of Rafaah which is on the Egyptian-Israeli borders.

The remains are estimated to be for 30 persons from the Egyptian soliders who were killed during the six days war.

Eye witnesses from the natives are reporting to the media that currently the Egyptian authorities presented in the Egyptian army (( I highly doubt that it is the Egyptian army because according to Camp David ,the Egyptian Army does not have existence in this area , may be I am wrong but I will ask about it )) made it a restricted area , no one is allowed to reach it currently .

The good news is according to the media also there is a team of foresnics who will examine the bones in order to know whether those people were killed from 40 years ago in in action “KIA” or as “POWs” , I hope and I wish that the findings of this team to be announced publicly and if in case “POWs” I wish that the regime takes more serious steps as they will have then official evidence

Already from my readings and research which you can find here in the website , I will say that they were not killed in action or battle , they were killed as POWs because The city of Shiekh Zowaid is a populated area with mass graves for POWs , the residents of the city who were there in 1967 had seen by their own eyes the systematic mass murder for the Egyptian POWs

This comes at the same time the mass grave of the 1949 soliders was found in Eilat and also it comes at the same time where the Egyptian-Israeli relation is facing hard time after what President Mubarak ,the president of Egypt attacked the Israeli foreign minister Livni for crossing the lines with him .

Sources :

A new Mass grave for the Egyptian POWs in North Sinai

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I have just recieved the news which will be among the newspapers headlines tomorrow “Thursday the 10th of January 2008” , a new mass grave has been found in North Sinai .

I do not have more information now but insh Allah I will have more information tomorrow including the exact location of the mass grave .

As primary information this mass grave seemed to be from the 1967 Egyptian POWs mass graves

The Parliament will discuss the Eilat Mass grave

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The mass grave that was found in “Um Rashrash” at Eilat is believed by many parties in Egypt including military experts that it belongs to the Egyptian army officers and soldiers who were killed in the village in year 1949 in the “Operation Uvdah ((Established fact)) “ which was led by the current Israeli President Shimon Perez.

On the next 13th of January 2007, the Egyptian Parliament will discuss the case based on the request of PM “Talaat El-Sadat” ((The Nephew of late President Sadat)) , the request was a demand to the committee of the National security in the Egyptian assembly to discuss the findings of the mass grave as a possible mass grave for Egyptian soldiers and officers who were killed in 1949 in the Operation “Uvdah”. PM “El-Sadat” in statement for Al-Arabiya.net said that it is important that the Egyptian foreign ministry and other specialized official parties in Egypt to follow the case to know to whom this mass grave belongs to. He continued saying that he believed that the mass grave belongs to the Egyptian force that was in “Um Rashrash” when Perez and his Israeli force entered the village and that it would be easy to check from the names and the history of those 350 officers and soldiers from their family if the regime cooperated this time and did not act as in the Previous POWs case.

On the other hand the “People’s front to restore Um Rashrash” said that it owns historical documents that prove that this

I am happy that a man like “Talaat El-Sadat” is neglecting the issue like the rest of the PM , already “El-Sadat” discussed in the Parliament the POWs case and “UM Rashrash” case and currently “The people’s front to restore Um El-Rashrash” chose as a general secretary to the front which includes many public and military personalities including General Saad El-Shazely. The front believes that “Um Rashrash” village where the mass grave was found is originally an Egyptian land that Israel had occupied in 1949 and that it must return back immediately. Already the foreign ministry last year issued an official statement saying that “Um Rashrash” was under the Egyptian control only till 1906 when the Othman Empire along with Great Britain drew new maps for bordering that did not consider Um Rashrash an Egyptian land but Palestinian land. Of course the front denies this and saying that they own more than 700 historical documents that prove the Egyptian identity of the land even after 1907.

“Um Rashrash” is a big topic I would to discuss separately despite it is related historically with the Mass grave

Let’s hope that the National security committee reaches to some good decision and decide to investigate more

By the way I do not like this media official and unofficial media about the mass grave and the possibility that it can be for Egyptian soldiers

So the war crimes against our POWs did not start in 1956 but in 1948, well I changed the tagline of the website to include 1948 and insh Allah I working on a section to include all the details of the Uvdah massacre because Uvdahs do not stay buried forever

6 October war1973 – Yom Kippur 1973 website

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The only and the first website in English from its kind , May ALLAH bless the one who made it , bless his hands to stay all that time to do that wonderful job ,seriously yes it is an old fashioned website and needs a new look but it is a great golden mine

The Egyptian Perspective as you never seen before ,I recommend you to read what is in the website especially regarding the gap 🙂 dedicated to all those skeptical out there

6 October war1973 – Yom Kippur 1973

there is another Arabic version from the website in Arabic

I will copy these parts from the Questions sections to clear my point regarding the gap “Defersoir operation”

Had the Israeli crossing westwards the canal realized the military objective of Israel ?

The objective of Israeli crossing from the east (Sinai) to the west was to:

– Bombard the missiles batteries anti-planes “Sam”
– Occupy Ismailia city, to encircle the second army by Sharon’s forces.
– Occupy Suez city and encircle the third army by forces of Avraham Adan and Kalman Magen.

But Sharon failed to occupy Ismailia city and the same with Adan and Magen to encircle third Egyptian Army and occupy Suez city.

About crossing to the west of the canal, David Elazar chief of Israeli headquarter staff on 3 December 1973, says:

Sharon still continues his irresponsible declaration to journalists trying to lessen the role of other leaders to appear as an unique champion, although he knows well that our crossing to the western side of the canal caused too much losses.

However, we could not along ten days of fighting to overcome any of Egyptian armies. The second army resisted and prevented us ultimately to reach Ismailia city.

As for the third army, in spite of our encircling them but they resisted and advanced to occupy in fact a wider area of land at the east. Thus, we can not say that we defeated or conquered them

My comment : This is not the first time I read an Israeli accusation to Ariel Sharon to act in an irresponsible way for own his personal glory , that was already mentioned in the book “The eve of destruction”

Amazon.com: The Eve of Destruction: The Untold Story of the Yom Kippur War: Books: Howard Blum

ISBN: 0060014008
ISBN-13: 9780060014001

As you see the military objectives were not achieved at all ,so I do not know how this can be considered a victory in the first place !!??

From a Book “The fourth war” by P.Kumar Narayan.

As a result of disastrous losses suffered by Israel in equipment and individual, and under political, military and strategic pressure, and after the American airlift, Israel found a chance in its operation of El Defersoir at the west of the canal.

Therefore, it tried to encircle this operation by the largest possible propaganda to veil the size and value of losses caused to it as a result of the great success achieved by Arab arms. However, it became clear that this limited success relayed by Israel can not neutralize effects of the Arab military victory or veil the defeat of Israel.

Tens of questions were raised about the Defersoir operation ( The Gap ) many running after the Israel propaganda tried to use it as to justify despising the size and value of Arab military achievement, but we must confirm an important reality that all these questions and trials can not touch the value of this achievement, and can not hide the reality of political isolation in which became Israel.

Results of a war are measured by its general implication, by what revealed of comprehensive development and changes, and not by limited tactical guns and losses of this or that side which is a natural matter in any military operation

P.Kumar Narayan is an Indian Journalist seemed to specialized in middle east affairs , I could not find his book but I am searching for it right now

The victory becomes defeat thanks to the big Zionist media machine and to the great Arab mind set who likes the conspiracy theories and throwing treason charges like words so easily

Anyhow I recommend that you read it this wonderful website seriously and if you are convince with what is written in it or even if you believe it is good to read from both sides ,please spread it all over the web

A March For Those Who Died For Us

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Insh Allah tomorrow the 6th of October 2007 some Egyptian People will organize a march in the streets of Cairo from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM paying respect for those who died for us whether in 1967 from men who died in combat or as POWs or in 1973

It is event that had been organized for months now in the Facebook by a group of young people , the description of that event says the following:

On October 6th 2007, we will march through the streets of Cairo to pay respect to our POW s, martyrs and lost ones in the act of war, those who were sadly forgotten.

The time and place information of the event are as follows if you live in Cairo and interested whether to see or to be more active and walk for two hours  :

Time = 7.30 PM to 9.30 PM Cairo Local time

Place =AL Nasr St to Autostrad (El Manasa)

Meeting point= In front of the A-Ahly Club At Al-Nasr city

I will say the truth and I wish this works fine tomorrow because I know the restrictions of security nowadays , still it brings hope that some people really care to think in such a way