ALLEGATIONS OF POW KILLINGS DURING 1967 WAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 001049 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/12/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV MEPN KPAL PHUM EG IS SUBJECT: ALLEGATIONS OF POW KILLINGS DURING 1967 WAR CONTINUES TO BE A SOURCE OF IRRITATION REF: CAIRO 624 Classified by ECPO Counselor Catherine Hill-Herndon for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The controversy sparked by an Israeli documentary film alleging that 250 Egyptian POWs were killed by the IDF at the end of the 1967 war has dropped from the front pages, but remains close to the surface and will likely continue as a source of irritation in the bilateral relationship with Israel for some time. Strong denials by the Israeli minister at the center of the controversy, along with admissions by the film director that he erroneously described Palestinian commandos as Egyptians helped to reduce the severity of the Egyptian reaction. However, additional allegations of Israeli mistreatment of Egyptian POWs in other conflicts, along with general public discontent over failure to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, have kept the issue alive. Public pressure is cited as the primary motive behind Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit's request that Israel provide clarifications on the issue, and that the International Committee of the Red Cross investigate. It remains unclear whether the ICRC has been formally approached by the Egyptians to pursue the matter. End summary. -------------- Shaked Documentary Roils Feathers and More -------------- ¶2. (C) Charges leveled in a recent Israeli documentary film that Israeli soldiers killed Egyptian POWs in Sinai at the close of the 1967 war (ref A) continue to serve as a point of serious irritation in the bilateral relationship between Israel and Egypt. The Egyptian media, members of Parliament, and the Egyptian public have reacted with furor over the film's allegations, shown on Israeli television in late February. Neither the strong denials by the Israeli commander who headed the IDF unit portrayed in the film, nor public admission by the film's director, Ran Edelist, that the film mistakenly portrays Palestinian commandos who were killed as "Egyptians" has quelled public outrage, due in part to Egyptian media's failure to focus on Edelist's admissions. Also, numerous other accounts alleging cruel treatment of Egyptian POWs at the hands of Israeli soldiers during other conflicts have surfaced and are fueling continued calls for investigations and retribution. Caught in the middle - wanting to protect the key bilateral relationship with Israel while strongly defending Egyptian pride and security - is the Egyptian government, particularly the Foreign Ministry. -------------- GOI Minister, Close to Egypt, Strongly Denies -------------- ¶3. (C) Israeli Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer, commander in June 1967 of the Shaked Force at the center of the controversy, has strongly denounced accusations leveled in the film, insisting that the 250 "soldiers" killed by Israeli forces near El Arish were not Egyptian soldiers but rather Palestinian "fedayeen" commandos based out of Gaza. Egypt's newspaper of record Al Ahram - interestingly the first to print news of the Israeli documentary film, published an exclusive telephone interview with Eliezer on March 5, in which he asserts that no Egyptian soldiers were in the area at the time. In the interview, he describes the battle against the Palestinians and asserts that the Israeli who appeared in the documentary stating that Egyptians were killed, mistakenly assumed that the troops were Egyptians since Gaza was under Egypt's administrative control at the time. -------------- Egyptian Official Views -------------- ¶4. (C) Following up on the issue, poloff on April 12 discussed the POW/film controversy with MFA Palestinian Affairs Director Randa Labib and Cabinet Staff Member Ahmed Hafez. Labib said that the GOE had taken a political decision to try and contain the situation early after the story broke. She noted that within the MFA questions were raised about the story being first reported by Al Ahram newspaper, Egypt's official paper of record. She speculated that many in the senior ranks of the Egyptian media, official papers included, harbored deep resentment towards Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians and other Arabs. She said that FM Aboul Gheit was "crucified" by the Parliament and media after he rejected calls to break relations with Israel, CAIRO 00001049 002 OF 002 and demanded that Israel clarify the factual content of the film's allegations. The minister's anger over the situation was evident during a March 20 meeting with visiting Assistant Secretary Welch, to whom he complained vigorously about the SIPDIS Israeli side causing the flap. He admitted that Israeli FM Livni, in a clearly unusual move, had called Egyptian Intelligence Chief Soliman earlier that day to request he help tone down Aboul Gheit's public discourse on the topic. ¶5. (C) Asked what impact the flap had had on Egypt-Israel ties, Labib noted that a planned visit by Eliezer to Egypt had been cancelled and that other possible senior-level visits for the time being would be difficult. The people in the street are outraged, she said, even if the film maker admitted mistakes and Eliezer denies the story. The damage is done, whether intended by the Israelis, or not, she said. Asked for details about the historical events at the center of the controversy, she said that according to the written transcript of the film (translated into Arabic by the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv),the fighters - whether Palestinian or Egyptian - were shot by IDF forces from helicopters and not killed in cold blood. She said the killings took place after Israel had taken control of the Sinai, at the very end of the 7-day war (consistent with Eliezer's Ahram assertions). Any Palestinians in the Sinai then, she said, would have been from Gaza and would not have had Egyptian citizenship or residency status. Egypt was administratively responsible for Gaza until the conclusion of the war, so would have had close ties with any Palestinian forces in the region. They would not have been wearing Egyptian military uniforms, she asserted. JONES