2 Egyptian Border Guards Are Killed by Israeli Troops
By GREG MYRE
June 3, 2006
The New York Times
JERUSALEM, June 2 — Israeli soldiers on Friday shot and killed two members of the Egyptian security forces who crossed the remote desert border from Egypt to Israel, officials of both countries said.
The shooting came two days before a planned meeting in Egypt between Israel's new prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. While the two nations differed on the details of the shooting, there were no immediate signs that it would disrupt the talks.
According to the Israeli military, three armed men came through a hole in the border fence and fired on Israeli troops at around 6 a.m. The Israelis returned fire, killing two, while the third man escaped. The military said automatic rifles and communications equipment were found on the bodies of the two dead men, who were wearing Egyptian uniforms.
But officials in Egypt said the border policemen had accidentally strayed across the border. Essam el-Sheik, the head of the Egyptian police in the area, said the Israeli troops fired first, according to The Associated Press.
Friday's shooting took place near Mount Sagi in Israel, across from the Egyptian border town of Bir el-Main. In a photograph released by the Israeli military, tarpaulins covered what the military said were the bodies of the two Egyptians. While there are no fences along many parts of the lengthy border, the photograph does show a fence at the top of a rocky hill in the background. The photo shows the fence being examined by more than a dozen Israeli soldiers.
"It was not an accident that they came across the border," said Capt. Noa Meir, a spokeswoman for the Israeli military. "We are very surprised by this incident because we have very good relations with Egypt."
Israel's defense minister, Amir Peretz, ordered the military to cooperate with Egypt in a joint investigation of the shooting.
Mr. Olmert and Mr. Mubarak plan to meet Sunday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheik. Mr. Mubarak is seeking to mediate between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and is looking to arrange a three-way meeting in the near future that would include the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty more than a quarter-century ago, and they have a generally cooperative relationship along their border. Smuggling is common, however; Israeli troops killed an Egyptian smuggler along the frontier earlier this week, Israeli officials said.
In the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniya, said the salaries of some government workers would be paid on Saturday or Sunday. This would be the first time the Hamas-led government has been able to pay wages since coming to power in March.
As announced earlier this week, the Palestinian Authority plans to pay about 40,000 of its workers who make $330 a month or less. Those workers, the lowest paid of the 165,000 people employed by the Palestinian Authority, would receive one month's salary, Palestinian officials said. It was not clear when the higher-paid workers would receive paychecks. Speaking at a Gaza City mosque, Mr. Haniya said the money had been raised by "internal revenue collection."
European countries, the United States and Israel all regard Hamas as a terrorist organization and have cut off money that was going to the Palestinian Authority. The authority has been raising about $30 million a month in internal revenues in recent years, but that accounts for only about a quarter of its monthly payroll.
"Some people told the Americans to withhold money from the Palestinian people and to impose a siege on the Palestinian government, thinking that the government would collapse in two or three months," Mr. Haniya said. "With God on our side and with faith in our people, the legitimate and elected government will not collapse."
Links:
Dead border police were dragged to Israeli territory: Egypt press
Note:
Just a little bit of information, the Israeli's that are stationed by the boarder with Egypt has a long history of murdering Egyptian security forces and one thing Israel is always good at is their reasoning or excuses for their actions.
The best one I heard was a year or two ago, when two Egyptian policemen was murdered on the boarder from Israel and the best excuse Israel gave was they was having military maneuvers and their firings went astray and these two men was killed; not that they was directly shot. It is common knowledge or I should say rather a very bad joke that every time and Israeli murders some one they always got an excuse (lie) waiting in the wings hoping to cover their behinds.
June 3, 2006
The New York Times
JERUSALEM, June 2 — Israeli soldiers on Friday shot and killed two members of the Egyptian security forces who crossed the remote desert border from Egypt to Israel, officials of both countries said.
The shooting came two days before a planned meeting in Egypt between Israel's new prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. While the two nations differed on the details of the shooting, there were no immediate signs that it would disrupt the talks.
According to the Israeli military, three armed men came through a hole in the border fence and fired on Israeli troops at around 6 a.m. The Israelis returned fire, killing two, while the third man escaped. The military said automatic rifles and communications equipment were found on the bodies of the two dead men, who were wearing Egyptian uniforms.
But officials in Egypt said the border policemen had accidentally strayed across the border. Essam el-Sheik, the head of the Egyptian police in the area, said the Israeli troops fired first, according to The Associated Press.
Friday's shooting took place near Mount Sagi in Israel, across from the Egyptian border town of Bir el-Main. In a photograph released by the Israeli military, tarpaulins covered what the military said were the bodies of the two Egyptians. While there are no fences along many parts of the lengthy border, the photograph does show a fence at the top of a rocky hill in the background. The photo shows the fence being examined by more than a dozen Israeli soldiers.
"It was not an accident that they came across the border," said Capt. Noa Meir, a spokeswoman for the Israeli military. "We are very surprised by this incident because we have very good relations with Egypt."
Israel's defense minister, Amir Peretz, ordered the military to cooperate with Egypt in a joint investigation of the shooting.
Mr. Olmert and Mr. Mubarak plan to meet Sunday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheik. Mr. Mubarak is seeking to mediate between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and is looking to arrange a three-way meeting in the near future that would include the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty more than a quarter-century ago, and they have a generally cooperative relationship along their border. Smuggling is common, however; Israeli troops killed an Egyptian smuggler along the frontier earlier this week, Israeli officials said.
In the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniya, said the salaries of some government workers would be paid on Saturday or Sunday. This would be the first time the Hamas-led government has been able to pay wages since coming to power in March.
As announced earlier this week, the Palestinian Authority plans to pay about 40,000 of its workers who make $330 a month or less. Those workers, the lowest paid of the 165,000 people employed by the Palestinian Authority, would receive one month's salary, Palestinian officials said. It was not clear when the higher-paid workers would receive paychecks. Speaking at a Gaza City mosque, Mr. Haniya said the money had been raised by "internal revenue collection."
European countries, the United States and Israel all regard Hamas as a terrorist organization and have cut off money that was going to the Palestinian Authority. The authority has been raising about $30 million a month in internal revenues in recent years, but that accounts for only about a quarter of its monthly payroll.
"Some people told the Americans to withhold money from the Palestinian people and to impose a siege on the Palestinian government, thinking that the government would collapse in two or three months," Mr. Haniya said. "With God on our side and with faith in our people, the legitimate and elected government will not collapse."
Links:
Dead border police were dragged to Israeli territory: Egypt press
Note:
Just a little bit of information, the Israeli's that are stationed by the boarder with Egypt has a long history of murdering Egyptian security forces and one thing Israel is always good at is their reasoning or excuses for their actions.
The best one I heard was a year or two ago, when two Egyptian policemen was murdered on the boarder from Israel and the best excuse Israel gave was they was having military maneuvers and their firings went astray and these two men was killed; not that they was directly shot. It is common knowledge or I should say rather a very bad joke that every time and Israeli murders some one they always got an excuse (lie) waiting in the wings hoping to cover their behinds.
posted by HRM Deborah of Israel and the Messenger of Peace at 7:44 PM
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