Israel denies killing Egyptian POWs in 1967

The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday evening, denying allegations that Israeli soldiers killed 250 Egyptian prisoners of war (POW) in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

"The movie, screened last week on Israeli television, shows clearly that this was not a case of the murder of helpless POWs, but rather a battle between Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian commando unit," said the statement.

It said that Israel regrets that certain elements in Egypt are issuing misleading and biased statements to undermine good relations between the two countries.

"Thirty years after Egyptian President (Anwar) Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem, and 28 years after the signing of the Israel- Egypt peace treaty and the beginning of a new era in the Middle East, it inappropriately dug up issues from the distant past, especially when there is no factual basis to the accusations," it said.

Last week, an Israeli public TV broadcasted a documentary film, which said that an army unit led by Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, now Israel's infrastructure minister, may have killed 250 prisoners of war (POW) in Sinai during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

The film then sparked discontent by Egyptians.

On Sunday, Egypt summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest against the documentary. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit also urged Israel on Tuesday to probe the allegation.

Meanwhile, a group of Egyptian People's Assembly members on Tuesday urged Israel to take actions to punish those involved in the alleged killing.

Source: Xinhua