Israeli: Killer of three Israeli soldiers was Egyptian border cop, says armed force
By Ahmad Hadizat Omayoza, Mamos Nigeria
The Egyptian border police have been identified by the Israeli military as the man who shot and killed three Israeli soldiers in a rare incident on the Sinai border with Egypt.
The army reported that early on Saturday morning, two combat soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were killed at a military post in the Negev desert near Mount Harif. A manhunt that resulted in the deaths of a third soldier and the assailant was sparked by the discovery of their bodies a few hours later. The shootout resulted in minor injuries to a fourth Israeli soldier.
Sunday’s statement from the Israeli Defense Forces said that the assailant was an Egyptian police officer who was killed by Israeli forces when they found him “in Israeli territory.” It stated that an investigation was underway “in full cooperation with the Egyptian army.”
The unidentified assailant entered Israeli territory through an emergency crossing in the border fence, according to Israeli media. This crossing was made to allow the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) access to the tense Sinai Peninsula, where drug and gun smuggling rings and terrorist organizations like Islamic State are active.
Israel has denied Egypt’s claim that “an exchange of fire” occurred when a member of Egypt’s security forces chased drug smugglers across the security fence.
The IDF said it held onto medications and stash products worth 1.5m shekels (£320,000) on the boundary at around 2am neighborhood time on Saturday, yet no connection had been laid out between that activity and the later assault.
On Sunday afternoon, Sgt. Lia Ben Nun, a 19-year-old, Staff Sgt. Ori Yitzhak Iluz, a 19-year-old, and Staff Sgt. Ohad Dahan, a 20-year-old, were laid to rest.
Israel’s top state leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, called the killings a psychological militant assault. ” Israel handed-off a reasonable message to the Egyptian government. In remarks that were broadcast live, he stated, “We expect that the joint investigation will be exhaustive and thorough.”
“We will refresh procedures and operating methods, as well as the measures to minimize smuggling and prevent tragic terrorist attacks like this from occurring again,”
According to reports from both ministries, Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, and Mohammed Zaki, his Egyptian counterpart, discussed the incident.
After the 1978 Camp David accords, Egypt was the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel. The Egyptian public is overwhelmingly opposed to normalization, despite the close security cooperation between the two nations, particularly with regard to the Gaza Strip.
Israel fabricated a security wall along the 140-mile Sinai line in 2013 to stem a flood in assaults from aggressor bunches working in the landmass’ tremendous desert, as well as the progression of transients and outcasts from spots like Sudan.
