CAIRO, 19 November 2004 — Israeli troops mistook three Egyptian police officers for Palestinians and shot them dead yesterday along Gaza’s border with Egypt, increasing tensions between the two neighbors.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to express his “deepest apologies” for the incident and promised a quick investigation. But Egypt did not appear satisfied, issuing a rare statement lambasting Israel over the incident.
“Egypt condemns and strongly protests this regrettable incident,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement. “We demand that the Israeli authorities conduct an immediate, thorough and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances that led to this incident, and present an explanation.”
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa called the slayings “very disturbing” and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights issued a statement demanding a formal apology and financial compensation.
The European Commission said it was “deeply concerned” about the growing tension in the region.
“This painful incident must encourage everybody to work seriously for reducing tension in the Middle East,” a spokesman of the commission said.
The shooting comes at a particularly sensitive time for the two former enemies who signed a peace agreement in 1979 and have had a frigid relationship in recent years. Aboul Gheit travels to Israel next week for talks to discuss the conflict with the Palestinians, amid concerns over stability in Gaza following the death of Yasser Arafat.
The shooting occurred along the volatile “Philadelphi Road,” an area along the Gaza-Egypt border. “Forces operating along the border about 1 a.m. identified three people approaching the fence from the Gaza side with the clear aim of planting a bomb. The army opened fire,” Israeli sources said.
When Egypt later protested that three of its officers had been killed along the border, the Israeli Army realized it had made a tragic mistake, they added.
The army acknowledged that those attacked were in a different place — some 200 meters from where the Palestinians were first spotted. The forces who opened fire were not the ones who originally identified the Palestinians, said Maj. Sharon Feingold, a spokeswoman for the Israeli Army.
“There were clear operational and professional errors that occurred,” she said.
Egypt said the officers were members of the Central Security Forces, a paramilitary unit run by the Interior Ministry. The Egyptian forces are part of a unit responsible for preventing arms and drug smuggling across the border, Israel Radio reported.
“We are really and truly sorry and we have offered the Egyptians aid,” said Col. David Menachem, the acting Gaza commander, adding that he hoped the incident would not affect security cooperation with the Egyptians.
Meanwhile, a senior member of Hamas’ military wing was seriously wounded yesterday by Israeli Army gunfire in the southern Gaza Strip, medics and witnesses said.
Ghanem Al-Hashash, 46, was hit in the head and chest after troops opened fire from a post protecting the Jewish settlement of Morag, the sources said.
