The Egyptian public is closely following reports about Israel's killing of around 250 Egyptian POWs during the 1967 War. The Israelis admitted their crime in a documentary aired on Israeli state-run television. According to the documentary, the Shaked commando unit led by Binyamin Ben Eliezer, current minister of infrastructure, killed the Egyptian POWs in cold blood. Former prime minister Ariel Sharon created the commando unit in 1954. According to international law, prisoners of war should be treated with honour and registered with the International Committee of the Red Cross. Israel's actions constitute a war crime over which there is not statute of limitation. Upholding international law entails prosecuting the perpetrators of war crimes. Israeli officials and individuals have made further admissions that can be used as evidence in legal action against the perpetrators of this crime. In a telephone interview with Al-Ahram, published 2 March 2007, Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery said that the history of Ben Eliezer, who served once as Israel's defence minister, is one of remorseless bloodshed. The Israeli army committed other war crimes against Egyptian troops in 1956 and 1967 and intentionally deprived retreating Egyptian troops of water supplies. Avnery tried in the past to publicise such incidents, but was stopped by Israeli censors. According to Yediot Aharonot, the contents of the televised documentary confirm other testimonies given by Israeli army officers about the killing of Egyptian prisoners in 1956 and 1967. Testimonies by some Sinai inhabitants who know the burial places of the victims offer additional proof. Israel is trying to distance itself from the documentary. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has promised to follow the case closely. Egypt, of course, has a peace treaty with Israel. But this won't deter us, as government or people, from demanding justice. A joint parliamentary committee has called on the government to file a lawsuit against Israel. The committee urged both the Arab League and the Foreign Ministry to obtain copies of the documentary. The Egyptian foreign minister has already urged Israel to investigate the massacre. Should Israel fail to take legal action against the perpetrators, Egypt would resort to international law, the minister said. The remarks came following talks he had in Brussels with Tzipi Livni, his Israeli counterpart. Livni said that she hasn't seen the documentary and hinted that it could be an attempt to undermine ties between Egypt and Israel. Still, Egypt will not rest until the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to justice.
