Where moral condemnation falls on deaf ears, law must intercede and provide redress for Israeli war crimes, writes Ibrahim Nafie A documentary on Israeli television has disclosed that an Israeli commando unit killed 250 Egyptian prisoners of war (POWs) in cold blood during the 1967 War. The documentary described the war crimes in detail. Needless to say, the perpetrators of such crimes must be brought to justice. Recently, former Yugoslav president Milosevic underwent an international trial for crimes against humanity. Milosevic had been put on that trial on the behest of the United States. Right now Sudanese officials face charges of war crimes in Darfur despite the paucity of evidence against them. There is no such paucity of evidence in the case against Israeli servicemen who killed Egyptian POWs. And there is no paucity of evidence against Israeli servicemen who still kill Palestinian civilians to this day. A concerted effort must be taken to prepare a legal case. This should be done in coordination with regional and international organisations. Charges should then go through appropriate legal channels. This effort must stay professional, for this is not the time for sentimentality and one-upmanship. Arabs Against Discrimination is an organisation that has compiled sufficient evidence in this regard and is willing to cooperate with any Egyptian or Arab authority to bring the case to trial. Benjamin Ben Eliezer, who commanded the Shaked unit that committed the atrocities, claims that those killed in the 1967 war were Palestinian guerrillas rather than Egyptian soldiers. His statements seem to corroborate the story more than refute it. And this wasn't the first time that Israel killed Egyptian POWs in war. A retired Israeli general by the name of Arieh Biro admits to have perpetrated such crimes in 1956, and so do other Israeli servicemen. The history of the Arab-Israeli conflict is full of such atrocities, all the way from Deir Yassin to Jenin, Sabra and Shatila, and Qana. We have enough evidence, much of which from Israeli sources, to build a case. We have a national duty to start legal action. We mustn't turn this into a media circus, for this would be counterproductive and morally wrong. Let's act in earnest. And let's not use this case for sensationalist purposes.
