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| Last Update: 19/11/2004 12:08 |
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Probe: Killing of 3 Egyptians due to poor unit coordination
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| By Aluf Benn and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Reuters |
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon apologized to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday after an Israel Defense Forces tank crew mistakenly fired on and killed three members of the Egyptian security forces near the Israel-Egypt border in the Rafah area of Gaza early Thursday.
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Mubarak told Sharon that Egypt accepts the apology and understands that the incident was a mistake, but the Egyptian Foreign Ministry condemned what it called irresponsible Israeli conduct and demanded an immediate investigation.
Sharon said in his phone call to Mubarak that the shooting was a mistake and promised the IDF would conduct an investigation and share any findings with Egypt. He also said Israel would help Egypt with anything it wanted.
Probe: Troops erred in communication
According to the army, an IDF observation point had spotted three suspected terrorists and directed a tank in their direction. However, following an error in communication between soldiers at the observation point and the tank, the tank crew accidentally identified the three Egyptians as the terrorists, and opened fire on them.
The IDF probe indicated a lack of agreed upon language of communication between the armored force and the Golani Brigade infantry troops acting as spotters from a nearby outpost.
The Golani troops had entered the sector one day before the incident.
The investigation revealed that following a 40-minute period of verification, the area brigade commander gave permission for the tank to open fire, Israel Radio reported.
The investigation was ordered following the incident; the Foreign Ministry was to participate in the probe, along with senior defense officials, including GOC Southern Command Dan Harel.
"From the initial investigation, the mistake is clear to us," IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon told the radio on Friday morning. "A terrorist cell was identified from one location and the tank that opened fire identified another cell of Egyptian police officers.
"From the standpoint of our coordination with the Egyptians, there is no problem. Coordination is excellent. The primary conclusion must concern the coordination between the tank and the spotter or the commander who directed the tank. That is the main problem."
Egypt's Foreign Ministry called for the probe to be comprehensive. "While condemning and protesting strongly at this regrettable incident, Egypt demands the Israeli authorities hold an immediate, full and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances" of the shooting, a Foreign Ministry statement said.
"The Egyptian Foreign Minister has directed the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv to inform the Israeli Foreign Minister of the Egyptian protest at this irresponsible conduct and to press the demand for an explanation," it added.
Sharon's apology followed a formal apology by the IDF, which described the incident as a "professional and operational" mishap.
Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim called the incident "regrettable and grave in its outcome."
The Israeli tank crew, operating near the Philadephi Route border strip that runs between the Palestinian and Egyptian halves of the divided border town of Rafah, apparently believed the three Egyptians to be terrorists planting a bomb, and then opened fire.
The tank fired off a single shell across the border before dawn, a senior Israeli security source said.
"Three Egyptian troops were killed," the source said. "[IDF troops] thought they were Palestinian weapons smugglers."
Egypt later confirmed that three of its security forces had been killed in the incident. It said the men were members of the Central Security Forces, a paramilitary unit run by the Interior Ministry. Egyptian cabinet spokesman Magdy Rady said Egypt was waiting for more information from Israel, but "until now, we see it as a mistake."
Egypt identified the three as Hani Ali Sobhi, Aamir Abu Bakr Aamir and Mohammed Abdel Fatah Ali, and said their bodies had been taken to hospitals in Rafah.
Boim said the area is a very sensitive one, with troops on high alert for terrorist activity. But he noted that the Egyptian army had increased its operations in the area to prevent smuggling of arms into the adjacent Gaza Strip.
"So of course it just makes matters worse, and we must find ways to ensure it won't happen again," Boim said.
Prior to Thursday's incident, the army, citing a surge in deadly operational mishaps, had scheduled a two-hour break in all training later Thursday to discuss ways to prevent accidents and reduce negligence in soldiers' performance.
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