The Egyptian government is consulting with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on how to respond to Israel’s failure to open a joint investigation into the killing of Egyptian soldiers by Israeli forces on Thursday, an official source has said.
Israel has not yet taken the steps required to launch a joint investigation, despite a previous pledge to do so in accordance with Egyptian demands. The delay may prompt Egypt to withdraw its ambassador, the official added.
Meanwhile, Reuters has quoted Israeli National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror as saying his country has no intention of holding a joint investigation, and would instead share with Egypt the results of two separate investigations conducted by the two nations.
Israel’s most widely-circulated newspaper Yediot Aharonot on Wednesday said that three Egyptians took part in the Eilat attack, and that the Israeli army did its best to avoid antagonizing its Egyptian counterpart.
The paper also said that the autopsy of their corpses showed that one of the Egyptians was a member of an extremist group who had escaped with other Islamists from prison during the revolution.
The paper also said that Israeli chief investigator Amir Eshel flew to Cairo earlier this week to brief the Egyptian officials of the preliminary results of the investigation. According to Eshel, he showed them a video of Israeli military aircraft deliberately avoiding Egyptian targets, but targeting a sniper who was hiding in a spot close to the border.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
