Israel and Egypt reaffirm commitment to peace and security after border killings
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Israel and Egypt have reaffirmed their commitment to upholding their peace treaty and security coordination, after an Egyptian policeman infiltrated the Egyptian-Israeli border and killed three Israel Defense Forces soldiers on Saturday, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports.
Combat soldiers in the Bardelas Battalion, Staff Sgt. Ohad Dahan, 20, Sgt. Lia Ben Nun, 19, and Staff Sgt. Ori Yitzhak Iluz were killed by Mohamed Salah Ibrahim, 22, who is understood to have acted alone.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Tuesday, TOI reports. A read-out of the call from the PM’s office said Sissi had expressed his “deep condolences” over the attack and had committed to a “joint and exhaustive investigation.”
While not mentioning any condolences, a spokesman for the Egyptian President said in a statement: “The president and prime minister of Israel have affirmed the importance of full coordination to uncover all the circumstances of the incident.”
Prior to Tuesday’s phone call, Netanyahu said in an address to his cabinet that he had informed Egypt he expected a full investigation into the killings, TOI reports.
“Israel sent a clear message to the Egyptian government: We expect the joint investigation to be exhaustive and thorough,” Netanyahu said. “This is part of the important security cooperation between us, which has existed to the benefit of both countries for years.”