Demand for Israel to compensate Egyptians for torture

The leader of the Egyptian Arab Socialist Party has called on President Mohamed Morsi to demand compensation for Egyptians who, it is alleged, were tortured by Israel. Waheed Aloksory said that Morsi should use the UN Security Council to make the demand in respect of the maltreatment of around 65,000 Egyptian soldiers who were held by the Israelis during the Suez Crisis in 1956 and the 1967 Six-Day War.

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Aloksory suggested that if such claims came to fruition the state of Israel could face serious financial difficulties. He said that a verdict of the State Council’s administrative court obliges the government to move towards immediate disbursement of compensation and linked the issue to maintaining the dignity of Egyptian citizens, one of the demands of the January 25 Revolution.

The leftist leader stressed that the recognition of these crimes in 1995 makes it necessary for the executive to act immediately. He refused to accept the claim that President Morsi is tackling this matter in a different way to ousted President Mubarak.