Egypt refuses to hold funeral for officer who killed Israel soldiers

Egyptian security services refused to hold a funeral for policeman, Mohamed Salah Ibrahim, who carried out the Egyptian-Israeli border operation resulting in the death of three Israeli soldiers and the wounding of a fourth, in an exchange of gunfire.

Mada Masr quoted two sources close to the soldier’s family saying, “the agreement between the family and the security authorities was that a funeral would be held after the burial took place secretly and quickly,” and that the family would postpone the funeral until Tuesday “so the number of attendees would be reduced.” But the security authorities have since informed the family of their refusal to hold a funeral. I

The site stated that hundreds of Egyptians went to Salah’s house in the Ain Shams area in the capital, Cairo, yesterday to attend the funeral “but Ain Shams investigation forces dispersed them.”

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Sources noted that there were between 200 and 300 people in the area surrounding the house.

Sources in the family said that a limited number of Salah’s family had buried his body on Monday, in his hometown in the village of Al-Ammar in Qalyubia, noting that his mother was not able to attend as the burial had taken place quickly, according to Mada Masr.

Immediately after Saturday’s events, the security forces detained Salah’s brother and uncle from the family home in Ain Shams, for interrogation before releasing them.

Mada Masr had quoted a diplomatic source in the United Nations as saying that Egypt had agreed to allow an Israeli team of investigators to work within its borders, since Sunday evening, within the framework of the joint investigation that the two countries agreed to conduct as part of their mutual security commitments.

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