Today, Friday, a prominent Israeli journalist specializing in security affairs revealed a horrific massacre that killed at least 20 Egyptian soldiers in the 1967 war.
Journalist Yossi Melman stated in a series of tweets on his Twitter account, that the Egyptian soldiers "were burned alive and buried by the Israeli army in a mass grave without signs near Jerusalem."
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper's website published similar details to what Melman mentioned.
"After 55 years of intense censorship, I can reveal that at least 20 Egyptian soldiers were burned alive and buried by the Israeli army in an unmarked, unidentified mass grave, contrary to the laws of war, at Latrun near Jerusalem," Millman wrote. .
He added that this happened during the "Six Day War", which is the Israeli name for the 1967 war, which the Arabs call the "setback."
On the reasons for the presence of Egyptian soldiers in that area, Melman pointed out that the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, days before the outbreak of the war, had signed a joint defense agreement with the late King of Jordan, Hussein bin Talal, who was in control of the West Bank.
In this regard, Melman said, "Egypt deployed two battalions of commandos in the West Bank near Latrun, which was then a no-man's land. Their mission was to attack inside Israel and seize Lydda and the nearby military airports."
Latrun is located on the road between Jerusalem and Jaffa, about 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem. After the 1948 war, an agreement was reached between Israel and Jordan to make it a forbidden area.
In the 1967 war, Israel occupied and annexed Latrun, which is today a suburb of occupied Jerusalem.
details of the massacre
Melman added, detailing what happened. There was an exchange of fire with IDF soldiers and members of Kibbutz Nahshon (a cooperative agricultural community);
Some Egyptian soldiers escaped, some were taken captive, and some fought bravely.
"At one point, the Israeli army fired mortar shells and thousands of uncultivated acres of wild bush were set on fire in the dry summer," he said.
"At least 20 Egyptian soldiers died in the bush fire," Melman added.
"The fire spread quickly in the hot and dry bush, and they had no chance to escape," the Israeli journalist quoted Zain Baloch, 90, who at the time was the military commander of Kibbutz Nahshon, a left-wing kibbutz.
Continuing to quote Baluch, he added, "The next day, Israeli soldiers equipped with a bulldozer came to the scene and dug a hole, pushed the Egyptian bodies and covered them with soil."
"Bloch and some members of (kibbutz) Nahshon watched with horror the Israeli soldiers looting the personal property of the Egyptians and leaving the mass grave unmarked," Melman added.
And the Israeli journalist continued, "Now, after the lifting of military censorship, Bloch adds that the veil of silence suits everyone; the few who knew did not want to talk about it; we felt ashamed; but above all, the decision of the Israeli army was in the midst of the war."
In his tweets, Melman indicated that unclassified official military documents delete "the Latrun tragedy from its records."
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Melman's statement.
In the 1967 war, the Israeli army defeated the Arab armies, and occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (which was under Jordanian control), the Gaza Strip (which was under Egyptian control), the Sinai Peninsula, and the Syrian Golan Heights.