Egyptian Authorities Ban Public Funeral for Conscript Linked to Shooting of Israeli Soldiers

CAIRO – Tension flared up in Cairo when the authorities Egypt banned activists and family members from holding a public funeral for Mohammed Salah. Salah is a conscript member who is suspected of being involved in a shooting that killed three soldiers Israel triggering tensions between the two countries.

Egyptian authorities on Tuesday night banned activist and family members of Egyptian conscript Mohammed Salah from holding a public funeral outside the deceased’s home in the capital Cairo, fearing he could be treated as a martyr.

Mohamed Salah. Photo/Middle East Eye

Salah, a member of the security forces serving along Egypt’s border with Israel, is believed to have been involved in the shooting that killed three Israeli soldiers after he entered Israeli territory and was killed in a gun battle on Saturday.

On Tuesday, security forces closed off the road leading to the deceased’s house in the middle-class Ain Shams neighborhood, northeast of Cairo, and police were deployed around the house.

Witnesses told The New Arab that pro-Palestinian activists and members of opposition groups who had tried to reach the site via a nearby underground metro station were chased down by security forces and forced to retreat.

Several correspondents working for the European news agency in Cairo managed to reach the house and speak to family members.