Jeg refererede forleden til en dokumentar om Yom Kippur krigen i 1973 mellem først og fremmest Syrien-Ægypten og Israel. På overfladen en udmærket og grundig dokumentar med masser af interviews med hovedpersoner, centrale vidner og eksperter. Dokumentaren er fra Al Jazeera, men kunne såmænd have været produceret af en hvilken som europæisk stats TV-station, hvilket vil sige at der er en naturlig skævvridning og og udeladelse af relevante oplysninger.
For der er et par men’er man kan knytte til vinklingen af konflikten, der kun på overfladen tager sig neutral ud og nogle af de påstande, som den arabiske side slipper igennem. Dokumentaren hæfter sig meget ved at Sinai og Golanhøjderne var besat af Israel efter 6-Dageskrigen (dokumentaren bruger sjovt nok for en arabisk TV-station ikke den lidt mindre bibelske og for araberne mindre ydmygende Juni Krigen eller 67 Krigen), men glemmer at fortælle hvorfor Israelerne følte sig nødsaget til at opretholde en buffer zone mod Ægypten og Syrien, der havde som svoret mål at rulle Israel i havet. I stedet tegnes Sadats motivation som en utålmodighed med de fastfrosne fredsforhandlinger.
Flere gange får vi at vide at en israelsk sejr er fulgt af svære tab. Israel mistede 2.656 soldater under krigen og i forhold til israelsk standard er det også mange tabte liv. For ægypterne og syrerne anslås tabene at være mellem 8.000 og 18.500. Den voldsomme usikkerhed fortæller alt, der er værd at vide om arabernes forhold til menneskeliv. Der lægges omvendt vægt på arabiske soldaters tapperhed når det lykkedes dem at stoppe den israelske fremrykning i krigens sidste dage og de efterladte og ødelagte israelske kampvogne der stadig står som monumenter og markerer den endelige frontlinje - langt inde på arabisk jord!
Der er også et indigneret afsnit i det sidste program, hvor israelerne flere gange sidder en FN våbenhvile overhørig fordi de virkeligt har tur i den på slagmarken og vil stå så stærkt som muligt ved forhandlingsbordet. Dokumentaren hæfter sig ved at den amerikanske udenrigsminister Henry Kissinger lader Israel slippe afsted med at fortsætte kamphandlingerne. Men det var især Sovjet der ville skåne araberne for selv at betale prisen for den krig, de selv havde startet. Israels handlinger var ganske fornuftige og moralske.
I filmen fortæller en stolt soldat at skønt de virkeligt hadede Israel og var ganske euforiske ved de første sejre så behandlede de alligevel israelske fanger godt. Muligvis var det hans oplevelse, men det var ikke sandheden om arabernes behandling af israelske krigsfanger. Fra Wikipedia
Syrian atrocities
Syria ignored the Geneva Conventions and many Israeli prisoners of war (POW) were reportedly tortured or killed.[249] Advancing Israeli forces, re-capturing land taken by the Syrians early in the war, came across the bodies of 28 Israeli soldiers who had been blindfolded with their hands bound and summarily executed.[250] In a December 1973 address to the National Assembly, Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass stated that he had awarded one soldier the Medal of the Republic for killing 28 Israeli prisoners with an axe, decapitating three of them and eating the flesh of one of his victims.[251] The Syrians employed brutal interrogation techniques utilizing electric shocks to the genitals. A number of Israeli soldiers taken prisoner on Mount Hermon were executed. Near the village of Hushniye, the Syrians captured 11 administrative personnel from the Golan Heights Force, all of whom were later found dead, blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs. Within Hushniye, seven Israeli prisoners were found dead, and another three were executed at Tel Zohar. Syrian prisoners who fell into Israeli captivity confirmed that their comrades killed IDF prisoners.[252]
Some Israeli POWs reported having their fingernails ripped out while others were described as being turned into human ashtrays as their Syrian guards burned them with lit cigarettes.[253] A report submitted by the chief medical officer of the Israeli army notes that, “the vast majority of (Israeli) prisoners were exposed during their imprisonment to severe physical and mental torture. The usual methods of torture were beatings aimed at various parts of the body, electric shocks, wounds deliberately inflicted on the ears, burns on the legs, suspension in painful positions and other methods.”[254] Following the conclusion of hostilities, Syria would not release the names of prisoners it was holding to the International Committee of the Red Cross and in fact, did not even acknowledge holding any prisoners despite the fact they were publicly exhibited by the Syrians for television crews.[255] The Syrians, having been thoroughly defeated by Israel, were attempting to use their captives as their sole bargaining chip in the post-war negotiations.[256] One of the most famous Israeli POWs was Avraham Lanir, an Israeli pilot who bailed out over Syria and was taken prisoner.[257] Lanir died under Syrian interrogation.[92][258][259] When his body was returned in 1974, it exhibited signs of torture.[258]
Egyptian atrocities
Israeli historian Aryeh Yitzhaki estimated that the Egyptians killed about 200 Israeli soldiers who had surrendered. Yitzhaki based his claim on army documents. In addition, dozens of Israeli prisoners were beaten and otherwise mistreated in Egyptian captivity.[260]
Individual Israeli soldiers gave testimony of witnessing comrades killed after surrendering to the Egyptians, or seeing the bodies of Israeli soldiers found blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs. Avi Yaffe, a radioman serving on the Bar-Lev Line, reported hearing calls from other soldiers that the Egyptians were killing anyone who tried to surrender, and also obtained recordings of soldiers who were saved from Egyptian firing squads. Photographic evidence of such executions exists, though some of it has never been made public. Photos were also found of Israeli prisoners who were photographed alive in Egyptian captivity, but were returned to Israel dead.[260][261]
The order to kill Israeli prisoners came from General Shazly, who, in a pamphlet distributed to Egyptian soldiers immediately before the war, he advised his troops to kill Israeli soldiers even if they surrendered.[260]
Arabernes behandling af krigsfanger afslører at deres egentlige ærinde aldrig var en fredsløsning, men en endelig løsning.