The identity of the Egyptian policeman who reportedly killed three Israeli soldiers in his pursuit of smugglers has been revealed and confirmed unofficially.
His name is Mohamed Salah Ibrahim. His identity was revealed by Israeli media on Sunday and was confirmed on Monday by his relatives and friends, as well as his colleagues from his conscript unit.
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| Mohamed Salah and the pyramids in his back May 2021 |
Before we tell you what happened in the past 24 hours, we would like to share with you this small piece of news that took place earlier.
Two-and-a-half-year-old Mohamed al-Tamimi of the occupied West Bank village of Nabi Saleh died on Monday after being shot in the head four days earlier.
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| Little Mo was in a coma for four days |
Mohamed and his father, activist Bilal al-Tamimi, were shot by Israeli soldiers while they were in a car. The Israeli soldiers were pursuing alleged militiamen. Mohamed's father survived, but his toddler did not.
Mohamed al-Tamimi is a relative of Ahed al-Tamimi, the famous Palestinian teenager with curly blonde hair who was imprisoned by Israel for eight months for slapping an Israeli soldier. He is also a relative of another Mohamed al-Tamimi who lost part of his skull due to another head injury caused by Israeli soldiers.
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| Mohamed al-Tamimi's funeral, little Mo carried by his mom "AFP" |
There is something between the Israeli occupation and the children of the El-Tamimi family. The Israeli army has expressed regret for little Mo’s death and insists it was a mistake, as is often the case.
Little Mo al-Tamimi is believed to be the 29th child to be killed by Israeli forces since the start of 2023. According to Palestinian activists, 163 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and Israeli settlers since the start of the year, including 29 children and 6 women.
We now return to Mo Salah of Cairo
According to Israeli media, Egypt retrieved the body of Mohamed Salah from Israel earlier on Monday. His cousin Mahmoud Hamdy confirmed the news at 7 AM Cairo time, adding that the burial would be held as soon as the family received the body.
An hour later, Hamdy announced that Salah had been buried in the Qalyubia governorate. His mother did not attend the funeral, according to Mada Masr. It is difficult to imagine what she is feeling right now.
On Monday afternoon, Mohamed Salah's cousin announced that the family would hold a public memorial service in Ain Shams City at Ahmed Esmat Street on Tuesday.
However, I highly doubt that the Egyptian authorities will allow the service. The event is spreading like wildfire on social networks in Egypt, and the hashtag #AhmedEsmat in Arabic has been trending all day.
Updated on Tuesday 6 June 2023 :
As I expected the security authorities did not allow the memorial service to be held according to Mada Masr despite there were reportedly hundreds of men who came to present their condolences.
Al Shorouk said that tens of people from Ain Shams from the family friends gathered around the Salahs' house to present their condolence.
Al Shorouk took a photo of the late Mohamed Salah poster made by the Salahs' direct neighbour that was put on his house.
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| Mohamed Salah's poster in Ain Shams |
It is common in the popular working-class neighbourhoods to see similar posters for the deceased especially if they are young or passed away in a tragic accident.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Factions held a memorial service to mourn the young Egypt whose face adorned banners were found on Palestinian streets.
Mo Salah of Ain Shams
Here is what we know about the other Mohamed Salah who made headlines for national security, not sports.
Born in 2001 in Cairo's Ain Shams district, Salah's roots go back to Qalyubia governorate. The middle son of three boys, Salah did not complete his technical education.
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| Baby Mohamed Salah in the arms of his late father in 2001 "Facebook" |
Salah worked as an aluminium fabricator at one of the workshops in Ain Shams. He also worked in his uncle's carpentry workshop in Qalyubia.
In June 2022, Mohamed Salah began his mandatory three-year military service. He was deployed as a conscript with the Central Security Forces, stationed at Zone C in North Sinai, near international border point no. 47.
This information was first reported by the fact-checking social media account "Matsda2sh", which contacted Salah's relatives and colleagues.
The page said that according to Salah's friends, he was allegedly frustrated and angry after the alleged murder of a colleague in his unit on the border a short time ago. The murder was not publicly announced, and it did not seem that there was any accountability or investigation into the matter. It is unclear who killed the other conscript.
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| Mohamed Salah in a photo that was posted in March It was the last public post on his FB |
Salah's younger brother is proud despite his loss. He is sharing all of the pro-Mohamed Salah graphics depicting him as a martyr.
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| One of the top shared graphics in Egypt on Monday featuring Mohamed Salah as a martyr wearing an Egyptian army uniform and Palestinian Kuffayiah |
The other Mo Salah on social media and mainstream media
The hashtag #Mohamed_Salah has been trending on Twitter in Arabic, but it is not related to the Egyptian football star Mohamed Salah, who is currently enjoying a break in the United Arab Emirates. I can imagine that Salah's agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, is unhappy with the trend though despite he is originally Lebanese and from his name, I assume from a Shia family from South Lebanon.
The hashtag #The_real_pride_of_Arabs has been trending for 48 hours, and it refers to the Egyptian soldier Mohamed Salah, not the footballer. Yes, one of Mo Salah’s nicknames is “The Pride of Arabs”.
Egypt’s ancient Heliopolis aka working class Ain Shams is trending too.
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| Another top graphic featuring Salah and the Dome of the Rock |
The trend has spread to other social media platforms, such as Facebook and TikTok. Mohamed Salah is now known as #The_Hero_of_Ain_Shams, and he is also being hailed as a hero martyr.
On TikTok, there are fake videos of his public funeral, which are spreading misinformation under hashtag #Mohamed_Salah in Arabic.
The legend of Mohamed Salah is born, and it will not go away.
As the social media celebrated Mohamed Salah, the mainstream media completely ignored him and the developments of his story for real. The Egyptian Armed Forces' statements were only mentioned along with a focus on the increasing smuggling activity in this area.
Regarding Israel and smuggling, I am reading now the reporters are bringing up the question of the infestation of smuggling through the Egyptian-Israeli borders, especially drug smuggling.
It is a historical fact that the Israeli-Egyptian borders are one of the main routes of drug entry to Egypt.
Now in the age of social media, we find smugglers recording their operations boldly on social media.
That video is showing smuggling of drugs from Israel to Egypt.
היו כאלו שטענו לי היום שההברחות סמים נעשות רחוק מאוד מידי לוחמי צה"ל.
— איתמר כרמון | itamar carmon (@itamarcarmon) June 5, 2023
אז בתיעוד שהגיע אלי עכשיו, רואים טרקטורונים עמוסים בשקי סמים שהם דוהרים סמוך לגדר המערכת במצרים, כשבצד מתהלכים להם עשרות חיילים.
למה לא עצרו אותם?
חייב תשובות! pic.twitter.com/c4THgtcJJo
The smuggler is allegedly from the Azzam tribe that extends between Egypt, Palestine and Jordan’s desert.
להגיד לכם שהתפלאתי על הפיגוע בגבול מצרים?
— איתמר כרמון | itamar carmon (@itamarcarmon) June 4, 2023
לא.
כבר חודשים שאני מעביר למשטרה סרטונים מהטיקטוק של הברחות סמים בגבול מהצד הישראלי, ושאני מדפדף בעמוד של אותו מבריח, אני רואה סרטונים עם נשקים (לפעמים צהל"ים), מאות אלפי שקלים במזומן ורכבי יוקרה.
תיעוד מלפני כמה ימים בגבול מצרים pic.twitter.com/nB5y3SKEZl
In one of those videos, we find the smuggler passing by a group of Israeli soldiers who care less and do nothing.
For decades, Egypt paid a heavy price because of the drugs coming from Israel. I think it is time we dealt with this problem.
I think Israel knows the price of ignoring this problem now.
Hero martyr Mohamed Salah (Allah yerhamoh), you made us all proud
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