Egyptian police kill 2 trying to cross into Israel
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Egyptian Police have killed two Bedouin smugglers who were trying to sneak across the Sinai desert border into Israel, a senior police officer said Tuesday.
Suleiman Salama, 21, and Salem Musleh, 38, were shot dead Monday night while approaching the Egyptian-Israel border in the district of Arijan, said Gen. Ali Makhamer of the police in Northern Sinai province. Both men belonged to the Bedouin people who live in the Sinai peninsula.
The two men's bodies were found with packets of cigarettes and tobacco that they were presumably intending to sell on the Israeli side, Makhamer said.
Smuggling across the Israeli-Egyptian border is common.
In the past, Israel complained that Palestinian militants were smuggling arms through tunnels from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. Israel accused the Egyptian government of turning a blind eye to the cross-border gun running. Egypt denied the allegation.