Eyal Achikar, an Israeli pilot who was injured when his plane was shot down over Egyptian territory on June 30, 1970, was returned today to Israel and immediately hospitalized for treatment. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, on hand to greet the wounded flyer, denounced Egypt for holding him for so long in violation of the Geneva Convention provisions concerning injured prisoners of war.
Dayan disclosed that Israel had approached every international institution and many influential persons all over the world in efforts to secure Achikar’s release. In return for Achikar, Israel has returned to Egypt four soldiers and six civilians captured during an Israeli commando raid on Shadwan Island in the Gulf of Suez on Jan. 22, 1970. The exchange of prisoners was carried on at noon today at Ismailia on the Suez Canal under the auspices of the International Red Cross.
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