Israel and Egypt Exchange Prisoners; Israelis Report Harsh Treatment

Israel and Egypt exchanged six prisoners today at a border point, in an agreement reached after intervention by the United Nations Secretariat in New York.

Israel handed over three Egyptians who were arrested, tried and sentenced to prison terms on espionage charges. The three Israelis involved in the exchange were arrested by United Nations Emergency Force soldiers after an accidental border crossing had been turned over by UNEF to Egyptian authorities. Oded Meir, David Chanuka and his son, Shmuel Chanuka, all from Herzliah, went to a market near the Egyptian border last August, and inadvertently crossed a few hundred feet into Egypt, when the UNEF soldiers arrested them. Israel immediately asked for their release, but Egypt made the return of the three Israelis conditional on an Israeli agreement to release three Egyptians. Successful talks were held at the UN secretariat headquarters in New York on the exchange.

The Israelis reported that they had been tortured during interrogation by the Egyptians and had been given little water and bad food. They could hardly walk as they crossed over into Israel.

The three Egyptians were Kabruk Yakobian, Khamis Abdul Kader and Husseil El Khawani. Yakobian, an Armenian born in Egypt, was sent to spy in Israel, arriving as an “immigrant” from South America in 1961. He settled in Ashkelon, joined the Israeli army, and was about to be married when he was arrested in 1963 after having been shadowed for months by the Israeli security services. He was convicted and sent to prison for 18 years. The two other men also were sent to Israel by Egyptian intelligence. They were arrested in 1955 and 1959, respectively, and received prison terms of 12 years and 15 years.