Suleiman Khater

Suleiman Mohammed Abdul-Hamid Khater (Arabic سليمان خاطر, also transcribed Soleiman, Sulaiman, Sulayman, Suliman etc.) was an Egyptian soldier (a member of the Central Security Forces) who on October 5, 1985 opened fire on Israeli tourists who apparently ignored orders to move away from a military post in the Sinai, killing seven. While Israel demanded that he be harshly punished, a number of voices in the Arab world expressed support for his actions, including the parliament of Kuwait. Khater was found hanged in his jail cell in January 1986, and many suspected that the Egyptian authorities staged a "suicide" as a convenient escape from their political dilemma. After his death, the Iranian government of Ayatollah Khomeini issued a stamp "In honour of the martyrdom of Sulayman Khater, Hero of Sinai", and named a street in Tehran for him.

His Life

Suleiman Khater was born on 1961 in the village of Ekyad (sometimes transcribed Akyad) in Al-Sharkeyya governorate, Egypt, the youngest of three boys and two girls born to a simple family.During his childhood, Suleiman witnessed the Israeli strike on Bahr el-Bakar Primary School on April 8 1970, when the Israeli Air Force bombarded the school using the American Phantom airplanes and killing 30 children. Maybe these scenes were of a strong impact on Suleiman who was 9 years old back then, as said by his sister who told Al-Jazeera that Suleiman “rash out to see what’s happening and came back...
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