Suleiman Khater Suleiman Mohammed Abdul - Hamid Khater ( Arabic سليمان خاطر , also transcribed " Soleiman " , " Sulaiman " , " Sulayman " , " Suliman " etc . ) was an Egypt ian 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 of them , as well as an Egyptian police officer . 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 in January 1986 , hung in his jail cell , 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 reading " In honour of the martyrdom of Sulayman Khater , Hero of Sinai " and named a street in Tehran for him . Early life . Suleiman Khater was born on 1961 in the village of Ekyad ( sometimes transcribed " Akyad " ) in Al - Sharkeyya governorate , Egypt . He was the youngest of three boys and two girls . 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 American Phantom airplanes , killing 30 children . Suleiman joined the obligatory military service as a soldier in the Central Security Forces . Ras Burqa massacre . According to the Egyptian daily Al - Wafd , on October 5 , 1985 , and during Khater ’ s usual shift in the area of Ras Barqa ( or Ras Barga ) in Southern Sinai , he saw a group of Israeli tourists , 12 , trying to climb the cliff where his booth was located . He warned them , saying “ Stop no passing ” in English , but they didn ’ t listen to him and kept going towards the military booth . According to him , he fired warning shots in the air in order to find out what they were up to in the darkness . Since there was no response or reaction from the 12 Israelis , Suleiman shot at them and left 7 of them dead , including 4 children . Although that was the orders that Suleiman followed , he was charged in front of a military tribunal . During the investigations , Suleiman said that these Israelis sneaked into the Egyptian lands without permission and refused to obey or listen to his warnings . Suleiman ' s Tribunal . Suleiman turned himself in after the incidents , and a presidential decree was issued to let Suleiman be introduced to a military tribunal , although he was a member of the police forces and not a military soldier . Egypt ' s most prominent lawyers stood in line to passionately defend Khater . Suleiman ’ s lawyer requested that Suleiman be introduced in a civil court , but his request was refused . The governmental journals said he was crazy , and the dissident journals demanded that he be introduced in a civil court , not a military one ; as a result , many appeals , conferences , and statements demanded the same thing . The military tribunal sentenced Khater a life term of hard labour on December 28 , 1985 , and he was deported to the Military Prison in Nasr City , Cairo . Immediately , Khater was transferred to the prison hospital . On his 9th day in prison , January 7 , 1986 , it was announced that Suleiman had committed suicide . Investigation with Suleiman . In the investigation record , Khater tells his story that on October 5 , 1985 : The mystery of his “ suicide ” . Many Egyptians cast doubt on the government ' s version of Suleiman ' s death . The forensic report said that he committed suicide . His brother said : “ I raised my brother very well , and I know how faithful and religious he is . He cannot have committed suicide . They killed him in his prison ” . National ( governmental ) journals said that Suleiman hung himself to a window 3 meters away from the ground . Witnesses say that suicide is not the only possibility and that there were strangling marks on the neck , and bruises on his legs . The official statement said that he committed suicide using the bed sheets , al - Mosawer official magazine said that it was using a plastic sheet , and the forensic report said that it was using a piece of a commando costume . Suleiman ’ s family issued a request to redo the dissection by an independent committee , however their request was declined . As soon as Suleiman ’ s death news was known , angry university and school students went out in protests . After all , the Israelis families got a compensation from the Egyptian government . Suleiman ’ s mother later said : “ My son was killed , by the government , for the sake of America and Israel , so that they will be satisfied ” .