Dir.-gen. returns from trip to Cairo in which he sought new quarters for embassy; 2 embassy staff members reassigned to other locations.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFEgyptian ram Israeli embassy in Cairo_311(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Foreign Ministry is looking to return its staff to Cairo, even as it reassigned two of the staff members once stationed there.On Wednesday night, its director-general Rafael Barak returned from a one-day trip to Cairo in which he sought new quarters for the embassy, which was evacuated in September after a street mob stormed it.RELATED:'Israeli diplomats return to Cairo after embassy attack'He spoke with senior Egyptian officials about the immediate resumption of the embassy’s work and its return to Cairo, according to the Foreign Ministry.The Egyptians were friendly and offered to help Israel restore its diplomatic force there, the Foreign Ministry said in a press statement.Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israel Radio, “We are ready to re-open [the embassy] the moment we can send our staff. We are in constant contact with the Egyptian authorities.”Staff security must be assured before Israel reopens it embassy, he added.
No date has been set for Israel’s diplomatic return to Egypt, but contacts with Egypt on the issue will continue over the next few days.However, when the Israeli embassy re-opens there, a number of its staff won’t return.Israel Tikochinsky was reassigned to Israel’s UN mission in New York, and Amit Maclada was appointed deputy chief of mission in Sao Paulo.Israel’s ambassador to Egypt, Yitzhak Levanon, retires at the end of the month. Yaakov Amitai will replace him.
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