Israel reopened its embassy in Cairo on Tuesday, a day after some two dozen
protesters were injured in the most unruly protest at the embassy since the
signing of the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace accord.
Roughly 1,000
Egyptians, chanting anti-Israel slogans and burning an Israeli flag, gathered
outside the embassy on Monday – at one point trying to remove security barriers
outside the building.
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The police responded by firing tear gas and live
ammunition to disperse the crowd, injuring some two dozen people.
Israel,
which knew in advance about plans for the protest, decided to keep the embassy
closed on the day of the demonstration, but opened it Tuesday.
An Foreign
Ministry spokesman in Jerusalem, who requested anonymity, said the protest
included the “usual suspects,” including Nasserites and radical
Islamists.
The spokesman added that what was more worrisome than the
protest were the anti- Israel chants, and calls being heard at Tahirir Square on
a regular basis.
Those gathered in the square, he said, were more
representative of Egyptian society – and as such, their chants and the
anti-Israel sentiment there were more problematic.
The spokesman said
there was no intention as a result of the protest at the embassy to bring back
to Israel any of the embassy staff, or their families.
The spokesman said
that lines of communications between decision-makers in Jerusalem and Cairo
remain open.
