Envoy visits Egypt for 1st time since mission attack

Yitzhak Levanon in Cairo for private visit, to bid farewell to Egyptian officials before the end of his term.

By HERB KEINON
yitzhak levanon 311 (photo credit: Channel 2)
yitzhak levanon 311
(photo credit: Channel 2)
Yitzhak Levanon, the outgoing ambassador to Egypt, flew to Cairo Monday for a 36-hour visit for the first time since the embassy staff was evacuated in September after it was ransacked by an angry mob and its six security guards were rescued.
Levanon asked and received permission from the Foreign Ministry to make the trip to take formal leave of colleagues and contacts in the Egyptian government and the Cairo-based diplomatic corps.
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Foreign Ministry officials said that Israel was still looking for a new, safe location for its embassy. In the meantime, one Israeli diplomat is representing Israel’s interests from an undisclosed location in Cairo. This diplomat travels back to Israel on the weekends.
Levanon will be replaced by Yaakov Amitai, who is expected to present his credentials next month to the Egyptian authorities.
He too is expected to travel to and from Cairo, until new embassy premises are found. No date has been given for Israel re-opening the embassy.
Levanon was whisked out of Egypt two months ago with 80 other diplomats, businessmen and their families after a mob attacked the embassy. Six security guards, locked behind a thick metal door inside the embassy on a Friday night, were extricated by Egyptian commandos after the US intervened and demanded that Cairo take action.