Sign posted outside the ambassador’s residence during the re-opening of the embassy in Cairo. (Israeli embassy in Egypt official Facebook page via AP)
Israel reopened its Cairo embassy four years after it was forced to close when a mob attacked it. Egypt will re-instate its ambassador to Israel next month.
Israel has reopened its embassy in Cairo for the first time since 2011, when the previous embassy was ransacked by an Egyptian mob enraged by the accidental killing of five Egyptian border guards by IDF soldiers during an attempted raid by Sinai-based terrorists.
Since then, the search for a new location has been beset by issues regarding security precautions and leases.
The ambassador’s residence has been chosen to host the embassy for now, following a lengthy and unfruitful search for a new location.
“We made a decision to move forward — that it would not be worthwhile delaying this with more discussions about the premises,” Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold told Israeli Radio on Thursday. Gold also praised the Sisi administration, saying Egypt and Israel are “working together for Middle East stability and prosperity.”
Israeli Ambassador to Egypt Haim Koren expressed satisfaction regarding the decision.
Egypt’s prior president, Muslim Brotherhood-member Mohammed Morsi, withdrew his country’s ambassador from Israel in 2012. In June, Egypt appointed Hazem Khairat as the new ambassador to Israel. He will take his post in October.
By: Sara Abramowicz, United with Israel