Report: Israeli envoy leaves Egypt temporarily

Egyptian news site reports that Yaakov Amitai is taking extended vacation over concerns of repercussions connected to revolution anniversary

Roi Kais|Published: 01.19.12 , 15:19

Israel's Ambassador to Egypt Yaakov Amitai has left Cairo and is en route to Israel for a weekend's vacation, the Al-Ahram news website reported.

According to the report, Amitai is expected to extend his vacation over concerns of repercussions from events set to take place in Egypt on January 25 to mark a year since the revolution began.

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In September protesters tore down a security wall around the Israeli Embassy, then stormed and trashed its offices and removed the Israeli flag from the building.

Hundreds of Egyptian troops arrived at the site in dozens of armored vehicles in an effort to quell the violence but later fled the scene, allowing the rioters to ransack the embassy. The al-Arabiya network and local media said more than 1,000 Egyptians were hurt in clashes between police and demonstrators.

A special Israel Air Force flight returned the Israeli representatives to the Jewish state. Another plane, carrying six security guards and embassy staff who were stranded in the embassy, landed in Israel several hours later.

They were evacuated by a commando force with a live broadcast to the Foreign Ministry's situation room in Jerusalem. Three months later, Amitai was appointed to the position of ambassador.

A source at Cairo's airport said that the Ambassador and eight embassy employees will be travelling on Air Sinai. The newspaper quoted sources who claimed that if everything goes smoothly next week, Amitai would return to Egypt in 10 days.

The Foreign Ministry has denied the reports claiming that the ambassador's vacation had anything to do with the revolution's anniversary.