Israel clears out its embassy in Egypt

Officials say two Israeli military planes left Cairo, loaded with documents, equipment removed from embassy

Roi Kais|Published: 03.21.12 , 22:40

Israel cleared out its embassy building in Egypt before sunrise Wednesday, six months after its offices were attacked and ransacked by protesters, according to Egyptian airport officials.

The officials said that two Israeli military planes left Cairo, loaded with documents and equipment removed from the embassy.

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"We are removing the contents of the old embassy building, it was coordinated and arranged with the Egyptian authorities," said Ofir Gendelman, the Israeli prime minister's spokesman.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel had decided not to return to the old embassy premises in an apartment block next to the Nile.

"We are looking for a new place, and meanwhile (the contents) have been standing unused, and finding a new office will take a while," Palmor said.

"It's complicated to find a place for the embassy as it has to fill many needs, accessibility and security," he said. "So it's taking time. It's not as easy in Cairo as it used to be."

Israel has not used the embassy since the attack in September, when protesters ransacked one of the embassy's offices, dumping Hebrew-language documents out a window and trapping six Israeli staff inside for several hours. The protests were in response to the killing of six Egyptian police officers near the border by Israeli forces, who were chasing militants who killed eight Israelis in a cross-border attack.

Reuters contributed to this report