Egypt refuses to rent building to Israeli embassy

Israel's ambassador to Cairo working from hotel room due to Egyptian refusal to sell, rent out building to Israel

Roi Kais|Published: 04.01.12 , 16:25

Israel's embassy in Cairo has been operating out of a temporary residence for the past seven months because Egypt is refusing to sell or rent out a building to Israel the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Sunday, citing an Egyptian security expert.

Sources told al-Sharq that Israel's ambassador to Cairo Yaakov Amitai has been working out of his hotel room since Israel cleared out its embassy building in Egypt last week.

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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 members inside for several hours. The protests were in response to the killing of six Egyptian police officers near the border by Israeli forces.

The Egyptian security expert further said that "the current crisis derives from the fact that every time the Israeli embassy finds a new embassy building, the owners' then refuse to sell or rent the property after finding out who the buyer is."

Other sources at the Israeli Foreign Ministry have said that "the search for a new embassy facility is ongoing and they have yet to find a place that meets the financial and security criteria."

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Wafd nationalist-liberal political party's website has reported that an Egyptian envoy is due to visit Israel on Sunday and is set to meet with Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor officials. The two are expected to discuss trade agreements between Egypt and Israel.