Israel's ministry for foreign affairs approved on Thursday night the appointment of Haim Koren as new ambassador to Egypt, replacing Yaakov Amitai who served as Israel's envoy since December 2011. Prior to his appointment, Koren was Israel's ambassador in South Sudan since January 2012, where he was repeatedly accused by the Nothern Sudanese governement of contributing in disrupting ties between the two African countries, reported Al-Ahram Arabic news website. This won't be Koren's first time to work in Egypt, he previously served as consul for the Consulate General of Israel in Alexandria. He also worked in the US and Nepal. It remains unknow however where the office of the new diplomat will be given that the embassy has failed to open a new building to host its diplomatic mission since hundreds of protesters stormed its office in Giza on September 2011. Relations between Egypt and Israel have been strained since Egypt's January 2011 uprising, which culminated in the ouster of longstanding president Hosni Mubarak. Many Egyptians demand the modification – or abrogation – of the 1978 Camp David Accords between the two nations. Last August, the anti-Morsi Rebel campaign launched on its official website a petition to demand the cancellation of both US aid and the Camp David peace treaty between Egypt and Israel labelled "Reviving National Sovereignty". In 2011, several protests were held by Egyptian pro-Palestinian groups outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo to pressure Egypt's then-ruling supreme military council to expel the Israeli ambassador. Last November, Israeli ambassador in Cairo Yaacov Amitai, who has been Israeli ambassador to Egypt since December 2011, was summoned to the Egyptian foreign ministry in protest at the ongoing Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/84816.aspx
