Israel's decision to clear out its embassy raised new questions on the future relationship between Cairo and Tel Aviv, reports Mohamed Abdel-Baky Israel emptied its embassy in Cairo of documents and equipment on 21 March, adding more uncertainty about the future of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The clearing out came six months after thousands of anti-Israel protesters had stormed the embassy. Egyptian officials said two Israeli C-130 military aircraft left Cairo for Tel Aviv, loaded with documents and furniture that were removed from the embassy. "The Israeli embassy asked permission for two planes to land in Cairo to transport the contents of the embassy," an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. He added that the request was approved by the Egyptian military and other civilian authorities involved in the matter. "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 said on his twitter account. In September, hundreds of protesters stormed the Israel embassy located in a residential building in Dokki, Giza. For days, the Armed Forces clashed with protesters who were calling for the expulsion of the Israel ambassador and the cutting of diplomatic relations. Most of the Israeli diplomats immediately left Egypt. The protests followed the killing of six Egyptian soldiers on the border by Israeli soldiers who claimed at the time that they were chasing armed militants who were responsible for bombing the Eilat harbour and that the killings were a mistake. The Israeli Embassy now remains without a headquarters and is being manned by only a few Israeli diplomats who had returned to Cairo, working mainly from the ambassador's residence in the Cairo suburb of Maadi and others working from their homes. Ambassador Yitzhak Levanon, who left in September, returned briefly in November for end-of-tour assignments, and a new ambassador, Yaacov Amitai, took up his post in February. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel had decided not to return to the old embassy. "We are looking for a new place, and meanwhile the contents have been standing unused. Finding a new office will take a while," Palmor added. He added that it was complicated to find a place for the embassy "as it has to meet many needs, accessibility and security." The evacuation of the embassy came amid a new wave of public anger directed against Israel by the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis who are currently in control of more than 70 per cent of the parliament. Two days before the Israeli government decided to clear out the embassy, the parliament voted unanimously on a statement that calls on the government to expel the Israeli ambassador from Cairo and end a gas exports deal to the country. The vote was taken after the presentation of a report presented by the parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee that declared that Egypt would "never" be a friend, partner or ally of Israel. The report described Tel Aviv as Egypt's "number one enemy". The statement came in the wake of recent Israeli raids on Gaza that killed at least 30 Palestinians. Egypt was able to broker a truce between armed groups in Gaza and the Israeli government which stopped the one-week exchange of fire two weeks ago. Safwat El-Zayat, a strategic expert, believes that the move was taken by Israel to avert any possible violence against the embassy headquarters in the coming months. El-Zayat added that besides internal politics, Israel knows that the region is unstable because of the Syrian crisis and a possible attack by the US or Israel on Iran's nuclear facilities. Other experts believe Israel fears Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis who might turn the public against Israel. "As the Egyptian street becomes tense with upcoming presidential elections and the pressure put on the parliament, Israel fears that public anger might be directed by the Islamists to foreign issues like the Israeli siege in Gaza," said Said Okasha, editor-in-chief of Israeli Selections, published by the Cairo- based Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. Okasha added that Tel Aviv might prefer to put diplomatic representation on hold and delay the process of having a new headquarters for the embassy for a year, until the political situation becomes more stable. Okasha's assumption fits with Israeli reiterations that there is no change in Egyptian- Israeli relations. "There is no change in the status or definition of the ambassador's duties. He is there [in Cairo] ever since he presented his credentials... there is no change or any new thinking going on," said Lior Ben-Dor, an Israeli official.
