CAIRO: The scene outside the Israeli Embassy in Egypt turned into a massive celebration of hundreds of Egyptians dancing and singing after a young man took the Israeli flag down and pinned an Egyptian one in its place early Sunday morning. People chanting, cars honking and others carrying Ahmed al-Shahat on their shoulders in joyful expression of the absence of the flag were seen shortly after the incident. Al-Shahat had climbed the building a few hours into the morning and took down the blue and white Star of David while hundreds on the ground cheered in support. Egyptians have been protesting non-stop since Friday afternoon, demanding that the Israeli ambassador leave and all diplomatic ties with Israel cut. A raid by the Israeli defense forces killed five Egyptians along the two countries Sinai Peninsula border on Thursday. Israel said it was chasing terrorist targets involved in an attack in southern Israel that left at least 8 people dead. The Egyptian government condemned the incident and asked Tel Aviv for an official apology. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Saturday said the loss of life was “regretful,” but stopped short of issuing an apology. Eyewitnesses at the scene in Egypt's capital say hundreds of people are flocking to the embassy in a massive rally of joy. The taking down of the flag created big waves among activists on Twitter and the hashtag #FlagMan was receiving hundreds of tweets. @mosaaberizing Mosa'ab Elshamy wrote “Cairo is as happy as the day Mubarak stepped down. Cars honking and citizens celebrating, all thanks to FlagMan.” @NotMobarak said, “It's a bird…It's a plane…No! It's FlagMan.” Another wrote that “Spiderman is in his room weeping his stardom is over.” BM
