CAIRO: A week of tension appears to be coming to an end between Israel and Egypt after the Jewish state offered to join forces with Egypt's military to investigate the killing of five Egyptian border personnel last week. The violence left many Egyptians angry, leading to weeklong protests at the Israel Embassy in Egypt, where one man, dubbed the “flagman” climbed to the top of the building and replaced the Star of David flag of Israel with an Egyptian flag, before returning to the ground where the flag was burned. “Israel is ready to hold a joint investigation with the Egyptians into the difficult event,” a statement issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office quoted his national security adviser, Yaakov Amidror, as saying. Amidror said the terms of such an inquiry “would be set by the armies of both sides,” going a step beyond Defence Minister Ehud Barak's earlier pledge to hold an investigation and share its findings with Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. It came on the same day Israel also announced it would be increasing its troops presence along the Egyptian border in the Sinai Peninsula. There are worries in Egypt that the increased presence of Israeli military along the border could be permanent and could continue to keep tensions between the two countries high. One military official told bikyamasr.com that they hoped the situation along the border would resolve itself in the near future. The official, who was not authorized to speak to the media, said that both the Egyptian and Israeli militaries are in constant discussion over how to tackle the militant issue in the Sinai Peninsula. “Right now, we are looking at ways of reducing the tension and working together, logistically, on how to battle violent militants in Egypt,” the official said. The interim Egyptian Cabinet attempted to expel the ambassador from Egypt late last week, but local reports said that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) intervened and stopped the move from going forward. BM
