Ahmed Shehata, the young man who removed the Israeli flag from the Israeli embassy said he did what a billion Arab wished they could do. He said removing the Israeli flag from the Israeli embassy in Cairo was the simplest response to what Israel did to the Egyptian soldiers in Sinai. "I o not wish for personal glory, I merely wanted to tell those who intend to kill us to get out of our country,” Shehata said in telephone interview to Al-Jazeera Mubasher. He added many Egyptians wish to cut relations with Israel because it reminds them of the corruption of the former regime. Shehata ascended the 15-story building to remove the Israeli flag. He said it was very difficult due to the presence of security forces; he stood for four hours before he could take advantage of a shift to climb a building close to the Israeli embassy. Shehata said after reaching the eighth floor of the apartment building housing the embassy, the youth began cheering for me to continue, while security forces were asking me to get out. He decided to continue climbing instead. "When I reached the Israeli flag, I was expecting to be attacked by the security of the Israeli embassy. But at that moment I remembered my Egyptian brothers, who were killed on the border a few days ago. I said to myself, I am not better than them," Shehata said. He added he was surprised there was no Israeli embassy security. It was very difficult for him to remove the flag because of the distance between him and the flag. He said the Egyptian flag was around his shoulders since the beginning of the demonstration and he didn't think he would be able to switch them. When he did though, he said it was an incredible indescribable feeling. “I expect there will be some kind of Israeli response but I wasn't thinking about it at the time," Shehata said.
