Israel Embassy to reopen in Cairo

CAIRO - 16 August 2017: The Israeli Embassy will reopen in Cairo in the coming weeks after a 9-month hiatus, according to a report released by the Israeli website Wella on Tuesday.

The Israeli Ambassador David Govrin and the diplomatic mission are expected to return to Egypt soon, according to sources in Jerusalem cited by Wella.

Israel’s Foreign Minister did not confirm that report and Shin Bet, the internal security service in Israel, will assess the decision.

On Sunday August 13, an Israeli delegation arrived in Egypt to hold talks with Egyptian officials on security arrangements to reopen the embassy.

The embassy has been closed since the January 25 revolution in 2011 till 2015, due to lack of security especially that demonstrators stormed the embassy and removed Israel’s flag demanding Israel’s ambassador to be expelled from Egypt.

Israel’s embassy reopened on September 9, 2015, but it was moved to a small building inside the ambassador’s residence in Maadi and all streets leading to the building were blocked off.

In December 2016, Govrin returned to Israel due to unspecified security threats, as the Telegraph reports.