Eyptians Want Israeli Envoy Expelled

Thousands of Eyptians hold an anti-zionist and anti-US demonstration in Cairo on April 8, 2011. The demonstration demanded the re-opening of the border with Gaza and tried to take the Israeli flag from the embassy to replace it with a Palestine one., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Egyptians want Israeli envoy expelled

Fri Aug 19, 2011
2:56PM GMT
presstv.ir

Anti-Israeli sentiments have been on the rise in Egypt after the downfall of former president Hosni Mubarak in February.
Hundreds of Egyptians have gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Cairo to protest against the killing of four military personnel in Israeli border attacks.

Protesters urged the authorities on Friday to expel the Israeli ambassador and sever ties with Tel Aviv in response to the killings.

They also condemned Israel's ongoing military attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Israel has launched massive airstrikes in Gaza and the border area with Egypt since Thursday after eight Israelis were killed in an attack on an Israeli bus near Eilat, south of Israel near the Egyptian border.

According to Israeli officials, two other vehicles were also hit nearby - one by a rocket and one by an explosive device.

The Israeli airstrikes have so far killed at least 11 Palestinians in Gaza and four in Egypt.

There are conflicting reports about how the four military personnel, including an army officer, died, but some reports suggest that they were killed after an Israeli Apache gunship fired a rocket near the Rafah border-crossing.

Reports say Egypt's army chief General Sami Anan has left the capital for Sinai to probe the killings.

Israeli and Egyptian forces have been sweeping the area looking for gunmen behind the recent deadly attacks on Israeli soldiers. The Israeli military claimed they had pursued the assailants and killed seven of them.

Tel Aviv has accused resistance groups affiliated with Hamas of organizing the attacks and has vowed a ''full force'' response against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Hamas, however, has strongly dismissed the allegations, saying the group's fighters had nothing to do with the assault and has warned against any act of aggression against the enclave.