Egypt to withdraw Israel envoy over Sinai shootings
LONDON. August 20. KAZINFORM Egypt says it will withdraw its ambassador to Israel in protest at the deaths of five policeman, reportedly shot by Israeli forces on Thursday; Kazinform refers to BBC.
Cairo said it held Israel politically and legally responsible, and demanded an investigation and an apology.
Israel has promised to investigate the deaths, amid claims that Israeli forces killed the officers while chasing suspected Palestinian militants.
It is the first time in a decade that Egypt has withdrawn its ambassador.
The violence began on Thursday when gunmen attacked buses near the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat, killing eight people.
Egyptian officials say Israeli forces chased the suspected militants across the border, and a number of people were killed - including the policemen.
Hundreds of Egyptians protested outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo overnight, burning the Israeli flag and demanding that the Israeli ambassador be expelled from the country.
On Friday, in Egypt's second city, Alexandria, a protester managed to take down the Israeli flag from the consulate there and replaced it with Egyptian and Palestinian flags.
After the initial Eilat attack, Israel had expressed concern about security in the Sinai Peninsula and said Palestinian attackers had reached Eilat after entering Egypt from Gaza and travelling through the Sinai desert; Kazinform cites BBC.
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