CAIRO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) — Some Egyptian protestors broke into a building which houses the Israeli embassy in Cairo late Friday night.
Some pieces of paper were seen thrown from the windows of the building and flying in the air. Egypt’s official MENA news agency said some protestors threw “confidential” documents from one of the embassy’s office.
On Friday evening, a protestor took down the Israeli flag on the top of the building after other demonstrators destroyed a section of a concrete wall that protects the building.
Protestors also set some police cars on fire in the area as police used tear gas to disperse the crowds.
As many as 163 people were injured when protestors tore down parts of the wall around the Israel embassy, Health Ministry Undersecretary Hesham Shiha said, adding that about 100 of the injured received treatment on the spot.
An Egyptian protestor tries to pull down the security wall of the Israeli embassy in Cairo, capital of Egypt (Courtesy:Xinhua/Ayman Mossa)
Another 31 people were injured during the demonstration in the downtown Tahrir Square on the same day, Shiha said.
Tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets on Friday to demand more reforms. Several thousand of them gathered in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo to protest against the killing of five Egyptian soldiers by Israeli forces on Aug. 18 at the border area.
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs kept monitoring the situation outside the Israeli Embassy in Cairo on Saturday early morning, trying to work out the crisis by diplomatic efforts.
“It’s still going on. The staff of Israeli embassy in Egypt didn’t leave the country so far,” the spokesperson of MFA Palmor told Xinhua early Saturday. But latest reports said the Israeli ambassador had left Cairo for Tel Aviv by a military plane.
He didn’t confirm if Israel had any evacuation plan in order to protect its diplomats in Egypt. “We’re still monitoring the situation and trying to work through it by any possible channels,” Palmor said.
The Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson office didn’t confirm any military involvement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu briefed the U.S. President Barack Obama on the embassy attack, the Ynet news site reported. Defense Minister Ehud Barak urged his U.S. counterpart to pressure Egyptian authorities to protect the Israeli Embassy.
Tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets on Friday to demand more reforms. Several thousand of them gathered in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo to protest against the killing of five Egyptian soldiers by Israeli forces on Aug. 18 at the border area.
A protestor took down the Israeli flag on the top of the building after other demonstrators destroyed a section of a concrete wall that protects the building.
