Israeli ambassador leaves Egypt over security fears
ISRAEL quietly withdrew its ambassador from Egypt several weeks ago amid fears about his safety, according to Israeli officials.
Sources told The Daily Telegraph that David Govrin was pulled out of Cairo at the end of last year and is currently working from Jerusalem.
Their claims were confirmed by the Shin Bet, Israel’s lead security agency. “Due to security concerns the return of the foreign ministry embassy staff to Cairo has been restricted,” a spokesman said.
It is not clear what the security concerns were, but Egypt has been hit by a series of terror attacks in the past year.
The Israeli foreign ministry declined to comment.
The case highlights the difficulties Israel faces in carrying out diplomatic work in Egypt, which along with Jordan is the only Arab country to have diplo- matic ties to the Jewish state. Israel and Egypt established diplomatic relations in 1980 after 30 years of war, but the relationship is sometimes referred to as “a cold peace”.
In September 2011 a crowd of rioters stormed the Israeli embassy compound in Cairo and trapped six Israeli security guards inside a barricaded safe room.
The Israelis were rescued by Egyptian commandos after the US government demanded that the military junta ruling Egypt at the time get them out safely. Since then the Israeli embassy has been moved to a small building inside the ambassador’s residence in the Maadi suburb of south Cairo.
Mr Govrin was appointed ambassador last summer after his predecessor requested to leave because of the arduous security restrictions, according to Haaretz newspaper.
Eli Shaked, the Israeli ambassador in Egypt from 2003 to 2005, said he was followed by Egyptian security guards and Israeli operatives whenever he left the embassy. “There were days when we were warned about possible acts against me or my staff or the embassy,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
The Egyptian government is waging a bloody counter insurgency operation against a jihadist group. Isil Sinai Province claimed the killing of 27 people in a bombing at a Christian church in Cairo in December. Two Egyptian generals were assassinated by Islamist gunmen in the autumn and dozens of police and soldiers have been killed.