While Egypt's leadership says it remains committed to the peace treaty with Israel, the Egyptian street cannot hide its fury over the killing of five Egyptian soldiers along the Israel-Egyptian border last Thursday. However, a group of politicians including former Arab League head Amr Moussa and other candidates for Egypt's presidency called on Monday for the immediate return of the Egyptian ambassador, more troops in Sinai and trials in Egypt for Israelis responsible for the killings, Reuters reported. "Egypt after the January revolution is not like Egypt before. The corrupt, oppressive and compliant regime is gone for good," they said in a statement published in newspapers. They described the government of former President Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown in February, as "a strategic asset to Israel". "It has been replaced by a strong popular will that does not know weakness or complicity and understands well how to achieve retribution for the blood of the martyrs". Another presidential candidate called for restraint. "Any military escalation with Israel at the current moment is stupidity given the current situation in the country," Mohamed Selim el-Awa, an Islamist, said in al-Masry al-Youm newspaper. The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry also visited Egypt on Sunday and held talks with government officials including foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and Chief of Intelligence Murad Muwafi. "The special coordinator conveyed to the government of Egypt his deep concern over the death of Egyptian security personnel," the statement said, adding that Serry was worried about "the continuing tensions, in particular the escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel".
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that U.S. assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Cairo on Sunday evening to meet Egyptian officials, according to a source at the American embassy in Cairo.
On the streets, angry crowds began gathering outside the Israeli Embassy in the Giza quarter of Cairo on Saturday night, with thousands of demonstrators called for "revenge for the death of our Egyptian soldier brothers." Some called for toppling Israel while others shouted "Expel the ambassador," and "Slaughter Jews and Zionists."
Yet the person who grabbed the spotlight on Sunday, becoming an instant populist hero, was a young man by the name of Ahmed Al-Shahat who scaled 15 stories to the roof of the embassy in full view of dozens of police and soldiers, who simply stood by and watched. Shahat then removed the Israeli flag from the flagpole and replaced it with an Egyptian flag. He threw the Israeli standard down at the jubilant crowd, which tore it up and set it on fire.
"Our Egyptian brothers are being killed on the border by Zionist soldiers and we must avenge their deaths," Shahat said at a press conference. "We have to stop selling natural gas to Israel and we need to expel the ambassador and his staff from our country. The Zionists may have gotten along well with Mubarak's regime, but there is a new order in Egypt now, one that does not welcome the Israeli enemy. It is unacceptable for the Israeli flag to wave in Cairo," Shahat added.
Not long after his climb, the Egyptian media dubbed Shahat "Spiderman." Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff drew his own take on the Marvel comic superhero, depicting Shahat in Spiderman's traditional costume but in the colors of the Egyptian flag, with a flaming blue-and-white Israeli flag in his fist.
Peres: My condolences to Egypt
President Shimon Peres took part in the Iftar meal, the traditional breaking of the fast during Ramadan, on Sunday evening with members of the Muslim community, including the acting Egyptian ambassador to Israel and a Jordanian representative. While at the Iftar, he addressed the Israeli-Egyptian tension that has been mounting since last week's terror attack near Eilat. "Our peace with Egypt is a strategic peace," said Peres. "We and Egypt both have a vested interest in preventing terrorism. We have to ensure that Sinai remains a hub of tourism and peace, and do everything in our power to keep terror and extremism from taking over."
Peres also addressed the accidental killing of the Egyptian soldiers by Israeli forces who were pursuing terrorists after last week's attack. "I regret the deaths of the Egyptian soldiers and am certain that no Israeli wants to see an Egyptian soldier killed. I send my condolences to the Egyptian people and the families of the soldiers," Peres said. "We've had seven wars in Israel, and we don't want anymore. We have a deep respect for the Egyptian people as well as a deep respect for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Let us all pray for a cease-fire. There is no reason to beat the drums of war," he added.
The Prime Minister's Office did not address the increased tension with Egypt on Sunday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu specifically instructed his ministers not to speak out on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian government showed no signs of backing down. Senior diplomatic sources in Cairo told Israel Hayom that Egypt's leadership, including its Supreme Military Council and the government headed by Essam Sharaf, would not be satisfied by anything less than a full official apology from Israel.
"Defense Minister Ehud Barak's expression of regret is satisfactory for now, but Cairo will still
seek a full, official apology from the state of Israel," a senior diplomat said.