Israel thanks Sisi for embassy inauguration

Israel thanks Sisi for embassy inauguration

Israel has thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi for permitting the reopening of the Israeli embassy in Cairo after it was closed for four years.

In a statement today, the Israeli embassy in Cairo said that the Israeli flag was raised again yesterday four years after “an assault” on the building.

“We thank President of the Republic Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi and the Egyptian government, hoping that peace will continue between the two countries,” the statement said.

The Israeli embassy was evacuated in 2011 after protesters tore down the Israeli flag and ransacked the building following the crossfire killing of five border guards by the Israeli army in Sinai.

Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi withdrew Egypt’s ambassador from Israel in 2012 in protest of an Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian government, however, said in June that it would send a new ambassador to Tel Aviv.

Egypt was the first Arab country to recognize Israel following the signing of a peace treaty in 1979. Despite the treaty, the two countries remain in a state of “cold” peace.