This is only going to get worse. Once the Muslim Brotherhood has control of the government of Egypt - and all signs point in that direction - you wouldn't be able to pay me enough to be an Israeli diplomat in Cairo or anywhere else.
Reuters:
Israel flew its ambassador home from Cairo on Saturday after protesters stormed its embassy building, plunging Egypt's military rulers into their worst diplomatic crisis since they took over from Hosni Mubarak.
Three people were killed and 1,049 wounded in clashes between protesters and police, the Health Ministry said.
The United States, which has poured billions of dollars of military aid into Egypt since it made peace with Israel in 1979, urged Cairo to protect the embassy after protesters hurled embassy documents and the Israeli flag from windows.
"Our dignity has been restored," said Mohi Alaa, 24, a protester who was speaking near the site of overnight clashes with police around the building that houses the Israeli embassy. Bits of concrete and bullet casings were strewn over the street.
"We don't want the Americans' money," he said, reflecting a growing readiness among many Egyptians to express anger at Israel and the United States over Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, after decades of pragmatic official relations.
Excellent. If that mouth breathing, Islamist dolt doesn't want our money, that's $5 billion a year more for us.
The Egyptian army was slow to react to this demonstration and it is unclear how demonstrators could have breached the Israeli embassy wall with police and soldiers out in force.
Nevertheless, Prime Minister Netanyahu offered praise for the Egyptian government in a statement:
"The fact that Egyptian authorities ultimately acted with determination is laudable. With that said, Egypt cannot let slide this harsh blow to the fabric of relations with Israel and the gross violation of international norms," Netanyahu said in a statement. He also thanked Washington for its role.
The military government is far more pragmatic than the protestors and the Muslim Brotherhood. They realize the importance of that American cash to their economy and their miliitary and know that in order to keep the gravy train going, they have to at least go through the motions of maintaining the peace treaty with Israel.
That will probably prove harder than they realize as long as the intense political pressure to break off or substantially alter relations with the Jewish state is maintained.
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