U.S. Hopes Cairo Embassy Attack ‘Isolated’
The United States is working to prevent recent discord between Egypt and Israel from spilling over to the rest of the Middle East, a senior U.S. official said on Monday, adding that Washington hoped that the attack on Israel’s Cairo embassy was an “isolated incident.
Egypt’s army rulers have struggled to quell the public fury over recent public discontent with its ties with Israel, a dissatisfaction which boiled over into an attack by protesters on the Israeli embassy that prompted Israel to fly its ambassador and embassy staff home on Saturday.
Both Egypt and Israel say they want a return to normal diplomatic activities. Cairo has vowed to protect the embassy and try the attackers, offering some reassurance to Israel over its commitment to a 1979 peace treaty.
Speaking of the possible aftermath of the attack of Israel’s embassy, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters on Monday that the “immediate crisis with property and diplomatic security in Cairo seems to have calmed,” adding that she felt “both governments have made appropriate statements.”
“Our hope is to avoid any spillover into the larger region,” Nuland said, adding that the Egyptian government has made clear that they regret [the incident], that they are taking steps. They did take steps. So we are hoping that it was indeed an isolated incident.”
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