Hundreds of Egyptians protested in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo on Friday and demanded the expulsion of the country's ambassador as public anger grows against the Jewish state's killing of five Egyptian border guards. The Egyptian border guards were killed in crossfire on August 18 when Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian militants who had crossed Egypt's Sinai border and killed eight Israelis.
The deaths of the border guards, which Egypt blamed on Israel, have sparked the deepest crisis in relations between the two countries since the February overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. Braving the scorching heat during the fasting month of Ramadan, Egyptians across the political spectrum gathered at the Israeli embassy for the sixth day, waving the Egyptian and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against Israel.
"The people demand the expulsion of the ambassador" and "the people demand the rights of the martyrs", they chanted. Dubbed the "Friday of expelling the ambassador", the protest in the Giza district in Cairo is expected to swell in numbers after sunset when Egyptians break their Ramazan fast.
"The demands are clear: expelling the Israeli ambassador, recalling Egypt's from Israel and amending the military section of the 1979 peace treaty to allow Egypt's army more control of Sinai," activist Musaab Shahrour told Reuters. Both countries have tried to diffuse diplomatic tension. Israeli security advisor Yaakov Amidror said on Thursday a joint investigation would take place between the two armies.