U.S. told Egypt it must rescue Israeli embassy workers or suffer 'consequences,' sources say
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| Yes Master |
By Barak Ravid
The United States told Egypt's military rulers during an attack on the Israeli embassy in Cairo that they must act quickly in order to prevent Israeli personnel from being attacked by Egyptian protesters, Haaretz learned on Saturday.
According to senior U.S. source that were involved in the attempt to resolve the Cairo incident, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta called Supreme Military Council head Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, conveying what the source called a forceful message concerning the need for speed in Egypt's ending of the embassy attack.
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| rescue Israeli embassy workers or .. |
"There's no time to waste," Panetta reportedly told Tantawi in the 1 A.M. call, warning of a tragic outcome that "would have very severe consequences." The U.S. source also said that Tantawi failed to answer incoming calls from U.S. officials throughout the evening, finally answering after more than two hours of attempts.
These reports came after earlier Saturday, a senior Israeli source indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak attempted repeatedly to reach the head of Egypt's Supreme Military Council, to no avail.
According to the Israeli source, the "Egyptians said every time that they were not able to track him down in order to connect the call." After failing to locate Tantawi himself, Netanyahu called head of Egyptian intelligence, Gen. Murad Muwafi.
Barak, in turn, called U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, asking him to discuss the issue with Tantawi, which Panetta was able to do shortly after.
Also on Saturday, Egypt raised its national alertness level following the severe nighttime incident late Friday, as thousands of Egyptian protesters attacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo, resulting in the evacuation of dozens of Israeli diplomats.
Egyptian commandos released six besieged security guards from the Israeli Embassy, while an Israeli Air Force plane evacuated over 80 diplomats, including family members from Cairo, after a mass group of Egyptian protesters broke into the embassy.
Netanyahu thanked on Saturday both the United States and Egypt for their aid in the wake of the embassy attack, adding that Israel's peace treaty with Egypt was an interest shared by both countries and "an anchor" in Israel's regional policy.
Netanyahu also referred to what he saw as a link between events such as the attack on the Israeli embassy and the stalled Middle East peace process.
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 Following the storming of the Israeli embassy by Egyptian protesters, the US has reportedly intervened to warn Cairo of the severe consequences of failing to protect Israeli embassy staff.In a telephone conversation with head of Egypt's Supreme Military Council Mohamed Hussein Tantawi early on Sunday, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned that Cairo's failure to rescue Israeli staffers from its embassy would have a tragic outcome with severe consequences, Haaretz reported on Sunday. "There's no time to waste," Panetta reportedly told Tantawi in the 1 a.m. call, warning of a tragic outcome that "would have very severe consequences." The phone call from Panetta is said to have come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak failed to reach Tantawi and therefore called the US Secretary of Defense to intervene and convey their forceful message concerning the need for speed in Egypt ending the embassy attack. Egyptian protesters stormed the Israeli embassy premises in Cairo after the Friday Prayers to call for the expulsion of Israel's ambassador. They tore down the flag from the building for the second time in less than a month. Angry Egyptians also destroyed parts of the protective cement wall around the embassy and broke into the building. Israeli Ambassador Yitzhak Levanon left Cairo a few hours after demonstrators stormed the embassy, saying he would not return to Cairo as long as the city remains unsafe for Israelis. Under the US-backed Mubarak regime, Egypt consistently served Israeli interests and objectives by helping to impose the crippling blockade on the impoverished Gaza Strip after the democratically elected Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. | |||
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Uprooted Palestinian
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