Israel reopens embassy in Cairo

Opening comes on fourth anniversary of storming of former embassy.

Israel has inaugurated a new embassy building in Cairo, exactly four years after the sacking of the previous embassy on 10 September 2011 during the aftermath of the uprising that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak.

The new embassy premises are at the residence of Israel's ambassador, in the affluent Maadi district in south Cairo, following a period of four years without an Israeli embassy in Egypt.

The former Egyptian embassy building in Giza, north of Cairo, was stormed by thousands of demonstrators in September 2011, protesting the shooting of five Egyptian security guards by Israeli soldiers. The then ambassador and embassy staff had to be airlifted to escape the crowds of protesters.

The “rededicated” embassy, whose location is described as temporary, is part of Israel's efforts to strengthen ties with Egypt, and reflects improving relations between Jerusalem and the military-backed government of Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

The reopening comes at a time of renewed security cooperation in northern Egypt's troubled Sinai Peninsula where Islamic State-allied militants have killed Egyptian troops, sabotaged an Israeli gas pipeline and launched rockets into Israel.