ISRAEL QUIETLY WITHDRAWS AMBASSADOR FROM EGYPT ‘OVER SECURITY CONCERNS’:

Israel quietly withdrew its ambassador from Egypt several weeks ago, according to Israeli officials. Sources in Egypt said Ambassador David Govrin was pulled out of the country at the end of last year over concerns about his security. The ambassador is currently working from Jerusalem and the Israeli government hopes that he will be able to return to his post soon. It is not clear what the security concerns were but Egypt has been wracked by a series of terror attacks in the last year. The case highlights the difficulties Israel faces in carrying out diplomatic work in Egypt, which along with Jordan is the only Arab country to have diplomatic ties to the Jewish state. Israel and Egypt established diplomatic relations in 1980 after thirty years of war but the relationship is sometimes referred to as "a cold peace”. While the two governments cooperate closely on security issues their citizens rarely visit each other’s countries and anti-Israeli sentiments still run high in Egypt. (UK Telegraph)