Tensions escalate between Egypt and Israel

“Militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip bombarded southern Israel with rockets and mortars Sunday, striking an empty school and sending thousands of Israelis into bomb shelters,” wrote the Washington Times on Sunday. Over 100 rockets have been fired into Israel since a new round of Palestinian-Israeli violence erupted last week.

Sporting events, concerts and other public gatherings in Israel located within range of Gaza’s rockets have been called off in light of the recent escalation.

After Palestinian militants organized an ambush attack on Israel that left eight Israelis dead last Thursday, Israel retaliated with air strikes targeting the Gaza area.

The terrorist attack was carried out by a Palestinian faction based in Gaza, but was launched from Egyptian territory. In the midst of the attack, three Egyptian security officers were accidentally killed, which Egypt blames Israel for.

In response, on Saturday Egypt threatened to remove its ambassador from Tel Aviv, prompting Israel to issue a rare public statement of regret over the killings. Once again, Israel is now under fire as a result of what started as an attack against it, planned by Palestinian militants and facilitated by access to the Sinai, an area Egypt has failed to keep properly under control for months.

The escalating tension between Israel and Egypt left Israel and its allies scrambling to ease the situation over the weekend.

“Diplomats in Cairo and Jerusalem said the U.S., France and Germany were working with the Israelis and Egyptians to end the diplomatic spat,” wrote the Times. “On Sunday morning, an Israeli envoy arrived at Cairo’s international airport and was whisked off in a convoy of four waiting cars, airport officials said. The Israeli government would not comment on the envoy’s identity or the details of his mission.” The convoy was followed by a second later in the day, also unidentified.

Meanwhile, protesters surrounded the Israeli Embassy in Cairo over the weekend, demanding the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, who is not currently in Egypt.

The New York Times wrote, “The crisis has been the sharpest signal yet that the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February is transforming the three-decade-old relationship between Egypt and Israel that has been the cornerstone of Middle Eastern politics.”

The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, is poised to take advantage of the situation. “An independent Palestinian state is the remedy for violence,” said PA spokesman Husam Zomlot. “It would control its borders and prevent such deterioration from happening.”