© Amr Abdallah Dalsh/REUTERS
Protesters use a light pole to knock down a concrete wall built in front of the Israeli embassy
Israel is facing its worst crisis with Egypt for 30 years after being forced to airlift diplomats and their families to safety during the storming of its embassy in Cairo by a violent mob.
The siege of the embassy ended, with the 86 Israelis fleeing, only after intervention from the White House following phone calls between the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and US President Barack Obama.
The attack was the latest diplomatic storm to engulf the Jewish state, whose relations with another ally, Turkey, have worsened over the past nine days. Israel is also facing a "diplomatic tsunami" at the UN later this month when a majority of countries are expected to back recognition of a Palestinian state.
The embassy attack, in which a security wall was demolished and a group of protesters reached the door of the embassy's secure area, threatened to cause "serious damage in peaceful relations between our two countries", the prime minister said.
Comment: As countries continue to isolate Israel, how will the "shitty little country" react?
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