Israel closed embassy in Cairo as Mubarak fled: Muslim Brotherhood

Israel has closed its embassy in Cairo as a friendly regime in Egypt bit the dust on Friday, the Muslim Brotherhood announced on its website on Saturday.

There has been no independent confirmation of the news so far, nor is there any clarity on whether the move is temporary or long-term.

Israel closes embassy in Cairo following news of Mubarak's stepping down, a news post on the Brotherhood's official website said.

The Brotherhood, which has been oppressed by the Egyptian regime for decades, has long articulated popular Egyptian opposition against the Jewish state and Hosni Mubarak's good relations with Tel Aviv.

Israel has been watching with horror the unfolding of the historic popular struggle which resulted in the booting out of Hosni Mubarak.

Tel Aviv had always feared that its decades-old peace with Egypt will crumble if Mubarak is replaced by a populist regime which by all means will be inimical to the Jewish state.

A Gallup poll conducted in 2008 showed that as much as 64 per cent of Egyptians wanted their country to adopt Islamic law, according to a report in Maariv had said.

Other newspapers warned that the rise of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt will hurt Israel's security. If the Muslim Brotherhood grabs the reins … the impact on Israel will be immediate, wrote the Jerusalem Post.

Israel had suspended the functioning of the embassy since troubles erupted and had evacuated family members of diplomats.