New Egyptian ambassador arrived in Israel

The Egyptian ambassador Muhammad Assem Ibrahim arrived in Tel Aviv in order to assume his new post of office after it had remained vacant for more than four years because of al-Aqsa Intifada.

The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot said that the director general of the Israeli foreign ministry is contacting each of Dubai emirate, Oman, Bahrain, Chad, Kuwait, Morocco, Tunisia, Pakistan and Indonesia.

Assem ( 59 year old) said upon his arrival in Bin Gorion airport in Tel Aviv " for Israel, in particular, I am not an ambassador for a country which is several thousands of miles from my homeland. We are neighbors and have joint borders and we have a lot to do together. Therefore it is natural to face problems and difficulties and simultaneously hopes and opportunities."

The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted Assem as saying upon his arrival "I am very proud that President Hosni Mubarak assigned me the responsibility of representing Egypt in Israel." A spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry said that the "Egyptian ambassador in Israel arrived and he will submit his credentials like his Jordanian peer ( Marouf al-Bakheit ) submitted his credentials on Monday to the Israeli President Moshe Katsav."