Egypt, Jordan resist calls to recall envoys over Israeli Gaza incursion
Both countries hold off on following Mauritania and Venezuela, both of which recalled their ambassadors last week.
By Yoav Stern Tags: Egypt Israel news Gaza JordanEgypt and Jordan resisted calls over the weekend to follow Venezuela and Mauritania, which have recalled their ambassadors to Israel to protest its operation in the Gaza Strip.
"Our stand is firm and well known," an Egyptian official said Saturday.
Since the start of the fighting, Cairo has gained importance as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians.
"We'll expel the ambassador and then what? We have to hold talks with everyone," Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was recorded as telling officials in the past, regarding the ambassador to Israel.
Israel's ambassador to Venezuela left the country Friday, expelled by President Hugo Chavez in rejection of Israel's attacks on Gaza.
Chavez had given Ambassador Shlomo Cohen and some embassy personnel until Friday to leave the country.
"We are harboring the hope that this will be resolved quickly and relations will improve," Cohen told The Associated Press before boarding a flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
On Thursday, Cohen called the expulsion "the most difficult moment in the more than 50-year history of relations between Venezuela and Israel."
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