Anti-Israeli protesters attacked in Cairo

Egypt's riot police clash with anti-Israeli protesters in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo on May 16, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/180217.html

Egyptian police use live ammunition to disperse a massive rally outside Israel's embassy in the capital Cairo, wounding more than 350 protesters.

The violence erupted on Monday after riot police fired tear gas and live rounds to disperse the protesters who broke through a barricade outside the embassy.

One of the wounded is said to be in critical condition. Twenty protesters have also been arrested.

The protesters set fire to an Israeli flag, called for the expulsion of Israel's ambassador and also the closure of the embassy.

On Sunday, thousands rallied in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo.

Many among the crowd also voiced frustration with the ruling military council which earlier prevented a scheduled convoy of protesters from reaching Gaza.

On Sunday, the demonstrators gathered in different cities across the Middle East to remember the Day of Nakba, which marks the 63rd anniversary of the Israeli occupation of Palestine in 1948.

Egyptians have frequently called on their military rulers to abandon Israel and lift the blockade on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Under the US-backed Mubarak regime, Egypt consistently served Tel Aviv's interests in the region by helping to impose a crippling blockade on the impoverished Strip after the democratically-elected Hamas government took control of the territory in 2007.