Readers' corner:

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Take it or leave it

Sir-- That's part of the deal. When a nation hosts another's diplomatic mission, they agree to provide security and they in return get it back from the other nation when their diplomatic mission is in their nation. It's just common knowledge and standard operating rules of international diplomacy. People may not agree with Israel, but those are the rules of international diplomatic services regardless of who the country is. If they don't like them, they just merely have to ask them to leave, not destroy their embassy.

Brandon Dean
Washington
USA

Israeli normalcy

Sir-- Oh, so Israel gets to say what is normal, like killing people in refugee camps, running over homes with tanks, in response to some rocks, etc. What is normal for one group is not normal for another when hate is all that was fostered when peace was at hand. Now they will have to make a deal in order for their country to survive. Maybe that was the plan all along. Distract the world with two unfounded wars, thus bankrupting the US, while working to take control of countries that made peace with Israel. If they could mastermind 9/11, then this is possible also.

Shep Gordon
Washington
USA

All clueless

Sir-- The US tells Israel that they are working at all levels to assure peace between Israel and Egypt. Right. I'm sure that, if more provocations occur, and Egypt allows militants to attack Israel, President Obama will give a speech (that's what he's good at), apologising for the US ties to Mubarak, and saying how sorry he is that there is no peace. Our incompetent leader, who celebrated the Arab Spring, hasn't got a clue as to how to respond to the militants who will now lead the governments of Egypt, Libya, and eventually Yemen. While liberals might celebrate the fall of dictators in those countries, they have no clue as to how to deal with the anti-American militants that replace them.

Victoria Ullmann
Munich
Germany

Hypocrisy

Sir-- Senior Israeli official: "Attack on embassy in Egypt is 'grave violation' of diplomatic norms..."

And the IDF assault on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla in international waters wasn't?

Gloria Pryor
Florida
USA

Missing Mubarak

Sir-- Well, it was the good old days eight months ago. I miss Mubarak. At least things were under control. I think the MidEast will be at war in a few months. Fasten your seatbelt; we are in for a ride.

Mai Mohsin
Cairo
Egypt

Next

Sir-- Today you stormed the Israeli embassy; in the future you'll target Western embassies.

Naidra Thomson
Florida
USA

No reciprocity

Sir-- Do you see the Israelis storming the Egyptian Embassy and burning the Egyptian flag in retaliation?

Reinhard Besser
New York
USA

Plan ahead

Sir-- In light of earlier violent protests, why did the embassy not vacate beforehand?

Mohamed Ibrahim
Cairo
Egypt

Win by default

Sir-- Re 'Russia's Middle East dilemma' (Al-Ahram Weekly 8-14 September) the problem in talking to Westerners about the Middle East is that the imperialists can't imagine their world being criminal, as they know nothing else. On the surface, Russian politicians like to look anti-Zionist, anti-imperialist, a power standing against Western imperialism. But Russia wants to be part of Europe rather than Asia. Russians are merely trying to bargain for the best deal. Russians like to think that the underlying white racism of Western imperialism should mean they can become part of the empire, but Russia has never belonged to the West and racism is not enough to build an empire on. The wars are continuing. NATO will lose, and perhaps Russia will "win" by default.

Ashraf Moussa
Texas
USA