Israeli envoy due in Egypt

JERUSALEM - Israel's new ambassador to Egypt is scheduled to arrive in Cairo on Monday, an official said, three months after rioters ransacked the Israeli Embassy there.

Relations between the two countries have been strained since an uprising toppled Egypt's longtime leader Hosni Mubarak in February. Still, both governments seem eager to preserve an alliance that is a cornerstone of Mideast stability.

Israeli Ambassador Yaakov Amitai will join a small number of embassy staffers still in Cairo, the official said. The previous ambassador, Yitzhak Levanon, most of the staff, and their families were evacuated by an Israeli military plane in September after protesters tore down a security wall around the building housing the Israeli Embassy, then stormed embassy offices and trashed them.

The protest followed the killing of six Egyptian soldiers by Israeli troops who were pursuing Palestinian militants near the Egyptian border.

The embassy still has not been permanently relocated, the Israeli official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the timing of the ambassador's arrival had not been officially announced.

The 1979 peace agreement is a pillar of both countries' security. The treaty has allowed Israel to divert resources to its volatile fronts with Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Egypt has benefited by receiving billions of dollars in U.S. military aid.