Embassy attack a wake-up call for Israel

Israel has clearly not grasped that Turkey and Egypt in 2011 are nothing like they were a decade or even a year ago.

Netanyahu has isolated his nation with aggressive regional policies

Protests at Israel's embassy in Cairo on Friday escalated into an attack on the facility that brought down the Israeli flag and forced the ambassador and his staff to flee in the middle of the night.

These dramatic events should come as a wake-up call: the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, can no longer take Egypt for granted.

Egypt's empowered and vocal public opinion since the revolution that threw out the government of Hosni Mubarak, the former president, has changed the way Cairo does business with its presumed "peace partner".

The window of opportunity to halt the deterioration of relations is closing fast. Do not expect relations to recover any time soon.

Israel's killing of four Egyptian security officers on the border three weeks ago has angered Egyptians and humiliated the country's ruling military council.

Read more