The UK closes the Cairo embassy, ​​as Egypt removes security barriers amid a dispute over the pro -Palestinian protests

Cairo – The British embassy in Cairo said on Sunday that it temporarily closed the main building after the Egyptian authorities removed concrete security barriers from the external ocean of the boat. The barriers have been present for decades as a security measure.

“The main embassy building is temporarily closed while we review the impact of the works taken by the Egyptian authorities in the vicinity,” the UK Foreign Ministry spokesman told CBS News, noting that the embassy remained under operation and the main building was not closed only.

There was no official comment from the Egyptian government on removing barriers outside the UK embassy, ​​but this step came amid diplomatic tension between Egypt and many countries on the protests targeting Egyptian tasks abroad, including in HollandAustria, France, Türkiye, UK, Canada, USAnd In Israel.

In recent months, pro -Palestinian demonstrators have chained the doors of Egyptian embassies and consulates closed from external slogans and spraying on their walls, and most of them demand the opening of the Rafah crossing between northeastern Egypt and The war tape torn by the war.

Egyptian officials said that their side of the Rafah crossing has been open since the Gaza war erupted almost two years ago, while the Israeli army controls the Palestinian side, the permitted aid, and the number of people who are allowed.

The Egyptian authorities argued that the protests are neither random nor peaceful, but rather organized attacks against the country, and accused European host governments of failing to protect their employees and diplomatic buildings from sabotage.

Foreign Minister Badr Abdi was I heard in a video distributed online Egypt’s proposal can take a mutual action, saying: “If its governments will not provide appropriate safety for our tasks, we must review our publishing operations.”

In a few cases, the activists who returned the Egyptian government took matters with their hands and gathered outside the embassies in European capitals, declaring that they were there to protect the facilities.

Most of these activists knew themselves as members of the so -called “Egyptian Youth Union abroad”.

The self -described leader of that group, Ahmed Abdel Qader, was held in London last week by the British police. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt, Foreign Minister Badr Abdi filed the case in a phone call on August 26 with the UK National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell.

in A statement published on the Internet On that day by the Egyptian government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it was following his detention “with great anxiety” and requested an urgent clarification of the circumstances surrounding the arrest, stressing that Egypt expected its “quick launch.”

Social media Videos show The activist was released after his arrest, and no fees were announced. The Capital Police in London told CBS News that she could not immediately provide any information about the circumstances of the arrest of the Egyptian citizen or his subsequent launch.

Amid the conflict, a relatively new political party in Egypt, the National Party, issued a Long statement Declaration of solidarity with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the condemnation of the detention of activist in London.

“We will not protect those who do not protect us,” the party, which was established in December, announced in its statement on August 26. He condemned the detention of “one of the loyal sons of Egypt” as “a flagrant violation of justice, human rights and the rules of diplomatic relations.”

The party called on the government to reconsider the privileges granted to British diplomatic missions in Cairo. She specifically referred to the embassy in the United Kingdom in the wealthy and largely fortified neighborhood of Garden City, where the United States and other embassies are located.

The party argued that the concrete barriers of the British facility and other security measures turned the region into a “closed area” and disrupted the lives of the population, and demanded the removal of barriers.

CBS News’ Ciara MORAN and Lindsay Quela in London contributed to this report.