Yasser Othman, Egypt's envoy to the Palestinian territories said Egypt warned Israel against conducting a large scale operation in the Gaza Strip. Othman was referring to Israel's response to the terror attack last Thursday near Eilat in which 8 Israelis were killed. "The Egyptian side has felt after the Eilat operation that Israel intends to [get] revenge, so Egypt has sent a strong message to Israel saying it won't allow an operation to take place," Othman said. Tensions between Jerusalem and Cairo continue he said noting that Egypt still expects Israel to apologize for the events after last week's terror attack in which Egyptian soldiers were killed. Statements of regret issued by Defense Minister Ehud Barak and President Shimon Peres are inadequate he said. "We want a clear, strong apology and a pledge to not repeat such acts in the future," Othman told the Ma'an news agency.
