JERUSALEM (JTA) — Dozens of people involved in rioting at the Israeli Embassy in Cairo were given suspended jail sentences.
An Egyptian military court on Monday handed down the six-month suspended sentences to 73 of the protesters for using violence against military officers, according to reports.
More than 1,000 Egyptians demonstrated at the embassy Sept. 9, many after an Egyptian Facebook group called on protesters to gather at the embassy and "urinate on the wall." During the demonstration, protesters tore down the Israeli flag from the high-rise building’s roof for the second time in a month.
The protesters broke down the 8-foot-high security wall surrounding the embassy compound and entered the building, requiring the evacuation of Israel’s ambassador to Egypt, embassy personnel, their families and Israelis staying at the embassy.
Six security employees stranded in the building were later removed by an Egyptian commando unit during a rescue operation.
Three people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in the riots.
The riots came after six Egyptian security personnel were killed in August as Israel pursued the bombers of a civilian bus near Eilat.
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