The head of foreign affairs and defense committee in the Israeli Parliament, Lt. General Shaul Mofaz, said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should have immediately issued a public apology to Egypt after the Israeli military killed five Egyptian soldiers last week.

The Jerusalem Post reported that General Mofaz, a leading Israeli policymaker, added that Netnayahu put his people in a difficult position and exposed Israel to unnecessary criticism by not issuing such apology.

Meanwhile, Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, phoned Egypt’s ambassador in Tel Aviv, Yasser Reda, to express his sorrow for the death of the Egyptian soldiers. Peres told Reda that Israel’s people and government value maintaining a close relationship with Egypt.

Last week, Israel killed five Egyptian soldiers while allegedly chasing after Palestinian militants in Egypt’s Sinai desert. Since then, large numbers of Egyptians protested in front of the Israeli embassy against Israeli aggression, demanding the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador in Cairo.