"This is something perhaps more than a billion Arabs long to do, to tear up the Israeli flag..."

So says the new Islamic Spiderman, or Flagman as some call him.  Climbing the Israeli Embassy in Cairo and replacing the Israeli flag with the flag of Egypt, he evidently echoes his peoples sentiments and has given them a symbolic yet important victory over the evil Zionists and the West.

His actions are but another symptom of the decline of civility between Israel and Egypt, and a portend of the new hatred soon to boil over in the rampantly democratic and secular Egypt.

From NineMSN August 21

Egypt 'Spiderman' hero pulls down Israel flag

More than 1000 protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy early Sunday and let off celebratory fireworks when the man clambered to the top floor of a high-rise housing the mission, replacing the flag with an Egyptian one.

Egypt's cabinet said an Israeli statement expressing regret for the deaths of the policemen was not enough, but stopped short of saying if it would recall its envoy from Tel Aviv.

Tensions between the Jewish state and the most populous Arab nation have surged since the deaths on Thursday of the police officers, which occurred as Israeli troops pursued militants responsible for deadly attacks near Eilat.

It represents the most serious test of Israel's landmark 1979 peace treaty with Egypt since an uprising overthrew Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak in February.

Egypt's military rulers and caretaker cabinet are under populist pressure to take a firm stand.

The man who took down the flag, identified as Ahmed Shehat, was led away by protesters after he descended, but not before some tore up the Israeli flag he carried down with him and kept bits as souvenirs.

Other demonstrators burnt Israeli and US flags.

Shehat became an instant idol with one Egyptian presidential candidate, Hamdeen Sabahi, hailing him as "the people's hero" on Twitter.

Shehat was labelled the "Egyptian Spiderman" and "Flagman" on Twitter and he trended rapidly on the social networking site as Egyptians and others worldwide expressed their admiration for his stunt.

"This is for Palestine. This is for Egypt. This is for every Arab. This is for every free person," one Twitter user posted.

"Forget Spiderman, Batman, or Superman. My kids are going to grow up wanting to be like FlagMan," wrote another.

In telephone call to a television station, Shehata said he felt "undescribable happiness" after the risky feat.

"This is something perhaps more than a billion Arabs long to do, to tear up the Israeli flag," he told Al-Jazeera Mubashir Misr, the Qatar-based broadcaster's Egyptian affiliate.

"We want to expel people who are killing us. Those Jews and Zionists are part of the old regime, and we want to cut all our ties with the old regime," he said.

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