Israeli citizen released after arrest in Egypt's Sinai

The Israeli who was arrested in Egypt's Sinai, Nehorai Yitzhak Tamsit, was released on Monday, according to Israeli media.

On Sunday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that Tamsit had been arrested following a fight with a local resident in the Sinai Peninsula.

After the arrest, the Israeli consulate in Egypt along with the Foreign Ministry's Department for Israelis Abroad immediately began working to resolve the situation.

The Tamsit's lawyer Shiran Almedo stated: "We are happy that this saga ended quickly." The lawyer went on to note that her client had crossed the Egyptian/Israeli border and made it into Eilat.

What started the fight?

Reportedly, the initial fight had broken out after he had wrapped himself in a flag that read "melech hamashiach" or "messiah, the king."

"It could have been an exhausting and long [process] if not for the vigorous efforts on behalf of the consul in Egypt and of Foreign Minister Eli Cohen," Maariv reported Almedo as saying. "I'm glad that's how it ended, my client has already crossed the border and is in the city of Eilat."

Dror Yehoshua, a family friend of Tamsit said that his family had anxiously awaited impatiently for his arrival back home.

"The parents had a very tense day," Yehoshua said. "We didn't know which way it was going, and only in the late evening were we informed that the release was imminent."

He added that when Tamsit finally crossed into Eilat, they were finally able to collectively "breathe a sigh of relief."

"I want to praise the community here in our locality for proving, for the umpteenth time, how much social cohesion is the greatest resilience you can get from your loved ones during a crisis," he said.