Egyptian police clash with demonstrators outside Israeli embassy in Cairo

             Egypt declared a state of high alert early Saturday as police clashed with protesters outside the building housing the Israeli embassy in Cairo, prompting a call from Washington to protect the mission. Hundreds of Egyptian soldiers backed by armoured cars were rushed to the embassy district as disturbances continued through the night. Police confronted at least 2,000 protesters near the embassy, firing teargas and firing in the air to disperse the crowds. During the day-long violence, in which one demonstrator died of a heart attack and nearly 450 others were injured, according to state television, protesters torched police trucks and attacked reigonal policy headquarters nearby. Earlier, protesters demolished a security wall outside the building that houses the Israeli embassy as military police looked on. Foreign news agencies reported that protesters then rushed the building that houses the embassy, tearing down the Israeli flag -- the second such incident in recent weeks. The embassy was empty at the time and a Kol Yisrael reporter says no harm has come to the Israeli diplomats. Egypt's Interior Minister Mansur El-Eissawy declared a state of high alert and the government announced it was convening an emergency meeting to deal with the crisis. State television quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying that " foreign hands" were behind the violence. The embassy protest sprang out of a pro-reform rally earlier in central Cairo, in which demonstrators pushed for a timetable for reforms and an end to military trial for civilians. US President Barack Obama called on Egypt to honor its international obligations and protect the Israeli mission. The White House said in a statement that he also phoned Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and expressed his concern about the situation. A US State Department official said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr to urge Egypt to meet its Vienna Convention obligations to protect diplomatic property. Defense Minister Ehud Barak spoke with his American counterpart, Leon Pannetta to ask for help in protecting the Israeli embassy in Cairo.(08,25)