Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday took back remarks in which he said that he “had threatened to send commandos to Cairo in 2011 to rescue Israeli security staff besieged by demonstrators who had stormed Israel’s embassy,” Reuters reported.

Netanyahu’s office issued a “clarification” on Twitter. It said the Israeli policy was to protect Israelis who are under threat, wherever they are, but the intention was to carry out a coordinated operation with the Egyptian army rather than unilateral action.

“The intention was for a coordinated, not a one-sided action. We are pleased that there was no need for this and thank the Egyptian army, which handled the crisis in a responsible manner and brought about a solution to the problem.”

#Netanyahu says he threatened raid on besieged Cairo embassy in 2011 https://t.co/BrCGVhBJgY #Egypt #Israel

— Gabriel Mitchell (@GabiMitch) May 10, 2016

In a speech during a ceremony commemorating the death of Israeli soldiers, Netanyahu said that he had threatened to send troops to Cairo to rescue six security staff who were stranded in the Israeli Embassy during an attack by demonstrators.

(MEMO)