Latest news with #MarchforGaza
Toronto Sun
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
EDITORIAL: Pro tip for activists: Check your facts first
Protesters carry Palestinian flags and shout slogans during a demonstration march on April 21, 2024, in Toronto. Protesters demanded a ceasefire in the current conflict in the Gaza Strip. Photo by Maryam Majd / Getty Images It is utterly mystifying why so many activists on the left demonstrate such naivete and blinkered judgment when it comes to events in the Middle East. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The latest two examples are CUPE Ontario, which announced earlier this week that it was promoting and supporting a 'Stand with Iran' protest at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, to be held Sunday. That comes on the heels of a bizarre and failed 'March for Gaza,' in which an estimated 40 Canadians joined protesters from 80 other countries, intending to hold a three-day march to Egypt's Rafah border with Gaza to join a peaceful demonstration. What could possibly go wrong? Well, quite a lot since Egypt made it clear the marchers weren't wanted there. One of the co-ordinators, Tatiana Harker of Palestine Vivra Montreal, was quoted by CBC complaining about the way they were being treated by Egyptian authorities. 'A lot of people are being detained, left in the (heat) without any answers, for two to three hours,' Harker said last week. Egyptian authorities confiscated their passports at a checkpoint without giving a reason. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She complained that Canadian embassy officials in Cairo had not answered their calls. 'Our government is completely ignoring us,' she said. RECOMMENDED VIDEO When you choose to visit a country that neighbours a dangerous, war-torn region, intending to stage a political demonstration, you do so at your own risk. According to the London Daily Telegraph , protesters were recorded shouting, 'F— you, Egypt,' which is a peaceful protest in a way, but vulgar and ungrateful, given that Egypt was hosting these people against its will. One South African demonstrator posted a map purporting to show their route. Sadly, it misplaced Rafah, Cairo and the Suez Canal. Try Google Maps next time. As for CUPE Ontario, in a later post it said its earlier statement about the demonstration was a 'draft. 'The approved flyer for this event will be shared shortly and it will clearly identify Sunday's event as an antiwar rally.' That's a relief. We'd hate to believe any Canadian union would support a regime that hangs gay and lesbian people, murders women for not wearing hijabs and cruelly violates the human rights of their citizens — including union members. Read More NHL Canada Soccer Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto & GTA
Middle East Eye
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Beaten, detained, deported: How Egypt treated foreigners trying to break Gaza siege
Hundreds of international activists seeking to march to Egypt's border with Gaza with the aim of breaking Israel's siege reported being 'attacked by thugs in civilian clothes' armed with whips and 'violently' detained by Egyptian authorities at checkpoints outside of Cairo. The activists were among 4,000 people from 80 countries who were set to attend the planned Global March to Gaza last week. According to Hannah Smith, a March for Gaza spokesperson who was present at the first checkpoint, the activists had been negotiating with the authorities for hours before security forces 'ran out of patience and started to drag people onto buses'. 'Some protesters were pulled out and beaten. There was a woman who was punched in the face,' Smith said. 'It was a very intense and very sudden escalation. It was coordinated,' she said, adding that at least three people were hospitalised at the first checkpoint. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters When activists began to arrive in Cairo last Wednesday, they were met with Egyptian security forces at their hotels, who reportedly detained and questioned around 200 people. According to the initial plan, participants were set to travel by bus to the city of al-Arish in the heavily securitised Sinai Peninsula before walking 50 kilometres towards the border with Gaza. But following the crackdown, the march organisers were forced to change their plans and instead instructed activists to gather in Ismailia, a city northeast of Cairo. Smith said that on Thursday, the authorities appeared to 'soften'. 'Some protesters were pulled out and beaten. There was a woman who was punched in the face' - Hannah Smith, activist 'There weren't heavy detentions on [the] 12th,' Smith told Middle East Eye, adding that the march organisers, whose names are published on the initiative's website, were not stopped for questioning. 'It was a very different response on the 12th [of June] than it was on the 11th. So that was an encouraging sign, because we thought that it was just going to be mass detentions and deportations right at the airport as people arrived'. The activists decided to gather in Ismailia where they would await permission to proceed to Rafah from the Egyptian authorities. 'We weren't planning a demonstration, we just wanted to be able to get together and await Egyptian government approval,' Smith said. 'Screams in the dark' Sami, who used a pseudonym for fear of reprisals, told MEE that she reached the first checkpoint around 8pm to find riot police encircling some 200 people who were staging a peaceful sit-in. She reported that masked men clad in traditional Bedouin dress descended on the crowd and attacked them with a 'device that looked like a whip'. At one point, the street lamps cut out, plunging the scene into darkness. 'We would occasionally hear screams in the dark. They were clearly using the cover of darkness to attack,' Sami said. Hungarian activist Komaromy Gergely said he was held at a checkpoint along with 'hundreds and hundreds' of other march participants. 'In the evening, the authorities tried to disperse us,' he told MEE in a video interview. He said they were peacefully sitting and chanting when 'dozens of violent thugs in civilian clothes started to attack us'. They were then encircled by riot police, with some activists 'violently' forced onto buses. He said that one activist was so severely beaten, 'he very likely had some broken ribs'. Gergely said that when he eventually complied and made his way towards the bus, he was assaulted by thugs and police, who then forced him into a police van along with 14 others. He said they all had their passports and phones confiscated. Egypt slammed for its treatment of foreign nationals doing Global March for Gaza Read More » According to Gergely, one of the activists was immediately released as he was a US citizen, while the remaining people were 'taken to a faraway police station where we spent the night'. The following morning, they were taken to Cairo airport and deported. According to Smith, over 500 people were detained. Reem, another activist who wished to use a pseudonym, reported that European embassies were slow to react to the situation. 'Before the violence broke out we didn't really know what they were doing with our passports,' Reem told MEE. 'Swiss people contacted their embassy, and they said, 'What were you expecting? There is nothing we can do about it,'' she said. 'I think many embassies were saying the same thing - it's basically your fault. Because many people were calling them and asking them to do something, they felt pressured, but I feel it's a shame they were not proactive from the start'. 'It wasn't all for nothing' Egypt's foreign ministry issued a statement on Thursday instructing the organisers to apply for permission for the action and coordinate closely with embassies, citing security concerns in Sinai. But the march organisers previously told MEE that they had repeatedly contacted the authorities about the action and reported that the embassies were 'very encouraging' and 'endorsed the march'. 'Everything we did was in accordance with Egyptian laws,' Smith said. 'We were still waiting for permission, we gave no indication that we were going to al-Arish and start marching without permission'. The organisers are currently trying to get participants out of detention and instructing activists to change their flights. Meanwhile, a parallel initiative, the 'Sumud' land convoy, which set off from the Tunisian capital on 9 June carrying thousands of activists from Tunisia, Algeria, Algeria and Morocco was barred from entering the Libyan city of Sirte. North African convoy for Gaza reports mistreatment in eastern Libya by Haftar forces Read More » In a statement, organisers said eastern Libyan authorities prevented food, water and medical supplies from reaching approximately 1,500 participants, and reported that at least 13 people are still being detained. Wael Nawar, the spokesperson for a support caravan organised by Libyan citizens in solidarity, said on Facebook on Saturday that he had been kidnapped, violently assaulted and robbed of his money by authorities allied to military commander General Khalifa Haftar. Despite the march not getting off the ground, Smith says their efforts were not wasted. 'We have a network of 4,000 people who are willing to drop everything to support Palestine,' Smith said. 'This connection that we've made in the last few days…it wasn't all for nothing'. 'I don't want to sit here 10 years from now and wonder if we did explore all options to stop the Palestinian genocide,' she said.
Al Arabiya
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Bangladesh restores ‘except for Israel' policy on passports
Bangladesh has restored the phrase 'valid for all countries of the world except Israel,' on its passports, state media reported, reaffirming a travel ban to the Middle Eastern country. The 'except Israel' inscription from passports was removed in 2021, under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. However, Bangladeshi citizens have been banned from traveling to Israel for decades. At the time, Hasina said that Bangladesh's stance on Israel had not changed and that the move aimed to help the country's passports abide by international standards. Nearly 100,000 people took part in a demonstration titled March for Gaza during a rally in Dhaka on Saturday, displaying Bangladesh's support for an independent Palestinian state. The reinstatement directive was issued on April 7, Bangladesh's Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency reported Monday, citing Deputy Secretary at the Home Ministry Nilima Afroze. The passports of some additional countries not valid for travel to Israel include Brunei, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan.
Gulf Today
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Bangladesh reintroduces 'except Israel' phrase on passports
Bangladesh has restored an "except Israel" inscription on passports, local media reported, effectively barring its citizens from travelling to that country. Israel is a flashpoint issue in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, which does not recognise it. The phrase "valid for all countries except Israel," which was printed on Bangladeshi passports for decades, was removed during the later years of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's tenure. Nilima Afroze, a deputy secretary at the home ministry, told Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency on Sunday that authorities had "issued a directive last week" to restore the inscription. "The director general of the department of immigration and passport was asked to take necessary measures to implement this change," local newspaper The Daily Star quoted Afroze as saying Sunday. In 2021, the words "except Israel" were removed from passports, although the then government under Hasina clarified that the country's stance on Israel had not changed. Massive crowd of Muslims carry flags during a protest rally called March for Gaza, to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, in Dhaka. Reuters The country's support for an independent Palestinian state was visible on Saturday when around 100,000 protesters gathered in Dhaka in solidarity with Gaza. They carried hundreds of Palestinian flags and chanted slogans such as "Free, Free Palestine." Many among them beat the images of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing them of backing Israel. Symbolic coffins and effigies representing civilian casualties were carried during the rally. Agencies
Middle East Eye
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Bangladesh reintroduces 'except Israel' phrase on passports
Bangladesh has restored an "except Israel" inscription on passports, local media reported Sunday, effectively barring its citizens from travelling to that country. The phrase "valid for all countries except Israel," which was printed on Bangladeshi passports for decades, was removed during the later years of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's tenure. Nilima Afroze, a deputy secretary at the home ministry, told Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency on Sunday that authorities had "issued a directive last week" to restore the inscription. The country's support for an independent Palestinian state was visible on Saturday when around 100,000 people gathered in Dhaka in solidarity with Gaza. People participate in a demonstration titled "March for Gaza" during a rally in Dhaka on 12 April, 2025, expressing solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. (AFP)
