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Business Standard
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Egypt detains at least 200 activists planning on marching to Gaza in Cairo
Egypt blocked activists planning to take part in a march to Gaza, halting their attempt to reach the border and challenge Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory before it could begin. Egyptian authorities and activists both said Thursday that people planning to march across the Sinai Peninsula were deported. To draw attention to the humanitarian crisis afflicting people in Gaza, marchers have for months planned to trek about 50 km from the city of Arish to Egypt's border with the enclave on Sunday to create international moral and media pressure to open the crossing at Rafah and lift a blockade that has prevented aid from entering. Saif Abu Keshek, one of the activists organising the march, said that about 200 activists mostly Algerians and Moroccans were detained or deported. But those arriving to the Cairo International Airport on Thursday afternoon were allowed into Egypt, the Spain-based activist added. Organisers have not received approval from Egyptian authorities for Sunday's march and were evaluating how to proceed, he said. None of the circumstances compare to what Palestinians and Gaza have to deal with every day, Abu Keshek said of the ordeal. An Egyptian official on Thursday said more than three dozen activists, mostly carrying European passports, were deported upon their arrival at the Cairo International Airport in the past two days. The official said the activists aimed to travel to Northern Sinai without obtaining required authorisations. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media. Sensitivities and security Egypt has publicly denounced the restrictions on aid entering Gaza and repeatedly called for an end to the war. It has said that the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing remains open, but access to the strip has been blocked since Israel seized the Palestinian side of the border as part of its war with Hamas that began in October 2023. However, authorities have for years clamped down on dissidents and activists when their criticism touches on Cairo's political and economic ties with Israel, a sensitive issue in neighboring countries where governments maintain diplomatic relations with Israel despite broad public sympathy for Palestinians. Egypt had earlier warned that only those who received authorization would be allowed to travel the planned march route, acknowledging it had received numerous requests and inquiries. Egypt holds the right to take all necessary measures to preserve its national security, including the regulation of the entry and movement of individuals within its territory, especially in sensitive border areas, its foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Israel Katz, Israel's defense minister, yesterday referred to the protestors as jihadists and called on Egypt to prevent them from reaching the border with Gaza. He said they endanger the Egyptian regime and constitute a threat to all moderate Arab regimes in the region. The march is set to begin just days after a large convoy, which organisers said included thousands of activists, travelled overland across North Africa to Egypt. Marchers detained in Cairo Activists and attorneys said airport detentions and deportations began Wednesday with no explicit reason given by Egyptian authorities to detainees. The standoff has put pressure on the activists' home countries, which are wary of seeing their citizens detained. A French diplomatic official said France is in close contact with Egyptian authorities about French nationals who were refused entry in Egypt or detained to ensure consular protection. The participants risked arrest for unauthorised demonstrations in sensitive areas like the Sinai Peninsula, the official added. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the sensitive diplomatic matter. The Global March to Gaza is the latest civil society effort pressing for the entry of food, fuel, medical supplies, and other aid into Gaza. Israel imposed a total blockade in March in an attempt to pressure Hamas to disarm and to release hostages taken in Hamas' Oct 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. It slightly eased restrictions last month, allowing limited aid in, but experts warn the measures fall far short. Food security experts warn the Gaza Strip will likely fall into famine if Israel doesn't lift its blockade and stop its military campaign. Nearly half a million Palestinians are facing possible starvation, and 1 million others can barely get enough food, according to findings by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority. Israel has rejected the findings, saying the IPC's previous forecasts had proven unfounded. Israel's offensive has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians or combatants. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Arab News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Egypt blocks activists aiming to march to Gaza to draw attention to humanitarian crisis
RABAT: Egypt blocked activists planning to take part in a march to Gaza, halting their attempt to reach the border and challenge Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory before it could begin. Egyptian authorities and activists both said Thursday that people planning to march across the Sinai Peninsula were deported. To draw attention to the humanitarian crisis afflicting people in Gaza, marchers have for months planned to trek about 30 miles (about 50 kilometers) from the city of Arish to Egypt's border with the enclave on Sunday to 'create international moral and media pressure' to open the crossing at Rafah and lift a blockade that has prevented aid from entering. Saif Abu Keshek, one of the activists organizing the march, said that about 200 activists — mostly Algerians and Moroccans — were detained or deported. But those arriving to the Cairo International Airport on Thursday afternoon were allowed into Egypt, the Spain-based activist added. Organizers have not received approval from Egyptian authorities for Sunday's march and were evaluating how to proceed, he said. An Egyptian official on Thursday said more than three dozen activists, mostly carrying European passports, were deported upon their arrival at the Cairo International Airport in the past two days. The official said the activists aimed to travel to Northern Sinai 'without obtaining required authorizations.' The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
Middle East Eye
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Egypt detains nearly 200 foreigners who flew in to join Gaza march
Egyptian authorities have detained and questioned more than 200 people who arrived in Cairo to participate in the Global March to Gaza, an international action intended to break Israel's siege on the territory, the organisers said on Thursday. According to the march organisers, some 4000 people from over 40 countries had booked flights to Cairo, with many already arriving ahead of the planned march. The activists had flown to Cairo to join a grassroots land convoy which set off from the Tunisian capital on Monday in the hopes of reaching Egypt's Rafah border with Gaza as a 'symbolic act' to spotlight Israel's crippling 18-year siege on the territory. Thousands of volunteers from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia left the Tunisian capital in a 100-vehicle convoy to raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and deliver life-saving aid, organisers said. An online tracker shows that they are in the Libyan city of Misrata as of Thursday afternoon. They also said that the Egyptian government has yet to officially respond to their request for permission to proceed with the march but that they are planning to proceed with it anyway. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "We hope to be able to work alongside the Egyptian government as a key and valued partner. Our priorities are the same: demanding the end of the Palestinian genocide," the organisers said in a statement Thursday shared with Middle East Eye. The initiative's spokesperson, Saif Abu Keshek, told AFP that over 200 pro-Palestine activists had been detained at Cairo airport 'or are being questioned at hotels across Cairo,' adding that detainees include US, Dutch, Australian, French, Spanish, Moroccan and Algerian nationals. The activists were set to travel by bus to the city of El-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula on Friday, before embarking on a march to the border with Gaza, where they will camp for three days in a bid to pressure the authorities to open the border. According to Abu Keshek, plainclothes police rounded up activists in Cairo hotels, questioning them and in some cases confiscating mobile phones and searching personal belongings. He added that following interrogations, some activists were arrested, while others were released. "Our legal services are working on these cases, as we have all complied with all the legal requirements of the Egyptian authorities," the organisers said in a statement on Thursday. "Meanwhile, thousands of march participants are already in Egypt, ready to begin the journey to El-Arish tomorrow and then continue on foot to Rafah, where we hope to arrive this Sunday." Deportations Egyptian news outlet Mada Masr reported that 40 Algerian nationals were detained on Wednesday morning and released after 24 hours, while 10 members of a delegation arriving from Morocco were reportedly turned back at the airport. Several Turkish nationals were also reportedly deported after they raised Palestinian flags outside their hotel, according to a source that spoke to Mada Masr. North African 'resilience convoy' heads to Gaza, aiming to break Israel's siege Read More » Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has urged the Egyptian authorities to block 'the jihadist protesters,' insisting that they 'would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed". He added that if Cairo fails to halt the march, Israeli forces would intervene to stop it. While the Egyptian foreign ministry has said that it backs 'pressure on Israel' to lift its crippling blockade on Gaza, it stressed that foreigners seeking to visit the border must receive official approval. A government source was quoted by Mada Masr as saying that the Egyptian authorities had tried to coordinate with departure countries to prevent the participants from reaching Egypt. The "Sumud" convoy, which means resilience and steadfastness in Arabic, is currently at Libya's Misrata. It includes trade union and political figures, as well as human rights activists, athletes, lawyers, doctors, journalists, and members of youth organisations. Some pro-government figures in Egypt claim the plan is a "political scheme" by people affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which is outlawed in Egypt - labelling it an "anti-Egyptian establishment", rather than a pro-Palestinian, effort.
Middle East Eye
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
What activists hope to achieve with the 'Global March to Gaza'
Activists around the world say they have had enough. With more than 54,000 Palestinians killed, thousands more buried under rubble and unaccounted for, tens of thousands of others injured, maimed, and orphaned, and with close to the entire population of the besieged strip being starved, activists say it's time to take matters into their own hands. Even if it means knocking on the gates around Gaza. On 12 June, between 2,000 and 3,000 activists from close to 50 countries worldwide are expected to descend on Cairo to pressure the international community to force Israel to end the bombardment and siege of Gaza, which human rights groups and scholars have unanimously called a genocide. The Global March on Gaza, as it has come to be known, will see activists make their way to the city of al-Arish in the Sinai and embark on a march to the border with Gaza, where they will camp for three days to urge authorities to allow aid to be let in. Who are the activists travelling to Egypt to participate in the march? Why do they feel so strongly about making the journey to Egypt from all around the world? And what are the prospects of success? Middle East Eye looks at the Global March on Gaza and why so many groups around the world are backing the initiative. What is the Global March to Gaza? The Global March to Gaza is made up of a conglomeration of organisations from around the world and describes itself as a "civic, apolitical, and independent movement". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Organisations that endorsed the march, include the international organisations the International Healthworkers Alliance for Justice; Masafer Yatta Solidarity Alliance from Palestine; Palestinian Youth movement; Codepink Women for Peace in the US; Jewish Voice for Labour in the UK; The Million Rural Women and the Landless Association in Tunisia; India Palestine Solidarity Forum; as well as the Irish Anti-War Movement, among others. The group says that it does not represent any political party, ideology or religion and that its only guiding principles are "justice, human dignity, and peace". More than 400 groups around the world have endorsed the march, with organisers expecting more to enrol in the coming days. Saif AbuKeshek, chair of the international committee of the Global March to Gaza, said the motivation for the march was born out of an idea to have likeminded people gather outside Gaza to send a message to governments around the world that its citizens were no longer able to tolerate its silence as a people continued to be annihilated. "Citizens are not okay with them just being silenced [or the] silence toward the genocide," AbuKeshek said. AbuKeshek added that citizens were growing increasingly agitated with governments making excuses for their inaction or defending the long litany of well-documented crimes Israel has committed against Palestinians. "That's where our pressure is going: for the international complicity in the genocide," he added. Displaced Palestinians carrying bags of relief supplies return from aid distribution centres in Rafah to their tents in the southern Gaza Strip, on 29 May 2025 (AFP) What are organisers hoping to achieve? For more than 11 weeks between early March and the end of May, Israel blocked all aid into Gaza, including food, medicines and fuel, which pushed Gaza to the verge of famine, with some areas already crossing the threshold of famine itself. Currently, one in five Palestinians in Gaza is living in a state of famine. The food shortage has already resulted in the death of 57 children since March; 71,000 children under the age of five will be acutely malnourished over the next eleven months. The devastation has wreaked unquantifiable harm on those already injured or struggling with chronic illnesses. A cascade of emaciated Palestinian children and dismembered bodies continues to flood social media as Israel continues to bombard the territory. Organisers say the mobilisation of thousands of citizens from around the world is an attempt to exert pressure on governments with the power to force Israel to put an immediate stop to the crisis and to persuade the international community to open up the Egyptian border with Gaza. Organisers say the pressure notwithstanding, there will be no forceful breach of the fences surrounding Gaza. They say Israel is only likely to be moved if countries cut off economic or diplomatic ties. This is what they are hoping to communicate to the countries represented by the several thousand citizens who make their way to the march, they said. "What we hope is basically to have this global effort from people, citizens, activists, people who are in the health sector, people who are lawyers and in legal framework organisations, unions - anyone who basically believes that there should be a collective effort and act to stop genocide and stop the bombings of Gaza," AbuKeshek added. Has Israel manufactured a famine in Gaza? Read More » Crucially, they hope the march will allow people around the world to recognise the call for the end to the war on Gaza as a collective will of the planet. "It is essential that everyone participating goes back to demand their governments and corporations implement arms, trade, energy embargos, sports, cultural and academic boycotts to hit the genocidal state of Israel economically and strike at the heart of their white supremacist Zionist ideology," Roshan Dadoo, spokesperson with the South African Boycott Divestment and Sanction Coalition, one of the several hundred organisations that have endorsed the march, told MEE. Is the march an effective use of resources? With so many needs in Gaza, there have been some concerns over whether a march to Gaza, involving international flights, accommodation and equipment, is an effective use of resources. AbuKeshek told MEE it was important to recognise that the crisis in Gaza was not due to a shortage of aid, but was due to the wilful effort of the Israeli government to destroy a population through continual bombardment of homes, hospitals and refugee sites, as well as the through the denial of urgent and necessary aid into Gaza. He noted that over the past several days, Israel has even attacked several aid distribution points, killing more than 100 Palestinians in the past week alone. "Having aid is part of fulfilling the needs of the civilians in Gaza. But stopping the genocide and having all the Israeli occupation forces leaving Gaza and opening borders to allow for those trucks to enter without it being used by Israel as a weapon or blackmail against a civilian population is what is needed," AbuKeshek said. "There are more than 3,000 trucks just waiting on the street," he added. Likewise, Hannah Claire Smith, an activist and content creator from the United States who is taking part in the march, said that it didn't have to be a question of sending aid or supporting the march. "I'll also say that a lot of participants who are joining in this march are hoping to connect with Palestinian families in Cairo or the organisations that take care of displaced Palestinians in Cairo, and donate and organise to donate to things as well. So this is not necessarily an either or situation," Smith said. Smith said that this was a crucial moment to mobilise as conditions deteriorate. "So this is a way for us to escalate. It's a way for us to approach action in a new way and hopefully be taken seriously by the governments that remain complicit or silent in this genocide," Smith added. Who is participating, and where will it take place? According to organisers, around 2,000-3,000 people from 50 countries around the world are expected to make their way to Egypt. Ana Rita, an activist from Portugal, told MEE that she was participating in the march because it felt like time was running out - not just for the people of Gaza, but for the world. "It looks like we are living this parallel reality where suddenly the whole world turns upside down. Where is our humanity? How can we continue living our normal lives, seeing a genocide happening in front of us and not doing anything?" Rita asked rhetorically. Likewise, Smith said she decided to participate because she wanted her government, as well as other western governments and all governments complicit or participating in the ongoing subjugation of Palestinians, to force Israel to end the calamity unfolding in Gaza. Dadoo, from South Africa, said the march "signified how the majority of people in the world stand with Palestinian people and their struggle for liberation from settler colonialism, apartheid and illegal occupation from the river to the sea". Participants will arrive in Cairo before taking a bus to al-Arish, a city around 344 kilometres away in the Sinai. The march itself will begin in al-Arish, and participants will make the journey of 48km towards Rafah over two to three days, travelling during the cooler hours of the day and sleeping in tents at night. The tents will be left as part of the aid package for the people of Gaza. The group is expected to camp for three days before returning by bus to Cairo on 19 June. Has Egypt given permission for the march? For the past few weeks, as word began to spread of an imminent march to Gaza, several delegations reportedly met with Egyptian embassy officials around the globe to discuss plans for a march. As of the first week of June, the Egyptian government has neither provided explicit permission for the march to go ahead, nor has it signalled its opposition. Some of the volunteers arriving in Egypt for the protest said that they were hoping to use their privilege as passport holders from western countries to draw attention to the cause. "It's not going to be feasible for Egyptians necessarily to join this, or for Palestinians in Egypt to join this, or for Palestinians that don't have another nationality to join this movement," Smith said. "But for those of us who have passport privilege, for those of us who can use that as a way to gain attention into this horrific situation and into these war crimes and these atrocities, then I want to leverage that to the best of my abilities, and so that's another reason that I'm joining," Smith said. What is likely to happen? That the march will result in Israel being pressured to end the siege and bombardment is unlikely. Activists understand the journey itself is perilous, given the potential for Israeli interference as well as the unpredictability of the Egyptian forces. Will the march prove to be a success or not? Organisers say they don't know until they try. "We are all going to be accountable for what is happening today in Gaza. We all are going to be asked the question, 'What have you done? What have you done in your lifetime? What have you done while genocide was running in front of your eyes?'" AbuKeshek said. "Gaza is the last stand of humanity today. There is nothing going to be left of us if we are going to just continue to be silent. "Palestinians have been fighting and struggling to defend our values and principles that societies as civilisations were built on - while we are betraying those by allowing genocide to be committed in front of our eyes - we are going to defend our own dignity."
