Egypt Is Cracking Down On Activists From All Around The World Trying To March To Gaza To Break Israel's Siege
Videos on social media in recent days showed hundreds of activists blocked at a checkpoint near Ismailia, to prevent them from advancing towards Rafah.
The Egyptian government is cracking down on international activists participating in the Global March to Gaza, a grassroots movement aimed at breaking Israel’s siege on Gaza.
The Global March to Gaza started on Thursday, June 12, and involves some 4,000 people from more than 40 countries meeting in Cairo and marching to Rafah on Egypt’s border with Gaza.
Ahead of the march, Egyptian authorities already detained, deported and questioned several attendees who had flown in.
But videos on social media in recent days showed hundreds of activists blocked at a checkpoint near Ismailia, a city on the Suez Canal 120 kilometers east of Cairo, to prevent them from advancing towards Rafah.
Some videos showed “thugs” or “baltagiya”, gangs previously used by the Egyptian government to attack its political opponents, attacking the demonstrators, according to online reports.
March participants have also reported their passports getting confiscated by the Egyptian authorities, making it impossible to move.
The group in Ismailia was planning to gather at a hotel to “assess the situation and discuss how to proceed” after Egyptian authorities did not give them a response regarding authorization to go to Rafah, according to Drop Site News.
Organizers said that they made repeated requests for permission at Egyptian embassies abroad before traveling to Egypt but didn’t receive approval from authorities.
In a statement on June 11, Egypt's Foreign Ministry had said the government “welcomes” the global pressure on Israel to break its blockade on Gaza but warned that visits to the Rafah border region must be coordinated in advance with Egyptian embassies or government entities to ensure safety and security.
Since June 12, at least 200 international pro-Palestine activists have been detained or deported from Cairo Airport and other locations, with the government issuing new orders to airlines at Cairo airport that require all passengers traveling to Egypt between June 12 and 16 to hold confirmed return tickets, Reuters reported.
Kassy Cho
