In Egypt, there has been an outpouring of sympathy and support for the Palestinians who are being subjected to one of the most brutal Israeli wars ever waged on the Gaza Strip, in response to the Al-Aqsa Flood operation carried out by Hamas and allied groups on Saturday 7 October.
However, so far, expressions of solidarity have been confined to those made by individuals, in the absence of public demonstrations on the ground.
As is the case every time the Israeli occupying forces launch an assault on Gaza, many Egyptians have shown their solidarity with the Palestinian people.
This can be seen in conversations on the street and on public transport, and is clearly visible on social media. But while many Egyptians are calling on Arab governments to support Palestine in the face of the occupation, these are so far just individual expressions of solidarity in the absence of any wider mobilization or clearly stated stance by public bodies or political figures.
Mass support for Palestine
Lawyer Ahmad Zoghbi says to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister edition: “When crises and clashes erupt in Gaza, Egyptians of differing opinions and ideologies express their support for [the Palestinians], likewise they voice their anger and frustration with the situation, as was clear during the latest assault.”
"The events in Gaza have long had a deep impact on the Egyptian public and on people's emotions, so feelings of outrage and similarly, feelings of solidarity with the Palestinians, are generally both widely felt in Egypt" Zoghbi adds: “In the past, Egyptians would organise events and rallies where they would convey their solidarity with our people in Palestine and Gaza and demand an end to the aggression, and the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. And that would happen during demonstrations in the streets and public squares, and activists and rights organisations would participate, in a way that highlighted the vitality of the Egyptian public; all walks of life would attend.”
However, he says, no one has done this during the latest assault.
Anti-protest law – stifling expression
Mahmoud Abdelaal, who works at the Egyptian Railways Authority, says the “lack of public demonstrations stems from the [anti] protest law which requires anyone wishing to organise a protest to obtain permission first, and this is something the relevant parties categorically refuse to issue.”
“People will not spontaneously protest, so there must be leadership by activists, politicians, opinion leaders, or grassroots leaders,” adds Abdelaal.
Many Egyptians have used social media to issue calls for a collective expression of support from the Egyptian public for the Palestinians, for example through organising donation-collecting campaigns to support humanitarian efforts in Gaza. Egyptian citizens have shown their readiness to volunteer and contribute their efforts to offer essential aid items to the affected in Gaza, such as food, water, and medicines.
However, so far these demands have not been met.
Calls for boycott
Social media activists are also calling for boycott campaigns against American goods and companies supporting Israel, and have urged Egyptians to choose local alternatives or those from other countries.
An official in one of Egypt’s political parties, who wished not to be named in this article, said that the reluctance of civil society organisations and Egyptian activists to provide any public support for the Palestinian cause was linked to multiple factors.
“Politicians, activists, and civil society organisations face political, legal, and security pressures that reduce their public presence in supporting the Palestinian issue,” he explained, adding that they “suffer from restrictions on freedom of expression and organising protests or gatherings, as well as the fact that there are funding limitations for non-governmental organisations working in this field.”
The party official continued: “Moreover if activists organise protests which citizens attend without security permission, because of the sensitivity of the timing and the eruption of the situation in Gaza, there are fears” that they will face a [state] response.
Regime fears snowballing demonstrations
“The events in Gaza have long had a deep impact on the Egyptian public and on people’s emotions, so feelings of outrage and similarly, feelings of solidarity with the Palestinians, are generally both widely felt in Egypt,” therefore, he explains, the government is extremely cautious about “any mobilisation on the streets relating to the issue, as millions of protestors could amass within minutes from all over the country.”
"Egypt's responsibility arises not only from being the only neighbouring state but also the sole lifeline for the people of Gaza in light of the closure of all other crossings. Additionally, Egypt bears this responsibility due to participating for 16 years in enforcing the restrictions imposed on the population of Gaza since the Israeli blockade was forced on them in 2007" The state also fears that these demonstrations “could tempt the protestors to take action on other issues, and if that happened, the state could lose its iron grip on the street,” he suggests.
It is worth noting that the Egyptian authorities have indefinitely suspended operations at the Rafah land crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip after Israel targeted the Palestinian side of the crossing with airstrikes. They also requested Palestinian travellers listed in the travel registers to return to Gaza.
While media reports stated that Israel informed Egypt they would target aid convoys if Cairo decided to send them through the Rafah crossing, Cairo24, an Egyptian news outlet, reported that Egypt is disregarding the warnings, and there is an official directive for a humanitarian aid convoy to support the besieged Palestinians.
For its part, the “National Alliance for Civil Development Work” declared its readiness to send a convoy to deliver a significant amount of humanitarian aid, food and medical supplies, alongside doctors, to assist Palestinians in the face of the Israeli violence being unleashed on Gaza. The “Hayah Karima Foundation” called for donations to help Palestinians.
In other instances of solidarity across Egypt, on Monday, dozens of students from the American University of Cairo (AUC) demonstrated inside the university campus in solidarity with the Palestinian people following the Al Aqsa Flood operation launched by the Al-Qassam Brigades on 7 October and in the face of Israel’s massive assault on Gaza which followed.
On Wednesday 11 October, the Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate held a “day of solidarity” for “the heroic people of Palestine who are defending their occupied country and stolen homeland”.
Also on Wednesday, nine Egyptian human rights organisations issued a joint statement calling on the international community and the Egyptian authorities to take all necessary measures without delay to allow the delivery of emergency aid to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, especially in light of the “total siege” announced by Israel on 9 October.
“Egypt’s responsibility arises not only from being the only neighbouring state but also the sole lifeline for the people of Gaza in light of the closure of all other crossings. Additionally, Egypt bears this responsibility due to participating for 16 years in enforcing the restrictions imposed on the population of Gaza since the Israeli blockade was forced on them in 2007,” read the statement.