Egypt stops pro-Palestine activists in their March to Gaza
Thousands of international pro-Palestine activists have been blocked from reaching Egypt’s Rafah border crossing during the Global March to Gaza event, allegedly over security concerns. Scenes of demonstrators being forcefully dispersed and detained have sparked outrage among the organisers.
The Global March participants are joining more than 1,500 people from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauretania, Morocco and Tunisia taking part in the Grass Roots Land Convoy, also known as the Soumoud—meaning Steadfastness in Arabic. The convoy set off in a more than 100-vehicle aid convoy from the Tunisian capital Monday, travelling through Algeria and Libya to reach Egypt by Friday. It includes trade unionists and politicians, human rights activists, athletes, lawyers, doctors, journalists and members of youth organisations.
In Sirte, Libya, they were stopped by the authorities, at Egypt’s request. It is unclear whether they will be able to enter North Sinai, as the Egyptian authorities insist that all foreign delegations seeking to visit the Gaza border area—including the city of El-Arish and the Rafah crossing—must obtain “prior approval” through official channels such as Egyptian embassies abroad, or via foreign embassies in Cairo. They insist that the none of the participants will be allowed to cross the border into Gaza “for reasons of sovereignty and security”.
Entry into North Sinai has long been restricted, in part due to an ongoing military campaign against armed Islamist forces. But following the onset of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Cairo has only allowed a handful of popular convoys—those organized by state institutions and allied political parties—to reach the Rafah crossing.
Another humanitarian convoy, under the name “Dignity Convoy”, has set off from Lebanon via Syria, Jordan and Egypt for the Rafah border crossing.
Pro-government figures in Egypt tried to discredit the convoys as a “ploy to embarrass Egypt”, suggesting connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is outlawed in Egypt.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/06/15/aotm-j15.html
There are more than 150,000 Gazans stranded in Egypt and living in dire conditions, unable to return following Israel’s destruction of the Rafah crossing in May 2024. El-Sisi has accepted Israel’s new policies for the reopening of the Rafah crossing that will allow Palestinians to exit Gaza but prevent their return to the besieged enclave, presaging a broader strategy of permanent displacement.
The Butcher of Cairo’s support for Israel, US imperialism’s proxy in the region, is his quid pro quo for Washington’s commitment to back his security in the event of a mass movement to unseat him like that of the Arab Spring of 2010-11. El-Sisi has worked strenuously to demobilise and suppress widespread opposition within Egypt to Israel’s crimes and his own his failure to support the Palestinians amid mounting tensions over rising poverty as inflation reached 16.8 percent in May. The authorities have arrested 186 people over the last 20 months, with more than 100 still in detention, intensifying the crackdown with the arrival of the Global March, to prevent Egyptians joining it.
