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Egyptians protest Gaza onslaught
Over 40,000 Egyptians in towns and cities take to the streets denouncing Israel's onslaught on Gaza, as Cairo prepares a possible Abbas-Olmert meeting. the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's main opposition group, announced on its website that after the weekly Friday prayers, 20,000 people protested in the northeast town of Mansura, 15,000 demonstrated in central Fayyum and several thousand is Aswan in the south, all calling for an end to the Israeli assault on the Gazans, contradicting police figures which are quite low. The protesters also demanded the Egyptian government end its complicity with Tel Aviv's aggression. In Cairo, police dispersed several hundred people demonstrating in the Bassatin District while a few hundred people protested inside the compound of the al-Azhar mosque, cordoned off by the police. Government fearing a new "day of anger", had deployed police reinforcements in Cairo and elsewhere. On January 9, at least 50,000 people marched in the northern city of Alexandria to condemn the "complicity" of some Arab governments in the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Meanwhile, Cairo is proposing a possible meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority chief President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to sign an agreement as early as Sunday to strengthen a possible truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported. It was not immediately clear what the trilateral agreement would necessitate since Israel and Hamas have yet to settle their differences over the terms of a ceasefire to halt 21 days of Israeli onslaught on Gaza. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is visiting the region, could take part if a signing ceremony takes place in Cairo, western officials said. Posted by: Fred 2009-01-17 |
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