Thousands demonstrate in support of resistance
Thousands of Muslim Brothers activists took part in demos following Fri prayers today in Giza and Shoubra.
Around five thousands supporters of Egypt's largest Islamist opposition group prayed and demonstrated in front of Istiqama mosque in Giza, according to Photographer Nasser Nouri. The protestors were surrounded by CSF, who banned them from marching to the nearby Israeli embassy, but no arrests were reported.
In el-Khazendar mosque in Shoubra, around a thousand MB supporters, half of them children, demonstrated for an hour after the Friday prayers, according to a photographer present in the scene. The mosque was surrounded by CSF, who made sure the demo did not turn into a march. Ten children were detained by security, according to Ikhwan Web.
(You can find a slideshow of the two demos here.)
Here's a good dpa roundup by Jano Charbel of the protests in (the above-mentioned) Giza, and another two in Al-Azhar Mosque and Mansoura province. Jano puts the number of Giza demonstrators at less than what Nasser Nouri said, however.
Around five thousands supporters of Egypt's largest Islamist opposition group prayed and demonstrated in front of Istiqama mosque in Giza, according to Photographer Nasser Nouri. The protestors were surrounded by CSF, who banned them from marching to the nearby Israeli embassy, but no arrests were reported.
In el-Khazendar mosque in Shoubra, around a thousand MB supporters, half of them children, demonstrated for an hour after the Friday prayers, according to a photographer present in the scene. The mosque was surrounded by CSF, who made sure the demo did not turn into a march. Ten children were detained by security, according to Ikhwan Web.
(You can find a slideshow of the two demos here.)
Here's a good dpa roundup by Jano Charbel of the protests in (the above-mentioned) Giza, and another two in Al-Azhar Mosque and Mansoura province. Jano puts the number of Giza demonstrators at less than what Nasser Nouri said, however.
Around 4,000 Egyptians protest against Israel in three demonstrations
Cairo, July 28 (dpa) - Nearly 4,000 Egyptians protested Israel's military operations against Lebanon and the Gaza Strip following Friday noontime prayers in three separate demonstrations, one in Cairo's al-Azhar Mosque another in the Giza Square, and a third in the northern city of Mansoura.
The demonstration in the al-Azhar Mosque, organized by the Labor Party and members of other opposition movements, involved over 1,000 protestors who chanted slogans in support of Hizbollah and Hamas while denouncing the "barbaric aggressions targeting civilians" perpetrated by "the Zionist enemy."
These demonstrators were sealed in by thousands of Egyptian security forces as they protested inside the large mosque. Beyond their denouncement of Israel and the US, the demonstrators condemned "the silence of Arab leaders" whom they described as being traitors, cowards and US agents.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordanian King Abdallah II, and the King of Saudi Arabia Abdallah Ben Abdel Aziz were singled out for criticism. These three Arab leaders, and especially Mubarak, were criticized for their repeated censuring of Hizbollah.
The protestors waved the flags of Hizbollah, Palestine, and Lebanon while others carried pictures of Hassan Nasrallah. They chanted "God bless you Nasrallah," "Dear Nasrallah, in whom we believe, go on and destroy Tel Aviv," and "1...2... Where have the Arab armies gone to?"
Scuffles took place between the protestors and security forces who prevented the demonstrators from taking to the streets; no arrests were reported.
The Moslem Brotherhood were conducting their own protest, at nearly the same time as the al-Azhar demonstration, following the conclusion of Friday noontime prayers in Giza's al-Istiqama Mosque, in which around 2,000 demonstrated against Israel.
The Moslem Brotherhood moved from the mosque to the nearby Giza Square where they were cordoned in by over 5,000 members of the Egyptian security forces.
They chanted "May God grant Hizbollah and Hamas their victory" and "death to Israel" amongst a number of Islamic slogans.
A number of demonstrators carried Lebanese and Palestinian flags as well as photos of Hassan Nasrallah, while others carried placards reading "Yesterday was Iraq, today Lebanon, who's next?" and placards displaying "Flag of Israel = Swastika."
The demonstrators had reportedly intended to march forward in order to demonstrate outside the Israeli embassy in Giza, but the security forces prevented them from doing so. No scuffles or arrests were reported at the Giza Square.
Nearly 500 others protested at a third demonstration in solidarity with the people of Lebanon and Palestine that was staged in the northern Nile Delta City of al-Mansoura.
This demonstration was also conducted following the conclusion of Friday prayers and was also organized by the Moslem Brotherhood.
Earlier, on Thursday evening, nearly 100 protestors held an anti-Israel demonstration outside Cairo's journalists' syndicate. This demonstration was organized by the Nasserist Party and the (Nasserist) Karama Party.
These Nasserist protestors carried photos of the champion of Pan-Arab nationalism, former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and photos of Hassan Nasrallah along with the flags of Hizbollah, Lebanon and Palestine.
The Nasserists swore to deny Condoleezza Rice of her envisioned plan of "a new Middle East" which they said was "a new Middle East in the interests of only Israel and the US, at the expense of the entire Arab World."
In a related development, the General Federation of Professional Syndicates in Egypt, presented the Egyptian government, on Friday, with a petition demanding the expulsion of the American and Israeli ambassadors from the country.
Further demonstrations in solidarity with Lebanon and Palestine are scheduled for Sunday and Monday.