Egypt's streets are unlikely to calm down before Israel halts its air strikes on Gaza, reports Reem Leila Developments in Gaza over the past three weeks have driven Egyptian people to the streets in a display of anger directed at both the government and Israel's aggression. The biggest demonstration took place in the coastal city of Alexandria where thousands of Egyptians demonstrated after Friday prayers. Led by MPs affiliated to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, they chanted slogans against the Israeli offensive and Arab complicity in the blockade of Gaza. The protesters called upon Arab leaders to allow them to fight besides the Palestinians. One slogan, repeated over and over by students during the past two weeks, runs, "Where is the army? We want war". On the same day the Doctors' Syndicate held an extraordinary general assembly at which it was announced that 11 Egyptian doctors have been allowed to enter Gaza to help in treating injured Palestinians. "Many doctors have signed statements taking full responsibility for anything that happens to them in Gaza, asking the Ministry of Health and Population to allow them to go. The ministry, after initially refusing because of unsafe conditions in Gaza, has agreed," Hamdi El-Sayed, head of the Doctors' Syndicate, said during the meeting. El-Sayed, who is also head of the People's Assembly (PA) Health Committee, added that doctors who had volunteered to cross the border were well aware of the conditions in Gaza. "There are 27 highly qualified Egyptian doctors in Arish -- scene of a 3,000 strong protest against Israeli attacks -- ready to go to Gaza anytime." Saturday saw an escalation in demonstrations of popular anger. Thousands of students at Cairo University protested on campus before making their way out onto the street. Students burned a 10 metre-long Israeli flag while chanting "God Almighty" and "Down with Israel" and calling for "war against Israel". Several policemen and 60 students were injured in the resulting scuffles and three activists were arrested. On 9 January university professors held a conference to condemn the Israeli war and the silence of Arab states. Adel Abdel-Gawad, chairman of Cairo University Teaching Staff Club, pointed out that during the gathering university professors signed a petition to allow Egyptians to fight Israel. "We have also decided to boycott all Israeli and American products," said Abdel-Gawad. While the majority of protests have been organised by the Muslim Brotherhood, participants come from across the political spectrum and include secularist left wingers alongside Islamists. Earlier this week MPs belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood presented a letter to President Hosni Mubarak requesting that Egypt's role "be expanded beyond transporting the injured and sending humanitarian aid". Mohamed El-Beltagui, assistant secretary-general of the group's parliamentary bloc, insists Egypt must take the "first step towards unifying Arabs to end the Gaza holocaust". The demonstrations have clearly shown that the Muslim Brotherhood can mobilise thousands of its supporters when it chooses and the group has urged the public to continue demonstrating. Its success so far has led many commentators to revise their assessment of the real strength of the group. Political analyst Amr El-Shobaki of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies points out that with the government largely seen as complicit in the bombing of Gaza, Egyptians have had little option to express their unhappiness apart from turning out to support the Brotherhood. Yet still, he says, demonstrations in Egypt attract far fewer people than they do abroad, a reflection, El-Shobaki argues, "of the undemocratic atmosphere and people's belief that they will be detained by the security forces". Those who take to the streets, he says, believe the Egyptian government must carry some of the blame for what is happening in Gaza. "Political parties -- including the ruling party -- are ineffective, their performance is feeble and the public has no confidence in their effectiveness," says El-Shobaki. In a country where religious conservatism is dominant, the only outlet that allows people to express their anger is the Muslim Brotherhood, "the country's most organised and vocal opposition force". The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) has conducted several conferences across the provinces in solidarity with the Palestinian people. On Sunday more than 3,000 citizens from Kom Ombo, Nubia and Aswan demonstrated while chanting slogans condemning Iran, Syria and Hizbullah alongside Israel. The NDP conferences have all defended the policies of the regime towards the conflict and have stressed that Egypt has sent LE25 million in donations, 20 tonnes of humanitarian aid, and opened the border to injured Palestinians seeking medical treatment. "I don't normally support the Brotherhood and don't like it that much," says Heba Magdi, a university student. "But in this situation, without any other action being taken, I will support them. What is happening in Gaza is horrific and our governments are doing nothing." Magdi's sentiments are increasingly common among a public that accuses the government of offering only a few veiled criticisms of Israeli action. "The MB has become almost the only opposition force in Egypt, and that makes it scarily powerful," says El-Shobaki. It is a situation, says El-Shobaki, for which the Egyptian media is partly responsible. Government media outlets, he explains, only appear to be concerned with attacking Hamas and ameliorating the image of the regime rather than supporting Palestinians being slaughtered in Gaza. "The Muslim Brotherhood has been the only outlet for the public to express support for the Palestinians." The Palestinian cause, once a unifying factor for Arabs in general, and Egyptians in particular, is itself now fractured. "People want to support Palestine, but which Palestine? Hamas-ruled Palestine or Fatah-ruled Palestine?" asks sociologist Qadri Hefni. "The regime, political parties and ordinary people are all against the Israeli assaults but the regime is also against Hamas and favours Mahmoud Abbas while the Muslim Brotherhood supports Hamas. The public get confused." The government is in an awkward position. While the peace treaty with Israel limits its room for manoeuvre allegations that it had prior knowledge of Israeli plans before the bombing of Gaza began almost three weeks ago have compromised its credibility. Hefni believes the Egyptian government's efforts to stop the Israeli aggression, despite surrounding circumstances, have been "tremendous". "Nothing more can be done. We have our own domestic problems to take care of. Let those who are calling on Egyptians to attack Israel and are igniting the Arab street against Egypt go and fight for Gaza instead of sitting at home bellowing hollow slogans." As the death toll in Gaza continues to rise there is little chance of Arab, and Egyptian, anger abating.
