CAIRO: As the first day of weekend, Friday is traditionally the day for protests in Cairo. Hundreds of people upheld this tradition by joining one of the four different protests that took place at the same time last Friday. Approximately 300 Salafists gathered in Abbasiya to protest against the assassination of Osama Bin Laden. The same quarter saw an even larger group of Copts demonstrating in order to prevent attacks on the cathedral by Salafists. Meanwhile, hundreds gathered on Tahrir Square in solidarity with the uprisings in the Arab world as well as with the Palestinian people. While the demonstrations seemed to illustrate the divisions among the Egyptian movements, Friday's main unifying element was the call for a Third Intifada. As Palestinian flags were dominating the scene on Tahrir square, hundreds gathered in front of the Israeli embassy to support the call for another uprising. Protestors in front of the Embassy were shouting: “Here is the sound of revolutionary Egypt, on the Day of the Third Intifada we will come and it will be your salvation Palestine.” Criticizing the occupation Wall they shouted: “The Wall of shame must fall because Egyptians rise up.” The call for a Third Intifada had initially appeared as a Facebook group. Inspired by the uprisings in the Arab world, the group called for a massive march to Gaza on May 15. Israel celebrates its independence on May 15; the same day stands for the commemoration of the Nakba, the forceful expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1948. The date has therefore a highly symbolic value. Although the Facebook site has been closed down repeatedly, it attracted hundreds of thousands of supporters from all over the world. The movement for a Third Intifada is being carried by a large spectre of political groups and individuals. However, Mahmoud Abbas, the current President of the Palestinian Authority openly spoke out against a Third Intifada, even if current peace talks with Israel fail again. Hamas, on the other hand has called repeatedly for another Intifada. It is unclear how the signing of the reconciliation deal between the two parties will affect their positions. Regardless of these tensions, Egyptians seem to be motivated to mobilize for a march to Gaza. Last week, a group of approximately 50 activists met to discuss the demands of the March to Gaza. Besides the demand to end the siege, Egyptian protesters will also demand an end of the controversial gas deal to Israel, and to end the Camp David agreement. The convoy will be accompanied by several trucks in an attempt to bring food to Gaza. Ahmed Adel Naeem, one of the organizers explains: “We want to make clear to the whole world that we are not the prison watchdogs for Gaza.” The Egyptian Foreign Minister announced last Friday that the border to Rafah will be permanently opened. However, as Egypt's political situation is still highly polarized, the reaction of the army to the Gaza convoy remains unpredictable. BM
