CAIRO: Following the Israeli storming of the Al-Aqsa mosque, students from Egyptian universities, including Cairo, Al-Azhar and Zagazig universities, respectively, rose up in condemning the Israeli practices and Arab silence towards incidents taking place at the Islamic holy sites. This came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the decision to include the Ibrahimi and Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque as part of the Jewish heritage list of cultural sites. At Cairo, al-Azhar and Zagazig universities, hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood students rose up against the submissiveness of the Arab and Muslims sentiments, which they said were not met with any official action by Arab governments condemnation. This protest was widely supported by other university students, who asserted that the Palestinian cause is not only the MB’s alone, but “it is the whole Arab and Muslim nations’ cause.” They appealed to the entire Muslim world to take the necessary action to protect the holy sites from attack and “usurpation.” Students held banners calling for an end to “this fierce attack” and were adamant in their condemning of what they said was “Arab silence, saying “Oh rulers, open the door for jihad” and “dear Palestinians, destroy Tel Aviv†and “arm us, prepare us and send us to Palestine.” The students stressed that these events would be repeated for days and “it is only a part of the continued Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and their holy places, while the whole world witnesses in silence.” They also pointed out that Arab governments have become a threat to the “honorable citizens in their countries and abroad, especially to the Palestinian resistance.” They called for cutting all ties with Israel and for the Jewish state's ambassador to be expelled from all Arab capitals immediately. Further, they called on human rights organizations and the United Nations to play an active role in protecting Palestinians and opening the door for public official donations without restriction. The protest was followed by a march, where students chanted slogans such as “attacks on Al-Aqsa are severe … we want a country that declares war”; “Haniyya, Mashaal and Zahhar, you are our hope†and “raise your voice and say it frankly, what is happening is a scandal.” Hamas leader, Naji Albatta, stressed to Egypt's Sheikh of al-Azhar that “the decision to include Al-Haram al-Ibrahimi and Islamic heritage to the Jewish heritage is a continued violation of the sanctities of the nation and disrespect to the feelings of Muslims.” He called on Arab regimes to act immediately to support the holy sites of “the Arab and Islamic nation,” calling on al-Azhar's Mohamed Tantawy to take serious actions to support the case and issue a fatwa for all Arab regimes “to boycott the Israeli entity, politically and economically.” He praised the students' protests saying, “such protests bring triumph to the Palestinians and strengthen the resistance and encourage the resistance to continue until the Israeli enemy is conquered, God willing.”
