Protesting Israel’s Sinai assault

EGYPTIANS ORGANIZED a fierce protest in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo on August 19 in response to the killing of five Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai on the border with Israel. Israel's bombing raids against Gaza and Sinai--supposedly in response to armed attacks near the Red Sea resort of Eilat in which eight Israelis died--killed at least 20 civilians, including two children.

Israeli intelligence asserts that those responsible for the Eilat attacks were based in Gaza, and that militants or soldiers opened fire from the Egyptian border. But no evidence or statements have yet been produced to corroborate these claims.

The protest in Cairo began shortly after Friday prayers on August 19 with a group of about 150 Islamist activists demanding expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. In the course of the demonstration, youth tore down yards of corrugated metal barriers and dismantled a 15-foot-high concrete blockade to allow protesters access to the front of the embassy building.

Students burned a 20-foot Israeli flag, temporarily blocking four lanes of traffic across University Street. The chanting included vows of retaliation for the bombing, scathing criticism of U.S. support for Israel and expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians. Signs called for the dissolution of the Camp David accords and no further supplies of natural gas to Israel.

The demonstration swelled to several thousand people in the evening, including members of many different political currents, including Islamists, revolutionary socialists and members of the April 6 Youth Movement who turned out to express united anger at Israeli aggression toward Egypt.

In response to the protests, about 100 armed military, including at least six armored personnel carriers, were sent, and approximately 150 central security forces were deployed to prevent entry into the embassy building. Significantly, when Gen. Hamdy Badeen, a much reviled figure, put in an appearance at the protest, demonstrators booed and chased him away. With their chants, demonstrators showed that they blame the military council that rules Egypt for the attack on a peaceful demonstration on July 23 in the neighborhood of Abbasiyah.

Late in the evening, after many hours of energetic protest, the Israeli flag was removed from the top of the embassy building and burned. The demonstration continued through the night and into Saturday in the form of a smaller sit-in. Later, Egyptian state television reported that the government had recalled Egypt's ambassador from Israel--though further press reports claimed that the decision was reversed after the intervention of U.S. diplomats.