Video: Global March to Gaza blocked, attacked en route to Gaza border

Thousands of peaceful protesters trying to reach Gaza border attacked by ‘thugs sent by Egyptian government’

Thousands of people trying to reach the Rafah Crossing from Egypt to Gaza – to protest against Israel’s genocide and try to release aid shipments that Israel has blocked for months as part of its starvation blockade and genocide of the Palestinian people – have been attacked by armed gangs in the Egyptian desert:

Prayer4Gaza, which posted the above video, said:

Egyptian authorities met peaceful crowds who were trying to negotiate with repression and violence. Internationals were stopped at Ismaliya checkpoints, passports taken and held in the sun for hours, and some beaten. Secret service also detained people, and rounded people up at hotels, even tourists.

Some were taken on busses and to airport, others dropped in streets of Cairo. Later at the checkpoints during a peaceful sit in with attempted negotiations, arab insitgators/ secret service started to behave violently to peaceful sitters.

Whilst Israel is exterminating Gaza through military bombardment, forced starvation and using aid as a tool to further ethnic cleansing, Egypt prioritises brutalising visitors who aim to peacefully bring aid.

Contact respective countries Embassies in Egypt, diplomats and pro pal members of a parliaments to make statements and apply diplomatic pressure on Egypt to stop violence and aggressions to tourists and visitors.

Victims included Turkish MP Faruk Dinc, wounded by a missile thrown by one of the gangs:

A statement issued this march organisers this afternoon about one group of marchers accosted reads:

The Global March to Gaza is a humanitarian mission aimed at applying pressure to open the Rafah border to allow vital aid, currently being blocked, into Gaza. Participants are motivated by concern for the ongoing suffering of Gazans, who have been denied aid and have been systematically slaughtered by Israel in their thousands during the 20 month siege.
On 13 June, a group of international delegates travelling to join the Global March to Gaza was prevented from reaching a designated campsite near North Sinai. The group included participants from more than 80 countries who had been staying in hotels across Cairo and Ismailia. They were heading to a gathering point to meet in person for the first time before the peaceful march planned later this week. The group planned to rest, organize and wait, while conducting negotiations with the Egyptian Authorities to gain official authorization to proceed to Rafah.

At a checkpoint, the group was stopped and held for several hours without clear explanation. In response, some participants sat peacefully on the roadside. There was no violence from the group at any point. Several individuals were later detained and some were injured. Legal proceedings have begun, including possible deportations. No criminal charges have been brought against any participants and no accusations of unlawful conduct have been made.
The Global March to Gaza is a nonviolent international mobilization that aims to bear witness to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. It stands in solidarity with Palestinian civilians and calls for urgent international action. “We came to stand with Gaza and we are still standing” said spokesperson Melanie Johanna Schweizer. “We will regroup, we will care for one another and we will continue to carry this message forward. What we face here is nothing compared to what Palestinians in Gaza face every day.”

As Israel continues to kill Gazans through airstrikes and executions, while systematically preventing humanitarian supplies from entering the territory the Global March to Gaza will continue peacefully, visibly and together.

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