Global March to Gaza tells delegations to leave Egypt, demands release of arrested participants

Coordinators of the Global March to Gaza instructed all participants on Monday to leave Egypt, putting an end to the initiative that sought to protest the ongoing genocide, blockade and continued occupation of Palestinian land at the Rafah border crossing.

They also called on Egyptian authorities to release members of the march’s foreign delegations arrested in Cairo over the past weekend, and who included two of the lead march organizers.

The statement sent today to the participating foreign delegations, a copy of which Mada Masr obtained, says the instruction to leave came after the coordinators asked for support from the relevant embassies and received mixed responses. Egyptian authorities have met the arriving delegations over the past week with arrests, deportations and assault.

In the statement, the coordinators explained that the decision came after they met yesterday with embassies of the participating delegations and received mixed responses, as some of them were supportive and willing to defend the marchers, while others were not.

The statement stressed that the coordinators were committed to operating within the law, and organizing the march without permission was not an option for them. The Egyptian government did not provide them with a clear answer during the direct communications with the march coordinators, and participants continue to face arrest and deportation, the statement said.

While participants in the march floated alternatives to the march, such as organizing a demonstration in support of Gaza outside the German Bundestag or the International Court of Justice in The Hague, according to internal correspondence reviewed by Mada Masr, the coordinators preferred to focus on getting all march participants out of Egypt first, to ensure their safety.

In an earlier statement from today, obtained by Mada Masr, the coordination team called on the Egyptian authorities to release all participants arrested in recent days, after two of the lead coordinators were arrested over the weekend, in preparation for their deportation from Egypt.

According to the statement, Egyptian authorities arrested two members of the march's international coordination committee, French national Hicham El Ghaoui and Spanish national Manuel Tapial, over the weekend. Tapial was deported in the early hours of Monday morning, while Ghaoui is still being processed for deportation, the statement said.

The statement also confirmed that the organizers have been in contact with the relevant embassies, urging them to intervene on behalf of the participants who were arrested or deported despite their compliance with Egyptian law and their legal and peaceful entry into the country.

Security forces arrested dozens of participants in the Global March to Gaza, mostly French and Swiss nationals, on Saturday and Sunday, a source working with a human rights organization previously told Mada Masr. Throughout Sunday, participating delegations circulated warnings from organizers urging activists not to gather in Cairo or engage in any form of protest.

“Even as we monitor these developments, our foremost concern remains with the people of Gaza, who continue to face unimaginable suffering. More actions and initiatives are already underway,” lead march coordinator Saif Abukeshek said in the statement.

Although dozens of participants were arrested and deported at the airport before entering Cairo, those who got into Egypt tried to push through with the march, heading to gather in Ismailia on Friday before marching to Rafah. However, those who made it to Ismailia were assaulted by security forces and civilians, forcing them to return to Cairo to avoid the “escalating violence.”