Despite 15 Months of Israeli Genocide in Gaza, Why Has Egypt Seen No Real Movement?

In a carefully orchestrated display, pro-government supporters gathered near the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, ostensibly to oppose the displacement of Palestinians. Yet the event featured more praise for the head of the Egyptian regime Abdel Fattah el-Sisi than discussion of its stated cause.

The rally, held on Friday, January 31, 2025, was framed as a rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to “relocate” Gaza’s population to Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab and Muslim countries.

State-backed demonstrations in Egypt saw participation from high-profile figures, including staunchly pro-government MPs such as Ihab al-Omda of the Nation’s Future Party, along with lawmakers Tarek el-Khouly and Mahmoud Badr.

The event also featured a significant presence of celebrities, led by Actors’ Syndicate head Ashraf Zaki, along with actors Ahmed Abdelaziz and Ahmed al-Awady, and screenwriter Medhat al-Adl.

Made to Order

According to reports and video footage, large crowds of demonstrators gathered at the Rafah crossing, many arriving from rural areas. Notably, their slogans focused more on backing Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his policies than on opposing displacement.

Some political activists pointed out that praise for the “Egyptian leader” far outweighed expressions of support for Palestinians or condemnation of Donald Trump and “Israel.”

One of the most controversial scenes came from footage showing demonstrators scrambling to collect boxes of food, drinks, and supplies being distributed from trucks.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s Interior Ministry rejected requests from civil parties like the Civil Democratic Movement to protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo against Trump’s remarks.

The staged nature of the rally raised doubts about its authenticity, leading to comparisons with Egypt's true popular movements, especially the student activism from the 1990s onwards. 

Egyptian journalist Abdel Azim Hammad called it a “made-to-order protest,” drawing parallels to the orchestrated demonstrations during the era of ousted President Hosni Mubarak. 

“The crowds were bused in from all directions, gathering at Cairo Stadium, each person handed sandwiches and juice,” he said.

Activist Khaled Farid Sallam criticized the demonstration near the Rafah border as a staged effort to influence the U.S., calling it “absurd” to present an organized, state-backed rally as a spontaneous protest against normalization.

“No one is fooled—not American policymakers, not even those taking part,” he said.

“The attempt to manufacture a popular movement was laughable and surreal, especially as the UN had just held a session criticizing Egypt’s record on free expression and civil liberties,” Sallam added.

Where Is the Real Protest?

Egyptian researcher Mohamed Maher argues that the head of the Egyptian regime Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s crackdown on political activism and student movements, along with his weakening of opposition parties and parliament, has left Egypt devoid of genuine political engagement.

“Sisi believes he is protecting the state by dismantling political life,” Maher told Al-Estiklal. “But history offers a lesson—under President Gamal Abdel Nasser, security officials justified repression by citing internal and external threats, yet that didn’t shield Egypt from disaster.”

Maher recalled how, despite Nasser’s iron grip, Egypt suffered a crushing defeat in the 1967 war while its prisons were filled with intellectuals and political opponents. “His rule taught people to keep their heads down in a republic of fear,” he said.

The Egyptian researcher drew a parallel to Sisi’s Egypt, where an estimated 60,000 political detainees languish in military detention. When a real movement was needed to oppose displacement plans, Maher argued, the state’s stage-managed protests lacked credibility and fooled no one—least of all global powers with deep insight into Egypt’s affairs.

“When genuine activism needed to send a message to the world that the people reject pressure and displacement, the situation appeared more like a farce, failing to convince anyone, including the major powers who are aware of the finer details of what is happening in Egypt.”

In contrast to these staged scenes, real movements in Egypt can be traced back to 2008, when placards supporting Gaza appeared in the streets of Cairo. Protesters in the squares and at al-Azhar Mosque displayed their outrage over Israeli Occupation crimes in Gaza.

This solidarity reached its peak after the January 25 Revolution in 2011, with thousands taking to the streets in support of Gaza during the 2012 Israeli aggression.

On September 9, 2011, demonstrators stormed the old Israeli embassy in Cairo, thousands of them marching from Tahrir Square. They broke into the embassy, scattering documents inside while chanting “Gaza, Gaza, symbol of pride.” The Egyptian flag, rather than the Israeli one, flew from the building's balcony, fluttering over the Nile.

The storming of the embassy marked the beginning of a new Egyptian policy toward “Israel.” After the Israeli assault at the end of 2012, the late Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi publicly expressed his solidarity with Gaza.

“We will not leave Gaza alone,” he said, and then sent Prime Minister Hesham Qandil to the Gaza Strip to show support for the Palestinians. This incident played a major role in halting the aggression.

It is also worth noting that Egypt's first elected civilian president, following the 2011 revolution, never used the term “Israel” in any of his speeches.

Sisi’s Contradictions

One of the most puzzling aspects of the demonstrations orchestrated under the head of the Egyptian regime Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is the simultaneous crackdown on pro-Gaza protesters who step outside the officially sanctioned boundaries.

Despite repeated state-backed rallies since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, Egyptian authorities have arrested demonstrators who deviated from “the script.” On October 20 and 27, 2023, several people were detained for participating in pro-Palestinian protests—some of them at gatherings called for by Sisi himself, while others were arrested arbitrarily for carrying a Palestinian flag or chanting slogans in unauthorized locations.

Egyptian writer Wael Kandil questioned this contradiction in The New Arab, asking, “Why does a regime supposedly so committed to Gaza’s resilience continue imprisoning Palestine’s true supporters?”

In a January 30, 2025 article, Kandil noted that not only were 173 detainees from 20 provinces facing renewed 45-day detention orders for their participation in pro-Palestinian protests, but hundreds of other resistance supporters had been languishing in prison for years.

This paradox has left Egyptians uncertain about where they stand. Sisi himself has repeatedly suggested that demonstrations could be mobilized. In October 2024, during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Cairo, he stated, “If I needed to call on the Egyptian people to take to the streets and express themselves [..] you would see millions backing Egypt’s position” against the displacement of Palestinians to Sinai.

Yet just months earlier, on April 2, 2024, a pro-Gaza protest at the Press Syndicate in Cairo resulted in the arrest of 18 people, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.

Egyptian political science professor Essam Abdel Shafy told Alhurra that the government tolerates demonstrations only when they are coordinated with the regime or its loyalist parties. “The Egyptian state cannot tolerate protests of any kind,” he said. 

“While it turns a blind eye to state-approved rallies for Palestine, it cracks down on independently organized ones.”

He added that Sisi uses the Palestinian cause as leverage—at times mobilizing his supporters to demonstrate for Gaza to serve his own agenda, while at other times ramping up his media machine to escalate tensions for the same purpose.