Egyptian authorities have detained and deported dozens of pro-Palestinian activists planning to take part in a march intended to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza, airport officials and protest organisers have said.
Thousands of activists from around the world have been planning to trek to Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with the Palestinian territory on Friday as part of the Global March to Gaza, demanding the entry of humanitarian aid into the blockaded territory.
But Egyptian officials have been cracking down on international visitors planning to participate in the march, detaining them at Cairo airport and hotels in the Egyptian capital for questioning, and arresting and deporting dozens on Thursday.
An Egyptian official told The Associated Press that authorities had deported more than three dozen activists, most of whom held European passports, on arrival at Cairo International Airport in the past two days.
The official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorised to brief the media, said that the deported activists had intended to travel to Northern Sinai “without obtaining required authorisations”.
The Reuters news agency reported that at least 73 foreign nationals had been deported on a flight to Istanbul on Thursday, with 100 more at the airport awaiting deportation.
Credit: aljazeera.com
