CAIRO: Egyptian police arrested on Monday 15 students affiliated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood during a protest at Cairo University against Israeli settlements, a security official said.
Hundreds of students staged protests in several universities across Egypt over Israeli plans to build new homes for Jewish settlers in occupied East Jerusalem and include two West Bank Muslim shrines on a list of Israeli heritage sites.
Arrests of demonstrators were only reported at Cairo University, where students clashed with security forces, the official said.
The Brotherhood meanwhile said on its website that police also arrested 18 of its members in dawn raids on Monday in Alexandria, following what it said were two days of pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
On Friday police arrested 50 Brotherhood protesters who took part in anti-Israeli demonstrations.
The Muslim Brotherhood is banned but tolerated in Egypt where it has controlled a fifth of seats in parliament since it fielded candidates as independents in the 2005 polls.
The group has accused the authorities of cracking down on its members ahead of upper house elections in April and lower house elections in October.
In February deputy leader Mahmoud Ezzat was among 16 Brotherhood members arrested by the police. -AFP
