CAIRO: A protest planned by Kefaya, the Revolutionary Socialists, and the Muslim Brotherhood in response to the recent killings of Palestinian women and children in Beit Hanoun was called off on Thursday due to intimidation and alleged threats from security, organizers said.
A field of police and security officers in plainclothes surrounded the small group of protesters who had gathered outside the Arab League on Tahrir Square to call for a stronger response from the organization to the Beit Hanoun killings.
On Wednesday, Nov. 8, 19 members of an extended Palestinian family were killed in their sleep when Israeli artillery opened fire on their home in Beit Hanoun. Several women and children were among the dead.
The Israeli government expressed regret over the incident but said civilian casualties would not prevent further military incursions into Gaza.
A representative from the Revolutionary Socialists who spoke on the condition of anonymity said he had been hoping to voice his anger at the massacre of civilians, but had been threatened not to do so.
“Some of the protest organizers received a call this morning from national security in which they were told that people would be arrested if the protest was carried out. That is the reason why so few people showed up today. They are scared, he said.
Police and plainclothes security officers surrounded protestors upon arrival, approached the organizers, and asked them to leave and call off the protest immediately.
Reporters conducting interviews with protest participants and photographers were under close watch by security officials as well.
“The Beit Hanoun massacre is against the principles of humanity. We need to show a forceful response to the event and call on involved parties to act immediately, lawyer Rabat Fahma told The Daily Star Egypt.
Protestor Mohameya Mahafy in her large black sunglasses stood in a discreet position away from the main crowd of protestors and shook her head.
“I came here today to show my support for the victims and survivors of Beit Hanoun, but security is prohibiting me from showing my opinion. This is not the first time I see it, she said.
Even The Daily Star Egypt’s reporter was asked twice by security concerning her reasons for attending the short-lived protest.
“They always try to put us behind fences or force us to leave when we gather to protest or shed light on important political and social issues, Jean Rabee, of the Revolutionary Socialists, says while gesticulating at the circle of security officials surrounding the protest.
