The Egyptian branch of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, in coordination with the Press Syndicate and the Popular Movement to Support the Intifada, is arranging a stand at the Press Syndicate on Sunday to support the Palestinian resistance movement.
The stand-in will be followed by a public conference called “Palestine is our compass,” where the most recent Israeli violations will be discussed.
“The purpose of the campaign is to direct attention internally to the Palestinian issue and provide a response to the distortions presented by some media outlets regarding current developments in Palestine,” BDS spokesperson Ramy Shaath said.
The conference will showcase photographs of violations and a documentary on the recent events. It will also host speakers who will be giving their analytical views as well as their stance on the issue.
Shaath said a statement directed to the Palestinians and Egyptian state will be released at the end of the conference.
“Our aim is to push Egypt and its people to take a stronger stance against Israel and to redefine Egypt’s national security strategy,” Shaath said. “From the ongoing siege on Gaza, to flooding the borders, Egypt’s stance has been unfavorable to the Palestinian people and the policies adopted are quite the contrary to what we are calling for”.
Regarding media coverage of Palestine, Shaath said some Egyptian media outlets have been adopting the narratives and the terminology used by Israeli reports. It proves a collapse in Egypt’s definition of its national security and a need to reconstruct the media rhetoric on the Palestinian issue.
Palestinian Embassy official Nayer Al-Nagy told Daily News Egypt that a “media cell” was formed by the embassy to coordinate with media outlets regarding news coverage and to provide them with supporting material.
“The role of the cell is to shed light on Israeli violations,” Al-Nagy said. “We started distributing all materials and footage necessary that document these violations, showing evidence for the killing of Palestinians”.
In the past few years, Arab states witnessed internal difficulties, leading to less concern and less media coverage for the Palestinian issue, he said. “The world needs to start taking a more serious look at the Palestinian conflict. Palestinians are the last people under occupation; Israel has crossed all red lines”.
The campaign was already achieving results and Egyptian media is “responsible” by nature.
The current escalation in violence between Palestinians and Israelis stems from a dispute over rights of visitors and worshippers to the Jerusalem Old City plaza known as Temple Mount to Jews and as Noble Sanctuary to Muslims.
The Israeli military began stationing soldiers all over the country Wednesday, implementing the first in a wave of new measures approved by the government’s security cabinet during an emergency meeting following several attacks occurring the previous day.
Tuesday was labelled the “day of rage” as Palestinian groups called for increased resistance in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Several people were injured in multiple stabbing incidents, among which was an attack on a public bus in Jerusalem that resulted in 2 deaths and 21 injuries.
