Israel haters turn eyes on Egypt

In a shift in strategy, anti-Israel protesters here and abroad have begun targeting Egypt in their ongoing campaign to demonise the Jewish state, staging demonstrations outside the Egyptian embassies in Pretoria and London.

Their goal is to pressure Egypt into forcing Israel to lift its blockade on humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. On Monday, 28 April, protesters in Tshwane called on Egypt to let aid into Gaza as food and supplies are being blocked by Israel following the collapse of the ceasefire.

Israel halted aid into Gaza on 2 March to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages. The United Nations and aid agencies say food and supplies are running out in Gaza, which Israel denies.

Though it’s fairly common to see anti-Israel, pro-Hamas supporters on the streets of central London, or outside Jewish communal facilities and along the promenade in Sea Point, Cape Town, it’s rare to witness similar, albeit smaller, demonstrations outside the Egyptian embassy.

“These propaganda groups realise that after 18 months, their campaign focusing on the Israeli embassy isn’t getting attention,” said Professor Gerald Steinberg, the president of NGO Monitor. “By targeting Egypt, which closed the Rafah border from its side to prevent civilians in Gaza from crossing, propaganda groups are trying to regain media publicity.

“They are also attempting to get Egypt to pressure Israel to resume the supply of food and other supplies, and to end the policy linking aid to releasing hostages,” Steinberg said.

The protesters on Monday demanded that Egypt open the Rafah border to aid delivery. They accused Egypt of actively contributing to the crisis in Gaza by blocking aid and charging insane prices for aid trucks to enter Gaza.

Israel resumed its operations in Gaza on 18 March.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said that the aid entering Gaza before the collapse of the ceasefire was being used by Hamas to stay in power. Much of the aid would be taken by the terror group, and it would either use the consignments of supplies itself or sell them to the population at increased prices to pay for the salaries of its operatives and to recruit more members. The increased pressure on Hamas is mainly aimed at coaxing it back to a hostage deal, according to the IDF.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, and 35 of whom have been confirmed dead, including 58 of those abducted on 7 October.

The Israeli military said there was no starvation in Gaza, and there was enough food to last the population for now. Starvation would harm its legitimacy in acting against Hamas, the IDF said.

Israel has said it won’t allow the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza until Hamas releases all 59 remaining hostages, and that the food and aid that came into the enclave this year is enough to last for about another month.

The protest in Pretoria this week comes amid mounting global frustration over the humanitarian situation in Gaza. However, the demonstrators’ decision to blame Egypt, an Arab neighbour, reveals growing desperation and incoherence in their narrative. Having failed to generate significant traction by vilifying Israel alone, these groups are now accusing Cairo of actively contributing to the humanitarian crisis, despite Egypt’s complex geopolitical and security considerations.

“I find it strange that they have turned their attention to Egypt, especially as most anti-Israel activists implored Egypt not to open its borders to people wanting to flee Gaza,” said one political commentator who wished to remain anonymous.

“The truth is that Egypt doesn’t want the Gazans in its territory,” he said.

“[Demonstrators targeting Egypt] must be because Israel is no longer allowing aid in and the situation is deteriorating in Gaza,” he said.

Protesters carried empty cardboard boxes symbolising goods blocked from entering Gaza and placed them outside the embassy entrance, demanding that Egypt open the Rafah border crossing, ironically the very crossing over which Egypt maintains full control.

A memorandum of demands urging Egypt to facilitate the entry of aid was handed over to the deputy ambassador.

Meanwhile South Africa is one of 40 countries delivering remarks before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this week after the court was tasked in December with forming an advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations to facilitate aid to Palestinians, delivered by states and international groups, including the United Nations. The hearings, which have taken place throughout this week, have focused on the question of whether Israel, a signatory to the United Nations Charter, acted against its commitments in banning United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in November. Israel isn’t participating in the hearings.

Describing UNRWA as “an organisation infiltrated beyond repair by terrorism”, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar said the hearings were “another shameful proceeding against Israel.”

“The goal is to deprive Israel of its most basic right to defend itself. It’s not Israel that should be on trial. It’s the UN and UNRWA,” he said.

South Africa called for Israel to follow the provisional measures issued to it by the ICJ, and to reverse its decision to ban UNRWA.

Palestinian representatives testifying before the court on 28 April emphasised the dire conditions in Gaza, which include a lack of food and medicine, worsened through UNRWA’s ban and the halting of aid.

According to reports, Israel has said that during the ceasefire this year, 600 trucks of aid passed daily into the Gaza Strip, providing Gazans with enough food to last an estimated three to six months.

Experts say Monday’s protest in Pretoria was crafted as yet another publicity stunt, aimed less at alleviating suffering in Gaza and more at maintaining relevance for long-standing anti-Israel groups. The symbolism was clear, but the logic behind the protest appeared increasingly thin.

Instead of addressing the root cause of Gaza’s misery – Hamas’s continued control, mismanagement of aid, and prioritisation of terrorism over civilian needs – activists chose to point fingers at Egypt, a sovereign nation with its own border policies, national security concerns, and internal dynamics.

Critics argue that this latest protest demonstrates the inconsistency and opportunism of anti-Israel campaigners, who seem more interested in generating headlines than genuinely helping Palestinians.