Gaza-related news dominated today’s Egyptian press with every newspaper focusing on different angles of the multifaceted narrative according to its loyalties.
State-funded daily Rose el-Youssef’s main headline reads: “The Thugs’ Line,” describing Viva Palestina or the “Lifeline” humanitarian convoy which was allowed access on Wednesday by Egyptian authorities to enter Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing.
The paper extensively covers the clashes between the pro-Palestinian activists and Egyptian police at the coastal city of Arish a day earlier, stating that 10 high-ranking officers and seven soldiers were injured without mentioning the wounded activists.
The Front Page Rose el-Youssef editorial describes British MP who led the activists, George Galloway, as a “bully,” demanding a clarification from the Foreign Ministry about the reasons he was granted an entry visa to Egypt.
“We shouldn’t be concerned anymore with our image on international televisions,” says the editorial, which notes that “security forces in all democracies from Seattle to London had the freedom to brutally quell any protest whether it was anti-globalizationist or environmentalist.”
The government mouthpiece daily Al-Ahram publishes a photo in its front page showing the 22-year-old Egyptian border guard who was gunned down by a Hamas sniper following a Palestinian protest against an underground wall Cairo is building on the Gaza border. Al-Ahram also uncovers that Egypt has reinforced its border with Gaza with additional troops “in order to prevent a possible Palestinian attempt to illegally cross the borders.”
Independent daily Al-Shorouq reveals the underlying story behind Egypt’s approval to let the Viva Palestina convoy in Gaza following four weeks of intensive negotiations with Cairo. According to the Shorouk, the Turkish Foreign Ministry mediated a compromise between Cairo and the convoy’s organizers through which the majority of the vehicles carrying aid were allowed via Rafah, while the remaining 43 cars will be stationed in Arish for a period of two months before being transferred to the besieged Strip.
The independent daily Al-Dostour reports that Israeli forces, not Hamas, could be responsible for killing the Egyptian soldier at the border. “Some indicators point out that Israeli could be behind the killing in order to further worsening the relationship between Egypt and Hamas,” says Al-Dostour.
