Few societies have perfected protest culture quite like the Egyptians. From the nationalist fervor of the 1919 revolution to the chants of “Bread, Freedom, Social justice” in Tahrir Square during the Arab Spring, dissent has long been a civic ritual in Egypt. However, the pro-Palestinian protests that erupted on March 31 on Eid al-Fitr, the festival ending Ramadan, told a different story.
These protests may have appeared to be about Gaza, but they were really about something much closer to home: President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his regime.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas War, Sisi has been forced to walk a tightrope. He has attempted to avoid confrontation with Israel and the United States while at the same time claiming solidarity with Palestinian Gazans.
That is no easy job.
To many Egyptians, that ambiguity has looked like betrayal and has fueled a sense that Egypt is not doing enough to challenge Israel’s actions in Gaza.
In November 2024, a video showing an Israeli ship passing through the Suez Canal went viral, sparking outrage among the Egyptian public. A few days earlier, the Egyptian Army was obliged to issue a statement denying that it assisted Israel’s military operation amid reports that an Egyptian port received a shipment of explosives bound for Israel.
Staged to look like a mass rejection of President Donald Trump’s resettlement plan, the demonstrations were designed to recast the Egyptian president as a steadfast defender of the Palestinian cause. After months of mounting criticism that framed him as complicit with Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza, the regime mobilized the Arab street to rehabilitate Sisi’s image at home.
The choreography was hard to miss. Palestinian and Egyptian flags were distributed, speakers and sound systems broadcasted coordinated chants, and slogans were eerily consistent across cities. Even government officials joined the crowds.
In Giza, the sprawling metropolis home to the pyramids, near the Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque, protesters chanting “Sisi’s citizens are all soldiers, standing by to protect the borders” were led by a speaker on a loud mic. Standing nearby with a security team, occasionally joining the chants, was House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Mohamed Abou El Enein.
He would later tell the crowd: “All the principles and values of the Egyptian nation, which Mr. President has laid out, our historical constants, constants in our blood, in our belief and faith, say no to displacement. No to the dissolution of the Palestinian cause or the dissolution of the Palestinian cause at the cost of the Arab countries…”
Across the Nile, in the suburb of Heliopolis, thousands gathered with identical signs reading, “We are with you, Mr. President.” Similar ones were used outside of Al Emam El Hussein Mosque in the heart of Cairo.
In the Ismailia Governorate, some 110 km. Northeast of Heliopolis, signs read: “We support the Egyptian plan to rebuild Gaza.”
Protests were also organized earlier this year
IN A STATE where political expression is tightly controlled, protests of this scale do not happen without some level of state involvement. The pre-printed banners, the coordinated timing across cities, and the participation of government figures all suggest a carefully managed effort rather than a grassroots movement.
This isn’t the first time this has happened, either. In January, when Trump first floated his plan to resettle Gazans in Egypt, organized protests popped up in Sinai near the Gaza border.
“We support President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, always and forever, in his confrontation with the forces displacing our Palestinian brothers,” a protester said. Khaled Megawer, the governor of North Sinai, attended the protest.
On March 25, Egypt’s State Information Service, the official media and public relations arm, denied allegations that Egypt is providing the “occupation” with military aid after reports circulated online. The statement called the accusation “fabricated lies” and insisted that Egypt has not “left a single path to help our Palestinian brothers.”
Sisi's political theater
The pressure is real, and this political theater is Sisi’s answer.
Internationally, the protests also provide Sisi with diplomatic cover. By showcasing widespread public unrest in reaction to the resettlement plan, Sisi can remain steadfast in his stance that Gazan resettlement is not only politically unfeasible, but socially untenable.
In Washington, protests in the Middle East, especially in the region’s most populous country, are often read as a barometer of public dissent. While these demonstrations may resemble a groundswell of solidarity, they are better understood as a strategic performance.
Sisi is not reacting to public dissent and support; he is attempting to direct it.
The writer is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow her on X @themariamwahba.