Egypt turns the Dutch out who wanted to walk to Gaza

This article was last updated on June 12, 2025

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Egypt turns the Dutch out who wanted to walk to Gaza

Dozens of activists from the Netherlands and other countries who wanted to walk from Egypt to the Gaza Strip did not come through customs. They were planning to walk a protest march of 48 kilometers towards the border with Gaza.

Participants from 32 countries would participate in the tour. After a long night, part of them was put on the plane to Istanbul at the airport of Cairo. At the moment there are still campaigners at the airport for passport control. Whether the intended journey continues at all is very uncertain.

One of the Dutch activists who wanted to go to Gaza is Katja van Rennes. From Istanbul she tells about the disappointment: “I really thought we would move forward, I really wanted to show the people in Gaza that we care about them and worry. We are here with activists from all kinds of countries.”

The Dutch Laleh Almarjani is also in Istanbul and was held for hours at the airport in Cairo. “Our passport and telephones were taken, that was quite frightening. There was a lot of heavily armed security.”

According to Van Rennes, they are treated well by the Turks: “They do their best to get us home quickly and hand out sandwiches.”

The intention was to walk a total of 48 kilometers in three days. De Mars has been set up by peace movements and other social movements. The tour is intended to draw attention to the fate of the more than two million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, where famine After Israel had not allowed any help for months. For a few weeks, Israel has been admitting limited help and auxiliary packages have been distributed by the American-Israeli aid organization GHF, which is strongly criticized. There are only a few distribution points, so many people are not reached. The distribution is also chaotic, with regular shootings and looting.

Correspondent Joost Scheffers from Egypt:

“It was clear in advance that the Egyptian government would not give a permit. A march is also a demonstration and that is forbidden in Egypt. In addition, there are many soldiers in the area, there were many people there in previous fights with terror group.

Even as an Egyptian you can’t just go to the border area, only if you are born there or you can be there for work you can go inside. According to human rights organizations, there are still 150 people who have protested. Sometimes it is a few who walk on the street with a Palestinavlag. “

Brother is still stuck in Israel

For Katja van Rennes, the action did not feel like a demonstration. Her brother, Mark, also took action earlier this week. He is a captain on the Madleen, the ship on which Greta Turnberg was also sitting and was stopped on the open sea by Israel and hired. Mark van Rennes is still stuck in Israel.

Through his lawyer today the message comes that he will probably be put on the plane to the Netherlands tomorrow morning. “We have had no contact for days and have been worried about him,” she says. “Happiness in an accident is that I can probably pick it up from Schiphol tomorrow morning.”