Egyptians protest Syrian crackdown

Several political forces and movements will hold a conference at Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo on Friday to protest against the recent Israeli settler attacks and the brutal crackdown conducted by the Syrian regime on its people. The event was dubbed a "Million man protest." Al-Azhar mosque organised the event together with the Al-Quds Committee in the Arab Medical Union and several political and revolutionary movements in Egypt. The conference was planned in response to the repeated attacks by radical Israeli settlers on Al-Aqsa mosque, as well as to send a message of solidarity to the Palestinian resistance and to call an end tothe blockade of the Gaza strip. Key speakers will also discuss joining the Arab and Islamic efforts to stop the judaisation of East Jerusalem. Discussions about how to show support for the Syrian people are also on the agenda. The conference is expected to demand that the Arab League freezes membership of Syria and activates the Common Arab Defence Agreement to protect the unarmed Syrian people. The leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who is currently visiting Egypt, will be among the speakers and will publicly address an Egyptian audience for the first time since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak. Salah Sultan, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood and of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, is also expected to intervene in the conference, along with former Syrian Prime Minister Mamon Al-Homsi.