Three weeks ago, coordinated protests took place in London and Washington, D.C., targeting not only the Israeli embassies but also the Egyptian and Jordanian embassies — a direct challenge to the Arab regimes complicit in the ongoing genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinians in Gaza. These actions also highlighted their role in enforcing policies of deliberate starvation as part of the siege. MENA Solidarity spoke to Ibrahim, a young Palestinian based in the UK who organised and participated in these protests. Over two consecutive days — July 23rd and 24th — he stood outside the Egyptian, Jordanian, and Israeli embassies in London, while Palestinian activists in Washington did the same in the U.S. capital.

Let’s start with the protests themselves. How did things unfold over the two days here in London and over in Washington, D.C.? What kind of response did you get from the public and from the embassies?

In London, I protested outside the Egyptian, Jordanian, and Israeli embassies. On the first day, there were about 25 of us — but the next day, I was on my own. Most passersby ignored me, especially members of the wealthy Arab elite. But we still made an impact. At the Egyptian embassy, they literally removed their flag — which, for me, was an achievement in itself.
In Washington, our brothers and sisters faced similar indifference from the public. But the symbolism mattered: people on both sides of the Atlantic, standing outside the same embassies, at the same time, sending the same message. The silence we got in return only made that message louder.

What were you hoping to achieve through organising these coordinated protests — both here and across the Atlantic?

We wanted to break the silence. Egypt’s and Jordan’s roles in the siege are often overshadowed by focus on Israel’s genocide and crimes against humanity. By standing on their doorstep, we forced attention onto their complicity. Gaza is being deliberately starved, bombed, and cut off — and it’s not only Israel that enforces that. Without Egypt’s and Jordan’s cooperation, Israel couldn’t maintain this total blockade.

Egypt plays a central role in the siege, especially through the Rafah crossing. Given it’s not Israel but Egypt that controls that border, why is it still closed to desperately needed aid? Who benefits from this blockade, and why do you think Egypt, a supposedly “neutral” Arab state, is siding with apartheid and imperialism?

Egypt benefits politically — by aligning with Western and Israeli interests — and economically, through its control over what aid gets in. This blockade is less about security and more about obedience to empire. It enables the ongoing starvation and suffering of Gaza’s people, which constitutes a crime against humanity.

Ibrahim recalled an encounter outside the Egyptian embassy that cut to the heart of the issue:

An Egyptian woman who said she worked there came out of the building and told me, “You’re going to destroy Palestine, you already did destroy Palestine. You’re doing exactly what Israel wants you to do… Go, if you’re a man, go to the Israeli embassy”.
I told her, “I already did go to the bloody Israeli embassy”. Then she got into her Rolls Royce and drove away. She was rude, but what struck me was this: you expect your enemy to be your enemy — but you don’t expect your neighbour to be your enemy.

He contrasted that luxury and hostility with the conditions of Western embassies in Palestine:

If you look at the British embassy in Ramallah, it’s literally one room in a hotel. No luxury cars, no luxury apartments — just one room. That’s it. But Egypt? Rolls Royces”.

Some argue Egypt is acting under pressure — that its economic and military dependence on the U.S ($1.3bn annually) shapes its decisions. Do you see Egypt’s role at Rafah as part of a bigger imperialist strategy in the region rather than just a sovereign choice?

Yes. Egypt receives over $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid every year. Its decisions at Rafah aren’t simply national policy — they’re part of a wider imperial strategy to control and punish Palestinian resistance. Look at how Trump talked about Gaza: he bragged about sending $60 million in aid — but in the same breath, boasted about sending billions in weapons to Israel. That’s the mentality — they carry out war crimes and participate in genocide, then pretend to mourn the victims.

Jordan also claims to stand with Palestine, but in practice its monarchy works closely with Israel and the West. How do you see Jordan’s role, especially in terms of controlling borders and limiting aid, and what drives that collaboration?

Jordan likes to present itself as pro-Palestinian, but in reality, the monarchy works hand in hand with Israel and the West. Its role in border control is about managing resistance, not enabling it. This control contributes directly to the starvation and deprivation faced by Palestinians.

Ibrahim described how travel restrictions are used as a form of control:

When travelling between the West Bank and Jordan, you get checked three times — by the Palestinian Authority, by Israel, and by Jordan. It used to be easy and cheap to buy a ticket at the border. Now, the Jordanian government has given a monopoly to a company called JET, forcing you to book a month in advance. If you need to travel urgently, you have to pay black market prices — £100, £200, even £300 for what should be a £7 ticket.This is possible because the company sells almost all the tickets months ahead to local taxi drivers, who then sell them on at inflated prices to Palestinians.

And Jordan’s repression isn’t limited to travel:

In Jordan, it’s now illegal to carry a Palestinian flag in public. Protesting is illegal. Just two days ago, they arrested 150 people for demonstrating in support of Palestine. One man was arrested simply for appearing in a video supporting Palestine — and instead of ignoring it, the authorities made it more famous by disappearing him.

Now let’s turn to the current Palestinian leadership, do you think it is genuinely representing the resistance and needs of ordinary Palestinians — or have they become too invested in maintaining their own power and ties with regional elites and foreign backers to seriously confront the Zionist project?

For me, and for most people in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority (PA) doesn’t exist. They don’t protect us in the West Bank. They don’t protect the people of Gaza. They don’t stop Israeli settlers and soldiers from attacking our villages.

He described how, just weeks ago, the IDF attacked the village of Al-Marrajat near Jericho over 200 times — in full view of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces in Ramallah:

In Ramallah — the PA’s own capital — just a few weeks ago, the IDF attacked Al-Marrajat village over 200 times. This village is located on the way to Jericho. You could see the IDF with jeeps and hammers walking right through the center of Ramallah, even in front of the Preventive Security and other military buildings. The Palestinian forces just shut their doors to protect themselves, leaving people outside unprotected. People were screaming at them, “Come out and protect us. It’s your territory!”

This is exactly what the Oslo Agreement was supposed to be about — protecting people in the West Bank. But instead, they are collaborating with the Zionist regime, enabling ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity. Now, the PA and Israel have even started “Voluntary Leave Centres”. If you’re Palestinian and want to leave Palestine, you can go there — they’ll offer to send you to any European country or elsewhere, give you a house, a job, whatever you want… as long as you leave.

Ibrahim expanded on the disturbing so-called “Voluntary Leave Centres”:

This policy started before the 7 October 2023 attack, in Hebron and Bethlehem, where Palestinians were encouraged to “voluntarily” leave. My cousin, Amjad al-Takatka, was sent to Egypt after 23 years in an Israeli prison. He was part of the Hamas–Israel prisoner exchange deal. But before they released him, they forcibly removed all his teeth without anaesthesia. His face is unrecognisable now — he looks decades older. They told him he could either leave for Egypt or stay in prison, so he had no choice. His wife and daughter are still in Palestine, waiting for him.

We have zero trust in the PA — not even 1% hope. Instead of resisting displacement, they are enabling it. This “voluntary” expulsion is just a new face on the same old Zionist project of ethnic cleansing and ongoing genocide.

We hear from Israeli officials and Western media that Hamas is selling the food and humanitarian aid meant for Palestinians. Is there any truth to this? 

To my knowledge, Hamas doesn’t sell the aid. But a group of about 200 Palestinians — called the Yasser Abu Shabaab Group — has been doing exactly that. Its leader was a known drug dealer in Gaza before 7 October, imprisoned by Hamas. When the IDF bombed the prison, he escaped, formed a militia, and declared himself anti-Hamas.

He was even interviewed by an Israeli TV channel, openly talking about the aid trade and the support he receives from the IDF, the United Arab Emirates, and the Palestinian Authority. They told him they want him to be the face of a “new government” in Gaza.

So, the story that “Hamas sells aid” is a deliberate distraction. The real black-market trade is happening under the protection and sponsorship of Israel, the UAE, and the PA — the very actors trying to dismantle Hamas and install a compliant leadership.

If we were to examine the struggles of Palestinian asylum seekers in a country like Britain, how might those struggles be linked to the broader trend of criminalising solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement around the world?

It’s all connected. Western governments try to silence Palestinians abroad the same way they silence resistance in Palestine — through surveillance, threats, and criminalising protest.

Ibrahim himself has been targeted:

I experience this daily. It’s not just government agencies, but also far-right groups. In fact, today just a couple of hours before I joined this interview, a man followed me in his car, trying to run me off the road after yelling ‘death to refugees’. I reported his car details to the police.

I’ve also been waiting over two years for my asylum case to be processed, while other Palestinians have been approved in three to six months. I believe my visible involvement in protests and demonstrations has caused deliberate delays. And even though the UK can’t deport me to Palestine — because there’s nowhere safe to send me — the pressure and targeting are constant.

One another note, at Palestine solidarity demonstrations, you often see people waving Israeli flags — but when I speak to them in Hebrew, they don’t understand a word — clearly paid to be there.

Finally, for those here in the UK and around the world who are watching in horror as Gaza faces genocide and starvation — what actions can they take now to back your call for Egypt to open Rafah and to stand in genuine solidarity with Gaza?

Use your voice. Pressure your MPs. Join direct actions. Call out Egypt’s role publicly. The border won’t open through silent diplomacy — it will open when enough people refuse to look away.

He warns that Western governments’ arms embargo announcements can be misleading:

The UK might claim it has cut military aid to Israel, but they can still send it through front companies and ‘third countries’ like Jordan, where there’s no transparency. They just change the paperwork and pretend the supply chain is clean. We need to keep exposing these hidden supply chains, confronting complicit governments, and applying unrelenting public pressure until the siege on Gaza is broken and the genocide ends.