Two men were forcibly pulled into the Egyptian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York premises before being handed over to local police, according to a widely circulated video.
The video, shared on social media, shows security guards dragging the two young men through the entrance of the mission building. Moments later, NYC police arrive on the scene, escorting the two individuals.
The state-aligned news outlet Youm7 described the incident as an intervention by mission security to stop “saboteurs” attempting to storm the building. It linked the protest to supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt designates a terrorist group, and framed the incident as part of what it called an orchestrated campaign to target Egyptian diplomatic missions abroad.
In response to the video, the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime called for a new demonstration outside the Egyptian mission on Thursday noon (GMT-4), accusing Cairo of assaulting protesters and being complicit in the “US-Israeli genocide in Gaza.”
Al Manassa attempted to reach Egypt's Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment but received no response.
Meanwhile, former Assistant Foreign Minister and diplomat Rakha Ahmed Hassan defended the mission’s actions, telling Al Manassa that “blocking the gates of embassies with padlocks does not fall under freedom of expression. It is an aggressive act and a violation of international law.”
The incident comes roughly a week after Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty appeared on the pro-government talk show Masa’ on DMC channel, where he said he had instructed Egyptian embassies abroad to be on high alert and to prevent anyone from “touching the walls of the embassy.”
These instructions were a direct response to a protest in the Netherlands a month earlier, where an Egyptian demonstrator had locked the gates of the Cairo mission with iron chains. Abdelatty characterized the act as part of a “malicious campaign” aimed at distracting from Israel's conduct.
Around the same time, a reportedly leaked video also circulated online, appearing to show a heated virtual meeting between Abdelatty and several Egyptian ambassadors. In the video, Abdelatty appears visibly frustrated as he criticizes Ambassador Emad Hanna over the incident.
“We cannot let Egypt be seen as weak or trampled on,” Abdelatty said. “If someone puts paint on our gates, grab them, tie them up and hand them to the police. Say they harassed the embassy. If someone tries to hang a lock or do anything else, drag them inside and make their lives hell,” he added.
Hassan, the former diplomat, echoed this sentiment, asserting that locking embassy gates is intended to obstruct staff and disrupt diplomatic work, and therefore “justifies intervention by mission security as an act of self-defense.”
He added that there is a significant difference between peaceful protest and physical assault. “Acceptable forms of expression include standing across the street holding signs or chanting,” he said. “Protesters can also submit their demands in writing or request to meet embassy staff directly.”
