CAIRO: Thousands of people rallied in Cairo’s Tahrir Square Friday calling for national unity after attacks on Egyptian churches, and for solidarity with the Palestinians.
Some held up crosses and others waved Palestinian flags as the numbers swelled in Cairo’s iconic square, the epicenter of protests that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in February after an 18-day uprising.
“If you attack a Christian, you’re attacking all Egyptians,” said one man delivering a speech at a podium.
“The churches attacked in Imbaba are not less than the mosques attacked in Jerusalem,” he said, linking the two themes of Friday’s protest.

“National unity was there during the revolt but the remnants of the old regime want to destroy the country,” said Ahmad Muhanna, who wore a green headband bearing the words “the army of Mohammad.”
A Coptic priest took the podium, in front of a big banner that said “national unity” and “Palestinian reconciliation,” to plead for tolerance.

“We all worship the same God in our churches and mosques,” he said.
But most Coptic protesters stayed away from Tahrir, choosing instead to gather in front of the nearby state television building, where Christians have staged a sit-in since clashes Saturday. “We are going to church to pray, no matter what happens to us,” they chanted.
Fifteen people were killed in the weekend violence after Muslims surrounded a church in Cairo demanding the handover of a woman they said Christians had detained after she converted to Islam and left her Christian husband to marry a Muslim.
The demonstrators in Tahrir waved Palestinian flags as they listened to speeches denouncing Israel and chanted in support of Palestinians.
A preacher who gave the Friday sermon accused Arab rulers of “selling” the Palestinians in order to hang on to their positions.

“We are all Arabs. We all need to be united,” said Mahmud Gamal, a 17-year-old.
Activists have called for a march to neighboring Gaza over the weekend to show solidarity with the Palestinians as they mark the “Nakba” or “catastrophe” which befell them following Israel’s establishment in 1948.
However, authorities blocked access to the Sinai Peninsula bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip in anticipation of protesters who intend to set off from Tahrir Saturday, an AFP correspondent said.
Meanwhile, Egyptian troops fired in the air to disperse a protest outside the Israeli Embassy demanding the expulsion of the ambassador and the severance of ties with Israel, an AFP reporter said.
Pointing to the Israeli flag, protesters chanted “Bring it down, Burn it!”
In addition, Egypt’s ruling military council said Friday it would release all activists arrested during March and April protests.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said “measures will be taken to immediately release all those honorable youth of the revolution who were detained during March and April,” in a statement on its Facebook page.
Amnesty International will on May 19 release a new report “Egypt rises: Killings, detentions and torture in the ‘Jan. 25 Revolution.’”
The 123-page report documents the cases of 93 individuals killed or injured by security forces using excessive force.
The report highlights the urgent need for the Egyptian government to provide the victims of human rights violations during the unrest with an effective remedy, including bringing those responsible to justice and granting reparation to individuals and families for their suffering or loss.