Egyptian protesters break into siege around presidential palace

Opponents of Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi managed Tuesday to break into the siege laid by the military forces around Al-Ittihadiya Palace in Heliopolis district, east Cairo, and joined the sit-in protest in front of the palace. The security personnel retreated from the frontline to the fence of the palace as thousands of protesters are gathering at the nearby Heliopolis Sporting Club, Egypt's Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported. Meanwhile, a mass demonstration is staged at Tahrir Sq., downtown Cairo, in protest against the public referendum on the new constitution, due to take place this Saturday. The protesters chanted slogans against President Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and the planned tax hikes. Chairman of the Judges Club Justice Ahmad Al-Zind claimed that 90 percent of the Egyptian judges would not supervise the referendum on the draft constitution. "The judiciary and members of the public prosecution stated opposition to supervising the referendum during their general assemblies countrywide," Al-Zind told reporters tonight. However, the Administrative Court ruled, during a session chaired by Vice President of the State Council Justice Abdulmajeed Al-Moqannan, that it has no jurisdiction over the constitutional declarations adopted by President Mursi including the latest one inviting voters to go to the polls in the referendum, thus giving the green light for the referendum. In a related development, the armed forces refuted an earlier MENA report that the Defense Minister Lt.-Gen. Abdulfattah Al-Sisi invited leaders of the political parties as well as public figures and media celebrities to a dialogue. The army distances itself from the conflict between the political parties, a military spokesman affirmed. The controversial report followed a meeting between Al-Sisi and Minister of Interior Ahmed Jamal-Eddin as well as several military and police top leaders at the Police Officers' Club this evening.