Tense Cairo braces for more protests

Demonstrators stage a sit-in in Cairo's Tahrir Square in protest over the president's actions Violent clashes broke out briefly overnight outside the presidential palace Four Egyptian TV channels say they will go off the air for a period Wednesday in protest Many Egyptians are angry about the nation's new draft constitution, say it's unfair Cairo (CNN) -- Protesters angered by the actions of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy continued a sit-in in Cairo's Tahrir Square Wednesday morning, after a night marked by violent clashes outside the presidential palace. Police fired tear gas Tuesday night after protesters broke through barbed wire around the palace building and hurled chairs and rocks at retreating officers. After the initial clashes, police drew behind fences and the large demonstration was peaceful for several hours. A few dozen protesters and a scattering of tents remained outside the Itihadiya palace Wednesday. Egyptian riot police stand behind barbwire as thousands of Egyptian demonstrators march to the Egyptian Presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday December 4, 2012. Tens of thousands of demonstrators encircled the presidential palace in Cairo after riot police failed to keep them at bay with tear gas on December 4. An Egyptian woman waves a national flag as demonstrators march to the presidential palace in Cairo on December 4. A supporter of Egypt's president Mohamed Morsy waves a national flag outside the Supreme Constitutional Court as hundreds of supporters of the president protest on Sunday, December 2, in Cairo, forcing judges to postpone a hearing on a constitutional panel at the heart of a deepening political crisis. Supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy pray during a protest outside the Supreme Constitutional Court on December 2. A man kisses a portrait of Egypt's President Mohamed Morsy during a gathering of thousands of Islamists in front of Cairo University on Saturday, December 1. Thousands pray during a rally in support of Morsy in front of Cairo University on December 1. An Egyptian man delivers a speech as protesters gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday, November 30. A man shouts as protesters gather in Tahrir Square on November 30. A man holds a copy of the Koran and a cross in Tahrir Square on November 30. Protesters run from Egyptian riot police during clashes near Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday, November 28. Police fired tear gas into the square, where several hundred protesters spent the night after a mass rally to denounce President Mohamed Morsy's assumption of expanded powers. Activists have been camping out in Tahrir Square since November 23. A protester carries a rock during clashes with police on Wednesday. Egyptians carry a giant national flag as tens of thousands take part in a mass rally in Cairo on Tuesday, November 27, against a decree by President Mohamed Morsy granting himself broad powers. An Egyptian protester holds up a Quran and a figure of Christ on the cross during Tuesday's demonstration. Protesters continue to rally in Tahrir Square on Tuesday. An Egyptian protester attempts to throw back a tear gas canister on Tuesday during clashes with riot police in Omar Makram Street, off Tahrir Square. Activists in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday, November 26, carry the coffin of Gaber Salah, an activist who died overnight after he was critically injured in clashes in Cairo. Salah, a member of the April 6 movement known by his nickname "Jika," was injured last week during confrontations between police and protesters on Cairo's Mohammed Mahmud street. Thousands of activists attend the funeral of Gaber Salah on Monday. Protesters clash with Egyptian police at Simon Bolivar Square on Sunday, November 25, in Cairo. Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood called nationwide demonstrations in support of Islamist President Mohamed Morsy in his showdown with the judges over the path to a new constitution. Egyptian protesters hurl stones at police at Tahrir Square on Sunday. Protesters gather at sit-in tents in Tahrir Square on Sunday. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy waves to supporters in front of the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday, November 23. Thousands of ecstatic supporters gathered outside the presidential palace to defend their leader against accusations from rival protesters that he has become a dictator. Morsy supporters gather outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday. Morsy insisted that Egypt was on the path to "freedom and democracy," as protesters held rival rallies over sweeping powers he assumed that further polarized the country's political forces. Protesters demonstrating against Morsy run from tear gas fired by Egyptian riot police during clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday. Egyptian protesters throw rocks toward riot police on Friday Egyptian supporters and opponents of Morsy clash in the coastal city of Alexandria on Friday. A man throws a rock during clashes in Alexandria on Friday. Thousands of demonstrators march through the streets of Cairo to protest against Morsy on Friday. Clashes rocked the coastal city of Alexandria on Friday. 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Morsy was not at the palace when the protesters descended, his office said. He was out meeting with government officials, they said. CNN iReporter Maged Eskander, who was at the protest Tuesday night, said the atmosphere outside the palace was electric despite the late hour. "The police were in a large perimeter around protesters and the palace at the beginning, but when the protesters reached the wire fences and walls the police went back inside the palace," he said. Protesters managed to get right up to the entrance of the palace and spray slogans on the walls, calling Morsy a "liar" and decrying the Muslim Brotherhood party, he said. Eskander, a 38-year-old architect from Cairo, predicts even bigger protests on Friday. More violence broke out at the headquarters of the Freedom and Justice Party in Menia, south of Cairo late Tuesday. The Freedom and Justice Party -- an Islamist political group that has links to the Muslim Brotherhood -- is the party of Morsy. Party head Dr. Hussein Sultan said the front of the headquarters had been damaged, and at least one protester fired a shot in the air. The number of people injured overnight rose to 31, all but two of them in front of the presidential palace, according to state-run news agency EgyNews. One person was injured in Alexandria, Egypt's second city, and another in Menia province. The mood was calm in Tahrir Square Wednesday, where 18 Egyptian parties and movements are taking part in the sit-in protest, according to EgyNews. A number of media organizations also continued a protest over the country's new draft constitution and an edict Morsy issued nearly two weeks ago to expand his powers Four privately-owned satellite TV channels said they would go off-air for a period Wednesday evening, a day after 11 partisan and independent newspapers suspended publication. They are concerned that the constitution does not sufficiently protect freedom of the press. Egypt's National Salvation Front, an opposition grouping, issued an ultimatum to Morsy in the early hours of Wednesday, saying he must agree to meet in a few days or expect a massive march to the presidential palace and Tahrir Square on Friday, EgyNews reported. The National Salvation Front was recently formed as a coalition of several liberal parties and prominent political figures including Amr Moussa, Hamdeen Sabbahi, Mohamed ElBaradei and Usama Ghazali Harb. The group said in a statement "that the Egyptian people expressed their solid persistence in rejecting the Constitutional Declaration and the attempts to bring back the rule of tyranny and that there is a need to achieve the objectives of the revolution of January 25 and the aspirations for full freedom, social justice and human dignity." It warned that it would hold Morsy responsible for "these dangerous repercussions," and added that "if the president doesn't listen to the demands of the people, he risks losing his legitimacy." CNN's Saad Abedine, Reza Sayah and Sarah Brown contributed to this report.