CAIRO: American and British convoys heading for the Gaza Strip were permitted entry via the Rafah border crossing on Sunday and Monday.
The British Viva Palestina convoy led by Respect MP George Galloway was permitted entry sans non-medical aid which Egyptian officials insisted be admitted via the Israeli controlled Al-Oja crossing.
The convoy spent the better part of Monday within the crossing as its members were being checked before being allowed into Gaza. However, clashes erupted between members of the convoy and Egyptian security forces in Al-Arish prior to entry, when at first they were not allowed to head to Rafah.
Two activists with the convoy were injured in the clashes. Additionally, some 85 additional members who did not travel with the convoy but arrived in Cairo airport on Saturday, were not permitted entry.
Galloway was with the contingent that came on Saturday and was received by officials from the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) when he arrived in Rafah. He had coordinated with them over the passage of the convoy into Gaza.
Daily News Egypt had reported earlier this month that local opposition groups had decided to boycott the convoy after learning of Galloway’s cooperation with the NDP and as a result had decided against organizing a reception for him and the convoy at Rafah.
The Viva Palestina convoy was pelted with stones and vandalized on Sunday while at Al-Arish during a power cut. Anti-Hamas slogans were written on the convoy trucks. The convoy is carrying relief aid worth $1.4 million as well as 12 ambulances and a fire engine.
The convoy has driven down from Britain, but four members of the convoy were sent back to Libya shortly after crossing into Egypt.
A 60-strong American delegation under the auspices of the Code Pink delegation and including novelist Alice Walker and the parents of Rachel Corrie entered Gaza on Sunday at the behest of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for International Women’s Day.
In a press statement, Rachel Corrie’s mother Cindy said, “Rachel chose to come to Gaza as a volunteer just as the US invasion of Iraq was beginning, because she believed that the war would worsen the plight of the Palestinian people – and that this is the most forgotten part of the Occupied Territories.
Rachel Corrie was killed by Israeli Defense Forces in the Palestinian territories six years ago when a bulldozer she was attempting to stop from destroying a house ran her over.
“She discovered, and shared with the world through her writing, that the people of Gaza are struggling to make a good life for their families, and are so in need and worthy of our support. The situation has only gotten worse since then, her mother Cindy said.
Code Pink cofounder and one of the leaders of the delegation Medea Benjamin said, “We hope our visit makes a lasting impression that neither the Egyptian government nor the people of Gaza will soon forget.
The Rafah crossing was a conduit for humanitarian aid during the Israeli offensive on Gaza last December. However, Egypt announced the closure of the crossing shortly after it ended.
