CAIRO: A Jordanian medic who was detained at the Rafah border crossing Thursday was moved later that night, but his current whereabouts remain unknown.
Salman Mesaid was taken from in front of the Egyptian gate of the crossing at noon Thursday in a car and driven beyond the gate where he remained detained until 9 pm.
He was then also transported by car from the Rafah crossing to an undisclosed location.
Mesaid is part of a five-strong Jordanian contingent representing the Arab Nurses Union which has been trying to enter the Gaza strip through the crossing at the Egypt-Gaza border since Monday.
Security forces did not give a justification for taking Mesaid, but it was believed to be due to his handing a Palestinian patient who had been treated in Egypt a bag containing medicine as the patient was returning to Gaza.
“Salman was kidnapped in front of us and we don’t know where he is now, Secretary General of the Arab Nurses Union Mohammed Hatamla told Daily News Egypt, “but we will not leave without him.
“We are sick of the mistreatment we have faced here in Egypt, he added. “We have informed officials in Jordan about what has happened and there are urgent meetings taking place about this issue. Hatamla, however, was also critical of the efforts of the Jordanian embassy in Egypt, saying, “The Jordanian embassy is not helping us at all, we are suffering from them as much as we are suffering from Egyptian security. Another person in the dock for border-related issues is head of the now defunct Labor party Magdi Ahmed Hussain, who is to stand trial in a military court Feb. 11 for entering Gaza illegally through a tunnel beneath the border.
Another activist, Ahmed Saad Doma from the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Egypt, is also being charged with crossing the border illegally during the 22-day Israeli war on the Gaza strip which began Dec. 27, and is to stand trial in a military court on Saturday.
Egypt closed the Rafah crossing Thursday as had been previously reported but will allow Palestinians who were wounded in the offensive and seeking treatment in Egypt to return to Gaza through it.
Any humanitarian and aid convoys intended for Gaza will enter through the Israeli-controlled Al-Oja and Kerem Shalom crossings along the Egyptian border with Israel.
An official at the crossing told AFP Thursday, The border is closed as of this morning. No humanitarian, media or medical delegations will be allowed through, nor will medical aid deliveries be permitted.
The official did state that foreign delegations which were already in Gaza having gone through the Rafah crossing would be allowed to return the same way. Additionally, some wounded Gazans would also be allowed to enter Egypt for treatment.
