Two aid convoys that tried to break the siege of Gaza this week met with very different fates, reports Mohamed Abdel-Baky The Libyan ship Al-Amal (Hope) had planned to enter Gaza via the sea but the intervention of Israel navy forced the ship, carrying 200 tons of food and medical supplies, to head for northern Sinai. After several hours wait in the port of Arish the Egyptian Red Crescent started unloading the ship's supplies. They were then transferred to Gaza by a convoy of 35 vehicles. Al-Amal was sponsored by the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, run by Seif Al-Islam, son of Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi. While the ship was waiting in Arish for permission to unload, the Egyptian government was busy trying to broker a deal between Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Seif Al-Islam to allow the aid to enter Gaza through the Israeli controlled crossing of Karm Abu Salem. Israel eventually agreed, and also said it had no objections to Libya pumping up to $50 million directly into reconstruction projects managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). In return, the Libyan ship abandoned its plans to break the blockade of Gaza by entering through Arish. "Our goal was not to confront the Israeli navy, but to help in the reconstruction of Gaza and deliver aid to the Palestinian people," Gaddafi told the press. On 31 May Israeli commandos attacked another aid flotilla, killing nine activists -- eight Turks and one Turkish-American -- sparking international outrage. Gaddafi said the experience with Al-Amal offered a lesson to the Arabs on what he termed "coming to agreements with Israel". In the same week, an attempt to break the Israeli blockade by Jordanian activists and trade unionists seeking to deliver aid and medical supplies to Gaza was refused permission to enter Egypt. The group of 150 activists arrived at Nuweiba, in the eastern part of Sinai, and asked for permission to transport aid to Gaza via the Rafah crossing. The Egyptian government responded by saying the aid could only be transported via Rafah if it was landed at Arish. The group then decided to organise a sit-in at Jordan's Al-Aqaba port "until the Egyptian government changes its mind and allows the group to go to Rafah". "Aid convoys must send prior notice, and all convoys must comply with Egyptian regulations," says Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki. Following clashes that led to the killing of an Egyptian soldier accompanying the Viva Palestine convoy in January, the Egyptian government has dealt firmly with any convoys that it believes have been organised primarily to support Hamas. "Current policy is based on differentiating between convoys that focus on breaking the blockade and gaining media attention and international sympathy for Hamas and those that really want to help the Palestinian people," says Emad Gad, an expert at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic studies. In May Egypt allowed convoys from the United Arab Emirates to deliver aid to Gaza, an operation that was coordinated through the Egyptian Red Crescent and UNRWA and which involved the transfer of 700 tons of food and medical aid. The Egyptian position, says Gad, is intended to send a clear message: Egypt's borders will not be used in Hamas's public relations campaign against the blockade. "The key to ending the blockade is reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, and Hamas has made it clear that it will not sign any reconciliation agreement soon," he added.
