Two weeks after it decided to open the border crossing with Gaza, Egypt continues to deny passage at will, reports Amira Howeidy from Rafah Two Egyptian attempts to break the siege of Gaza via the Rafah border crossing failed this week. Both efforts were intended to test what Egypt's June first decision to open the Rafah border crossing "indefinitely" -- following Israel's assault on the Freedom Flotilla on 31 May -- really means. On 11 June the "Popular Egyptian Convoy to Break the Siege of Gaza", accompanied by more than 300 political activists, public figures, journalists, students and workers, and carrying symbolic food supplies, left Cairo for Rafah. Their avowed aim was to test the decision to open the Rafah border crossing and draw media attention to the nature of the Israeli siege, which bans a host of products from entering the strip. Egypt refuses to allow any food products to cross into Gaza via Rafah. The convoy carried supplies of honey, pasta and coriander -- items Israel has banned from reaching Gaza's 1.5 million besieged Palestinians. A statement issued by Kollona Moqawama (We all support resistance), a new movement and one of the convoy's organisers, said it was seizing the opportunity presented by the announcement of the indefinite opening of the crossing in order to deliver its symbolic supplies to the Strip via Rafah and create a "precedent". The journey from Cairo was, against all expectations, smooth. There was no attempt to stall the seven bus convoy as it passed through the dozens of checkpoints that punctuate the road across north Sinai. The convoy arrived at the border at least an hour before its scheduled 7:00pm closure. Which is when the problems began. The border authorities insisted that only passport holders who could show they had permission to travel from their employers could enter Gaza. Then came another shock. Hamas border official Ghazi Hamad conveyed a message to the group that Hamas was busy with preparations for the visit of Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa on 13 June and could not, therefore, host members of the convoy. The news prompted a protest by shocked members of the convoy who demanded that Hamas officially reject their attempt to deliver aid. In less than an hour several senior officials in the Hamas government had contacted members of the convoy and retracted Hamas's statements, insisting that the group was welcome. Hamas government spokesman Taher El-Nunu contacted the group and issued an official statement: "We're waiting for you on the other side of the border," El-Nunu told Al-Ahram Weekly over the phone. By then, though, the border authorities had decided to close the crossing, despite initial reassurances to the Weekly that the crossing is "open 24 hours a day". Weary of the complications, the convoy's participants decided to stage a sit-in till the morning, right in front of the crossing, to guarantee their entry the next day. It was not to be. On the morning of 12 June they were told by a border official that Israel has to approve their entry before Egypt allows them passage to Gaza. In response, the group convened a press conference and announced that "contrary to official propaganda, the Rafah border crossing is closed". They also said Israel controlled the crossing "in full cooperation with the Egyptian authorities". Not that any of it was news. In an interview with state TV on 2 January 2009, President Hosni Mubarak had said there were Israeli cameras at the Rafah border crossing "and a monitor to oversee movement at the crossing. Israel must be notified of who enters through the crossing." Mubarak also said there were observers present at the crossing who report to Israel when there are violations. As the "Popular Egyptian Convoy to Break the Siege of Gaza" was preparing to return to Cairo, another convoy, which had departed from Banha in the Delta governorate of Daqahliya and arrived in Arish the previous day, was also facing problems with the authorities. Organised by the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and led by MP Mohsen Radi, the Banha convoy was carrying 50 tonnes of food supplies in addition to medical aid. It was stopped by the police in Arish, 48 km from Rafah, and told it must unload its aid supplies in order to enter Rafah. Security officials insisted the aid could only enter Gaza through the Israeli- controlled Nitzana crossing in El-Ouga, a proposal that was turned down by the organisers who opted to return home with their supplies. Speaking to the Weekly by phone, Radi explained that the convoy had no interest in visiting Gaza and had one specific objective -- to test the seriousness of the decision to open the Rafah border crossing. "We know now that the border is closed," he said. Authorities banned a convoy carrying construction material to Gaza, organised by several opposition MPs, from crossing at Rafah on 7 June. A convoy set up by Alexandria's Pharmacists' Syndicate failed to deliver its food supplies via Rafah after it was held in Arish for six days. Officially, Egypt allows only individuals and medical aid through Rafah, according to North Sinai's governor, Murad Muwafi. In an interview with the Weekly, Muwafi pointed out that there were six border crossings with Gaza controlled by Israel, and that Egypt's Rafah crossing should not be the sole entrance and exit point for Palestinians. Despite this, Egypt has come under pressure for its management of the Rafah crossing, which is the only gateway to and from Gaza that is not controlled by Israel. Cairo's announcement that the crossing would open indefinitely came in response to growing international pressure to relax the blockade of Gaza, in force since 2007. Preparations are underway for a bigger convoy from Cairo to Rafah on 25 June. The convoy will carry aid supplies but its organisers -- Palestine solidarity activists and the Doctor's Syndicate's Relief Committee -- have not yet decided if they will attempt to deliver products that Egypt has banned.
