Cairo: More than 1,400 human rights activists from various civil society organizations in France, Italy and Belgium organized a protest in front of the World Trade Center in Cairo on Monday afternoon. Protesting the Egyptian authorities' decision to prevent them from crossing into Gaza, they stressed that they were surprised by the decision, especially because they had been preparing to visit the Gaza Strip for more than six months. They held banners saying, “freedom for Gaza and for free women in Gaza,” and demanded an end to the Israeli occupation and an end to the violations of international law. The protesters said that they will not end their sit-ins until they are allowed to enter the Gaza Strip in order to provide aid for Gazans. This protest came about after the Egyptian Security Services banned 150 European activists from reaching Northern Sinai on their way to the Rafah crossing to enter Gaza Strip. An Egyptian security source said that there have been directives and instructions issued for the security services to stop the activists in Suez and to deny them the entry to Sinai because of an absence of prior coordination with the authorities to grant them the permission to enter Sinai. Sources told local newspapers that the security services asked the activists to travel back to Cairo after few of them managed to reach Al Arish, however the activists threatened to strike in front of the checkpoints. More than 150 activists of different nationalities started a sit-in on Sunday in front of the French Embassy in Cairo, protesting the Egyptian government's decision to deny them access to cross into Gaza through Rafah on the first anniversary of the Israeli military operations in Gaza. They added that the number activists in the convoy, called “Freedom for Gaza”, reached 1,500 participants who wanted to visit Gaza in the light of the first anniversary of the Israeli invasion last year, which led to the death of more than 1400 people. The organizers of the convoy said that they want to deliver a message to Israel and the world to stop the bloodshed and killing of innocent Palestinian civilians. They also condemned the Egyptian authorities' decision to prevent them from visiting Gaza through the Rafah crossing, saying that they are unsure that there are mutual interests and strong relations between Egypt and Israel, citing the prevention of the convoy from crossing into Gaza. One of the activists and participants in the ”Viva Palestina” convoy, led by the prominent British MP George Galloway, an 85 year old Holocaust survivor named Hedi Absten announced that she has started a hunger strike on Monday in response to the Egyptian government's refusal to allow the participant to cross into Gaza. A press release from the convoy said that Absten, a member of the delegation which includes participants from 43 countries around the world, said, “all members of the delegation are currently on hunger strike and located in a camp next to the World Trade Center in Cairo.” “We are with the people of Gaza till the end, and they are not alone. I am among the citizens who reject the policies of Israel, the United States and European governments against the Palestinians,” Absten said in the statement. She added that the number of foreign supporters of the Palestinian cause is increasing all over the world. In a related context, Hossam Zaki, a spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, stressed that Egypt was participating in the convoy's preparations through the Viva Palestina's website and that the Egyptian embassy in London sent a letter to George Galloway on November 10 to inform him of the process for relief convoys. The embassy noted that it would only allow the convoy to cross through Al Arish. The spokesman said the convoy started from London on December 6 in front of the British Parliament, and that the Egyptian embassy has not received any information from the convoy organizers nor did it receive any request from them or a response to the letter. Egypt has repeatedly stressed that the convoy can only pass through Al Arish and not Nuweiba. In the end, the convoy of “Viva Palestina” has decided to move on Tuesday morning from the the Jordanian city of Aqaba and from there to Port Latakia in Syria in preparation to enter Egypt through the port of Al Arish. This was stated by spokesman of the convoy, Zahir AlBirawy, who explained that the decision came about in order to not lose any time. The convoy consists of about 250 trucks and vehicles, containing food and medical equipment, and an ambulance loaded with humanitarian aid from Turkey, Europe and Arab countries. BM
