CAIRO: Around 39 American students, nine Canadians and nine Europeans remained at the Rafah crossing Monday after authorities refused to permit them entry into Gaza. However, the European Hope convoy, comprising some 39 members and around 40 vehicles, was allowed to pass through. The Hope convoy had initially been unable to enter after border authorities insisted that only half of the delegation could pass through. It set off from Italy earlier this month and arrived via cargo ship at Alexandria. Members of the convoy had planned to complete the route on land to Rafah. However security forces intervened and forced the convoy to continue to travel by ship to Port Said before making the trip by land to Rafah in Northern Sinai. Thirty-nine American students making up the "Students in Solidarity with Gaza group had arrived at the border Monday morning but were not permitted entry, nor were a nine-strong Canadian delegation. "We arrived at the border at 11 am, and we're still here. They're saying that we need a permit from the foreign ministry, said one of the student organizers Maryam Khan. She added that they intended to camp out in front of the crossing for the night. According to press release by the student group, "If allowed inside [Gaza], the students will deliver medical aid and sports equipment, work with Palestinian social-service organizations, and meet with Gazan university students. Also still stuck at the border are nine European medics who have been on a week-long hunger strike to protest authorities' refusal to allow them into Gaza. The group is comprised of five British, three Belgians and one Greek. British doctor Omar Al-Mankoosh had told Daily News Egypt from the crossing, "We are aid workers here for humanitarian work. We are not politicians, even our demonstration here is not a political one, it is a desperate act for people who have come for humanitarian purposes and have been denied entry. "There is no way of finding out who is responsible for preventing us from going in. No one knows how the process works. There is no excuse, we are doctors and nurses, I cannot see why they won't let us in, he added.
