CAIRO: A group of 45 professors who demonstrated near the Rafah border on Wednesday after being denied entry into Gaza by Egyptian authorities, was sent back to Cairo on the same day. A bus load of professors stuck in front of the Rafah border spent three days in the area waiting for permission to enter Gaza. According to Ahmed Darrag, one of the professors said that the goal of their Gaza visit was to show solidarity with Palestinians. "The idea was to show support to innocent Palestinians, said Darrag, who teaches languages and speaks Hebrew. "They [the authorities] wouldn't let us through because they have no principles. Darrag denies any allegations that the professors on board the bus were attempting to smuggle weapons into Gaza. "We were not carrying any form of weaponry on us . All we were carrying were supplies for ourselves, like small cans of tuna. According to Darrag, Adel Abdel Gawad, the head of the delegation of professors, was in contact with security authorities a long time before they actually left for Rafah. However, security forces patrolling the border still insisted that they get permission from higher authorities. "On the second day, we started to get impatient, said Darrag. He also added that an Italian delegation that had arrived later was permitted entry into Gaza, while the professors were still held up. "I can't understand what they want, said Darrag. Mustapha Singer, the representative of the Tagammu Party in Rafah, had witnessed the demonstration. "I talked to some of the professors all specialized in different fields, including pharmacy, engineering and language studies. Though the professors were denied access to Gaza, some aid is expected to make it through the border as Malta sent a large supply of food and medical supplies to Al-Arish bound for Gaza. Mohammed El-Shusha, the governor of Northern Sinai, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that a Maltese plane carrying 30 tons of humanitarian aid landing in Al-Arish Airport and the supplies are expected to cross the Rafah border soon, despite conflicting reports by other Egyptian authorities that no supplies will be allowed through Rafah. By sea, there was yet another failed attempt to bring supplies to the war-torn Gaza strip. A foreign vessel bound for Gaza was captured by the Israeli navy and escorted to the nearest Israeli port of Ashdod, according to a statement by Ehud Barack on Israeli broadcast media. As humanitarian aid slowly starts to trickle into Gaza, Palestinian casualties are still on the rise. According to Dr Hossam Touqan, the medical adviser at the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo, Said Methqal Rabea, a 23-year-old Palestinian, died after being rushed to a Maadi hospital for treatment for serious injuries. Rabea is one of 31 Palestinians who died in Egyptian hospitals.
