CAIRO: Egypt will not allow convoys to cross into the Gaza Strip via Egyptian borders, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki in a statement on Monday. Egypt has been closely following news about the kick-off of a new aid convoy on its way to North Sinai's Rafah border crossing, Zaki added — the only gateway to Gaza that bypasses Israel. Earlier this week, the Viva Palestina charity organization led by former British MP George Galloway sent a new aid convoy, Lifeline 5, from London to help provide support for the ailing Gaza Strip. “The Egyptian government, at this [phase], aims to avoid any tension in relations or on the borders … [during] the current Israeli-Palestinian peace talks sponsored by Egypt and other Arab countries under the supervision of the US,” Nabil Abdel-Fatah, a senior researcher at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said on Tuesday. “Galloway and a number of activists in the region attempt to cause a state of tension in order to support a Hamas faction that rejects … [any] negotiations between the Palestinian government led by President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel,” Abdel-Fatah told Daily News Egypt. Key Egyptian embassies — located in countries through which the convoy is expected to travel — informed officials that Egyptian rules dictate that all aid convoys must upload their cargo at the Al-Arish port for shipments intended for Gaza, according to Zaki. In January, Galloway was leading the Lifeline 3 convoy, loaded with aid intended for the Gaza Strip. Clashes erupted between a number of the convoy members and the Egyptian police near the border at the time. Upon his return, Galloway was deported from Egypt and declared persona non grata. Israel has maintained a blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the strip in 2007. In December 2008, Israel launched a 22-day deadly offensive against Gaza, killing at least 1,400 people — most of which were civilians. Women and children were among those killed in the offensive. Israel has always described the offensive as a critical measure to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas via tunnels in North Sinai.
