An Egyptian convoy of ten parliamentarians, mostly from the banned Muslim Brotherhood, were Tuesday allowed into the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, which was opened by Egypt after Israel attacked an aid flotilla. The parliamentarians, nine Islamists and the independent MP Hamdin Sabahi, were allowed into the impoverished enclave after getting all required security permits, according to journalists accompanying the convoy. The convoy was not allowed to carry building materials into the terrritory, devastated by Israel in a war in early 2009. Security operators of the Rafah crossing say only individuals are allowed to use this outlet.
President Hosni Mubarak last week ordered the Rafah border crossing be opened indefinitely, to help ease the flow of aid and Palestinians to and from Gaza. "Egypt will keep its border with Gaza open indefinitely, easing the blockade on the territory's Palestinians and giving them a link to the outside world," an Egyptian security official said Monday, according to AP. Meanwhile, Arab League spokesman Hisham Youssef said yesterday that the Organisation's Secretary General Amr Moussa would visit the Gaza Strip next week, the first visit by him to the besieged territory. "Moussa's visit is part of the Arab League's efforts to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip," Youssef said. A 47-member delegation from the Arab Parliament, an organ of the Arab League, went to Gaza on Sunday through Egypt's Rafah border crossing to declare their solidarity with the Palestinian people.
