GAZA - A "solidarity mission" comprising the chairman of the Egyptian Actors' Union Ashraf Zaki and a delegation of 15 other Arab actors and artists left the Gaza Strip on Friday after a short visit during which they expressed solidarity with people of the Israeli-beseieged enclave. The visit was made possible following the opening of the Rafah border crossing by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last week, after the Israeli occupation forces killed nine crew members on an aid ship freedom flotilla bound for Gaza and attempting to break the Israeli-lead blockade. Ahmed An-Najjar of the Popular Committee to Break the Siege, met the delegation upon their arrival at the crossing. The delegation met Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and performed at the Rashid Ash-Shawa centre. The delegation is the second group to enter Gaza since the Rafah crossing was opened, the first being a group of Egyptian parliamentarians and a number of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Movement members. A convoy comprising 1,000 Arab actors will soon visit Gaza, say organisers.
