The Egyptian government has denied entry to the Viva Palestina Aid Convoy carrying medical and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Hundreds of tonnes of aid, including specialised medical equipment and powdered milk for babies, is now stockpiled in the Jordanian port town of Aqaba waiting for permission to enter Egypt via the Straits of Aqaba.
The international convoy of approximately 150 vehicles and more than 400 people from 17 countries was given the news by the Egyptian Consulate in Aqaba late on Christmas Eve.
British MP George Galloway, who is travelling with the convoy, said “We feel very sad that Egypt has turned us away on Christmas Day, but we hope they will reconsider. This is a very determined convoy and we’re not going anywhere except to Gaza.”
The convoy, jointly organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in the UK, left London on 6th December. It has enjoyed safe passage through Europe, Turkey, Syria and Jordan on its way to Gaza.
It hopes to enter Gaza and break Israel’s three and a half year illegal blockade of the Strip via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on 27th December.
The date marks the first anniversary of the beginning of Israel’s three week land, air and sea assault on Gaza, which killed more than 1400 Palestinians.
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Notes to Editors:
For further information on the Viva Palestina convoy and updates visit www.vivapalestina.org
Tel: 020 7235 9777 Fax: 020 7235 5684 E-mail:
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VIVA PALESTINA HUMANITARIAN AID CONVOY NEEDS YOU NOW!
Dear friends and comrades,
As most of you know, the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy has been forcibly trapped in Aqaba, Jordan as the Egyptian authorities have denied them entry. Convoy members are in high spirits and have requested that we contact our embassies and local MPs to contact the Egyptian authorities and grant them safe passage through Egypt to Gaza.
TEMPLATE LETTER:
[Your address]
Dear ------
I have been following the progress of a convoy taking aid to the Gaza strip. The convoy consists of over 200 vehicles carrying many thousands of pounds worth of aid, and has been organized by Viva Palestina and The Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Many of the activists taking part have gone from the United Kingdom.
It has recently come to my attention that Egyptian authorities have blocked the progress of the convoy by denying entry to Egypt. The convoy is currently waiting in Jordan to be permitted to board a ferry across the Red Sea. I have heard from one person in the convoy who has described how they are cold and have little access to food at the moment.
I am kindly requesting that you use your position and influence to help us persuade the Egyptian authorities to permit the convoy to pass safely. This is very important to me, both for my hope that the people in Gaza will receive the much-needed aid, and also out of concern for my friends in the convoy.
Egyptian Embassy in London 020 7499 3304/2401
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Clare Short (Independent MP for Birmingham Ladywood)
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020 7219 4264/4148
David Miliband (Foreign Secretary/Labour MP for South Shields)
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(0191) 456 8910
Nick Clegg (Leader of Lib Dems, MP for Sheffield Hallam)http://www.facebook.com/l/457ba;www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/22/lift-the-gaza-blocade-nick-clegg
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British Embassy in Egypt Tel: +(20)(2)27916000
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NB. The embassy email addresses are only meant for information, so you could include a kind note to forward the message to the appropriate diplomatic staff.
Huge thank you to the Queen Mary University of London Palestine Solidarity Society for providing this information.
Please share this note with your friends and let us do everything we can to help our comrades, who are tired and cold waiting for a ferry to Egypt!
Please be advised that the 3rd convoy is partnered with the PSC and not CODE PINK
IN SOLIDARITY!
--------------------- Alice Howard Viva Palestina UK - Administration Manager Tel: 07944 512 469 Email:
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Website: http://www.vivapalestina.org/
Egypt Blamed for Gaza Convoy Delay
British politician George Galloway has criticised Egypt for denying a humanitarian aid convoy permission to enter the Gaza Strip.
The Viva Palestina aid convoy, containing some 210 vehicles and 500 people, is currently stranded in Jordan with Cairo refusing to allow it passage to Gaza through the Red Sea port of Nuweiba.
The lorries are laden with European, Turkish and Arab aid - both food and medical supplies.
"It's a strange Christmas for us. We are stuck ... hundreds of tonnes of aid which is desperately needed in Gaza," Galloway said in an interview with Press TV on Friday.
"We are very sad not yet angry, but we will get angry if the days go by".
But Hossam Zaki, an Egyptian port official, insisted that there would be "no entry from Nuweiba", saying "entry can only be through El-Arish".
El-Arish is a port on Egypt's Mediterreanean coast, while Nuweiba is on the Red Sea.
The Egyptian decision means the convoy would have to travel hundreds of kilometres by ferry around the Sinai peninsula and through the Suez Canal.
Egyptian condition
In a statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry said: "The Egyptian government welcomes the passage of the convoy into the Gaza Strip on December 27, on condition that it abides by the mechanisms in place for humanitarian aid convoys to the Palestinian people.
"This includes most importantly, the entry of convoys through the port of El-Arish".
Gaza has been under a stifling Israeli siege since a Hamas election victory and its decision to push Fatah armed forces from the territory in June 2007.
The blockade has severely restricted essential supplies and placed Gazans in a dire situation, made worse by Israel's military assault last winter that reduced much of the territory to ruins.
According to the latest UN report on the situation in Gaza, the ongoing Israeli blockade has triggered a "protracted human dignity crisis" with negative humanitarian consequences.
"At the heart of this crisis is the degradation in the living conditions of the population, caused by the erosion of livelihoods and the gradual decline in the state of infrastructure, and the quality of vital services in the areas of health, water and sanitation, and education,” adds the report.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies --------------------- Alice Howard Viva Palestina UK - Administration Manager Tel: 07944 512 469 Email:
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Website: http://www.vivapalestina.org/
Convoy arrives in Jordan - Aramram TV
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Viva Palestina Update - Blockage In Jordan (Resolved) - Plea to Egypt to Open Rafah
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Egypt Bars Viva Palestina Convoy From Entering It's Territory
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Urgent Action 
