Egyptian government blocking four international delegations to Gaza
Here is an update from Code Pink on the international delegations trying to get into Gaza. Phil's delegation has not yet tried to get in.
CAIRO - May 22 - As more than 160 Americans and other citizens from around the world begin arriving in Cairo with the intent to cross into Gaza, the operators of Egyptian bus services say they been prohibited by the Egyptian government from transporting them to the border. The groups, made up of four delegations on the Egyptian side and one on the Israeli side, are part of a CODEPINK Women for Peace campaign to bring humanitarian supplies and build playgrounds for the children of Gaza.
"We had chartered a private bus company to take us from Cairo to
Al-Arish, the closest town to the Rafah crossing into Gaza," explained
Sandra Ruch, who is leading a delegation of Canadians on the
humanitarian mission. "However, the operators tell us now that the
government has prohibited them from taking us anywhere near the border.
They obviously believe this tactic will keep us away, but we are
determined. The Gazans are completely isolated and struggling to
survive. We cannot abandon them."
The 10-member Canadian delegation is scheduled to be followed by a
14-member group from New York and a contingent of 40 students. The
largest of the CODEPINK delegations, numbering about 80, is scheduled
to set off for the border on May 29 - just days ahead of President
Barack Obama's landmark speech to the Arab world, planned for Cairo on
June 4. The CODEPINK delegations are invited to the Gaza Strip by the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
The delegations plan to enter Gaza to focus attention on the need to lift the 21-month blockade and to deliver medical supplies, toys and sports equipment to the children there, who make up more than half of Gaza's population. The groups are also bringing supplies for playgrounds, since many of the schools and playgrounds were bombed during Israel's invasion earlier this year, which killed more than 1,400, displaced more than 50,000 people and destroyed approximately 4,000 homes.
"The majority of Gazans are under 18, and many of the youth are traumatized and depressed," said delegation coordinator Pam Rasmussen. "Thousands are now living in rubble or cramped tents, while mourning the deaths of loved ones and struggling to support their families despite an unemployment rate in excess of 50 percent. It's important for us to go there to show that the international community cares about their plight." The CODEPINK delegations are not alone. Three British medics began a hunger strike at the Egyptian border crossing on May 21 to protest being refused entry into Gaza to establish a cardiac surgery unit at al-Shifa Hospital, which currently has no such facility, and to help train medical students and junior doctors there. The British medics have been denied access to the Palestinian territory at the Rafah crossing since the beginning of May. CODEPINK delegations say they are determined to get to the border and cross into Gaza.
"We call on the Egyptian government to facilitate our travel to Gaza, not create obstacles," said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK. "President Obama is coming to Egypt on June 4 to speak to the Arab world. He claims he wants to stand for peace and justice. We need to start by lifting the blockade of Gaza."
Read more at Mondoweiss.
Hey, TPM Cafe, congratulations! You just added the quintessential source for the facts-on-the-ground reality -- live from Gaza. What's the big deal, you neophytes may ask? Your taxpayer dollars are being used to fund a racist apartheid and land-grab of the Palestinians, your duly-elected official of Congress may be complicit in the ethnic cleansing of an anicent people, and you have no clue as to the atrocities committed in the name of the "special relationship" between Israel and America. The most pressing issue of our time, and the challenges facing the Obama administration as it seeks a two-state solution and a 57-state peace offering to the Israelis can be found on this website. This is an incredibly important development and congrats to Phil, Adam and TPM Cafe for making these important posting available to a wider audience.
May 25, 2009 5:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
This little story from the linked website Mondoweiss, captures one minor yet so telling dimension of the mess in the Mideast:
"The religious zone has been left as the one area in which Palestinians are free to express their resistance, by using something that is uniquely theirs, Islam. Felice Gelman, our group's leader, told a moving story about this effect. A friend of her's in Gaza was rushing out of the house to get something one day when her mother called out to her that she was not covered. The daughter came back into the house angry and said, How can you say that, when there is a photograph of you on the wall on the beach in a bathing suit. Yes but that was in the 1970s, before conditions in the occupied territories had become completely oppressive."
In the 1970s, Egypt and Israel were still warring over Sinai, Reagan was a retired actor and ex-governor, Gorbachev was barely known outside of the Eastern bloc. It was too soon for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. That chance came with the Oslo agreements of the early 1990s, but the opportunity was squandered when extremists on both sides managed to escalate the cycle of violence and repression. Israeli PM Rabin was assassinated by Israeli hardliners and no one stepped up to take his place. Fifteen bloody and brutal years later, it may be too late.
What will the humanitarian and protest missions to Gaza do when Israelis are the victims of future terrorism? Waive their consular rights and go to Tel Aviv instead of Gaza? This does not seem like an approach with staying power. What is needed is a solid commitment to a swiftly negotiated land for peace deal REGARDLESS of terrorist incidents. That commitment looks dubious without the U.S. fully pushing it. The demonstrators might to do more by focusing on helping free the U.S. Congress from the yoke of AIPAC.
May 25, 2009 6:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
It is a curious setup that Phil is due to enter Gaza just as Israel prepares for its largest ever military maneuvers. May31st to June 4th.
At the very least he is going to be buzzed by aircraft.
All Arab militaries are going to be mobilised and on maximum alert.
Nasrallah and PressTV have sounded the concern. [my last post]
And why is Barack suddenly due in Washington within days.
Will we need Hamas to rescue Phil?
May 25, 2009 7:29 PM | Reply | Permalink