Egypt police stops aid convoy to Gaza

Dozens of Egyptian activists arrested; Mubarak says he's committed to int'l agreement on Rafah crossing.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
egypt gaza convoy protest 224 88 (photo credit: AP)
egypt gaza convoy protest 224 88
(photo credit: AP)
Dozens of activists, mostly from Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood, were arrested Monday after attempting to send a supply convoy to the blockaded Gaza Strip, the organization and security officials said. Abdel-Fatah Rizq, who was coordinating the convoy for Egypt's biggest opposition group, said police arrested at least 50 activists when they tried to gather at the Journalists' Syndicate in downtown Cairo before making the 200 mile (300 kilometer) journey across the Sinai desert to the border. "Activists from all over the provinces were planning on joining the convoy on its way through the Sinai to Rafah crossing," he said. The Brotherhood Web site said some activists, including parliament members, slipped through security to reach Rafah on the border. Police said three members of the Brotherhood were arrested at the Suez Canal Sunday night while trying to reach the border. In Rafah, another 14 activists from the secular Kifaya movement were arrested while staging a protest. Other opposition movements had joined the Muslim Brotherhood for their protest and convoy. Organizers decided to halt the convoy attempt in hopes of negotiating the release of the detainees, said Mahmoud el-Khodairy, a convoy coordinator and retired judge. "It is a shame that police have turned downtown Cairo into a garrison to harass a few dozen young people," el-Khodairy said. Police have said similar gatherings in the past caused public disorder. Sympathy for the Palestinians blockaded in Gaza by Egypt and Israel runs high among Egyptians, and especially the opposition, which periodically attempts to send food and medicine convoys to the border, partly to embarrass the government for its role in the blockade. President Hosni Mubarak said Egypt would not reopen the crossing as long as Hamas controls Gaza. "We are still committed to the 2005 agreement," Mubarak was quoted as saying by state media Monday, referring to the agreement under which the Palestinian authority, Israel and EU monitors supervise the Rafah crossing. On Monday, authorities opened the crossing to let 67 Palestinians returning from the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia back into Gaza. Hamas wrested control of Gaza in June 2007, prompting the blockade by Israel and Egypt. Public demonstrations are not tolerated in Egypt and thousands of riot police and plainclothes officers surrounded the streets around the syndicate and chased activists into nearby buildings. Several journalists were detained and their cameras were confiscated.