By Lauren Booth
Palestine Chronicle
"The British ambulances clashed with the sandy setting of the inner city centre car park. Bearing UK license plates and British drivers, the vehicles stood amongst half built buildings, guarded by Hamas security detail. This was the culmination of a six-week odyssey by George Galloway’s aid movement, Viva Palestina. Having traveled more than 7,000 kilometers, under the leadership of the maverick Scottish; British Muslims of the convoy posed for photos with Palestinians this week, overjoyed at having ‘tricked’ the notoriously difficult (some would say corrupt) Egyptian authorities into letting them pass through Rafah into the Gaza Strip.
Since Hamas was elected to power in 2007, nothing larger than a man sized tissue, reaches the 25km Strip without being inspected and approved by either Israel or Egypt, or usually, both. There are five crossings into Gaza. Four controlled by Israel and one by Egypt. None are open in a regular or a consistent way.
So questionable, is checking process the border, this week, Israel’s closest ally the US, was forced to criticize, a system which sees parking lots of stalled, humanitarian aid, rotting in the bureaucratic wilderness of Rafah and Karem Shalom. In El-Arish stadium, there are even greater quantities of food, clothing and essential supplies waiting and baking in the Middle East sun......."
Palestine Chronicle
"The British ambulances clashed with the sandy setting of the inner city centre car park. Bearing UK license plates and British drivers, the vehicles stood amongst half built buildings, guarded by Hamas security detail. This was the culmination of a six-week odyssey by George Galloway’s aid movement, Viva Palestina. Having traveled more than 7,000 kilometers, under the leadership of the maverick Scottish; British Muslims of the convoy posed for photos with Palestinians this week, overjoyed at having ‘tricked’ the notoriously difficult (some would say corrupt) Egyptian authorities into letting them pass through Rafah into the Gaza Strip.
Since Hamas was elected to power in 2007, nothing larger than a man sized tissue, reaches the 25km Strip without being inspected and approved by either Israel or Egypt, or usually, both. There are five crossings into Gaza. Four controlled by Israel and one by Egypt. None are open in a regular or a consistent way.
So questionable, is checking process the border, this week, Israel’s closest ally the US, was forced to criticize, a system which sees parking lots of stalled, humanitarian aid, rotting in the bureaucratic wilderness of Rafah and Karem Shalom. In El-Arish stadium, there are even greater quantities of food, clothing and essential supplies waiting and baking in the Middle East sun......."
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