Gaza Or Bust

By Yvonne Ridley

March 09, 2009 "Information Clearing House"

"......Yesterday the convoy members became the target of an orchestrated wave of violence first started by Egyptian police and then culminating in vicious attacks by unknown thugs. The end result was a number of peace activists whose only aim is to take humanitarian aid into war torn Gaza were treated in hospital for head injuries......

And dramatic images of the rioting and attacks could not be relayed to Press TV viewers because someone sabotaged the satellite van by deliberately cutting through a vital cable which would have beamed the shameful attacks across the world......

The event has only served to make us stronger, unite and bond us together more and created a wave of international media interest in Viva Palestina......

However, the deliberate bloody-mindedness of the Egyptian authorities did something we had failed to do for ourselves ... it caused us to unite, bond and emerge stronger than ever from underneath the rows of police batons, bricks, bottles and stones.

The trouble began when the police - who were only obeying their orders - tried to break up the convoy into small groups of medical and non medical aid. We were told the first would go through the Rafah crossing while the latter would go through an Israeli checkpoint......

Giving aid to the people of Gaza has nothing to do with the Israelis and I do wish they would stop trying to make themselves centre stage in an affair that does not involve Tel Aviv.

As we dug in our heels about the convoy being physically divided, the authorities decided there was only one solution - batter us into submission, after all that is what police states do......

Egyptian police are obviously not used to confronting stroppy westerners in such large numbers and so they retreated while a second wave was sent in. Hundreds of riot squad officers, wearing visors, carrying shields and batons tumbled in to one of the two car parks in a large town centre compound in the port of al Arish and set about the unarmed peace activists......

By the time Britain's best known parliamentarian reached the compound night had fallen and bright stadium-style lights illuminated the two car parks. Suddenly the area was plunged into darkness by a powercut which coincided with a brick, bottle and stone attacks on the convoy members by youths in their late teens and 20s. Seconds before the lights went out some convoy members saw a couple of unidentified men scrawling anti-Hamas slogans on lorries.

The lights remained out for some minutes, during which time the vicious attack was unleashed - the whole proceedings failed to warrant one single Egyptian police officer to swing his baton into action. Those who had wielded their sticks with such a passion before, stood impassively by and watched the onslaught.

The power kicked back in again and the bright lights illuminated the scene to reveal several convoy members lying dazed and confused, blood dripping from gaping head wounds. While they were ferried to hospital for treatment, there was a second powercut and a repeat of the violence.

Once again the police stood by and watched the thugs launch their attacks on unarmed and defenceless members of Viva Palestina......

Thanks to him and the cack-handed police operation, Viva Palestina has emerged refocussed and stronger than ever with one, determined goal: Rafah or bust. And it will happen, inspite of the best efforts of Tel Aviv meddling and Egyptian authorities' bullying.

The people united can never be defeated......"