Egyptian authorities turned away dozens of foreign journalists from entering Gaza through the Rafah border crossing to cover the aftermath of the recently halted Israeli aggression on the impoverished strip.
The ban came as a surprise to the many journalists who underwent a strenuous routine of paper work and embassy certification to gain access to the beleaguered strip yet were turned away at the last minute at the border. "We crossed a long way to get to Rafah to cover post-war Gaza. And now we are told we can't enter," a reporter said to AlArabiya.net on condition of anonymity.
About 70 journalists intent on preparing field reports of Gaza were prevented from crossing the border today. They came from different countries including the U.S., Netherlands, Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Ireland, Britain, France, Japan, Indonesia and Turkey. |