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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Galloway raps Egypt for stopping Gaza aid convoy |
| 2009-12-26 |
| British Lawmaker George Galloway has criticized Egypt over denying the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy to enter the Gaza Strip. The humanitarian convoy to the Gaza Strip has become stuck in Jordan as Egypt is reportedly denying the convoy's passage through its territory. "It's a strange Christmas for us. We are stuck in Aqaba. 500 people, 210 vehicles, hundreds of tons of aid which is desperately needed in Gaza," Galloway said in an interview with Press TV on Friday. "Our Jordanian friends are doing their best to keep us warm and to feed us," he added. The British anti-war activist also called it a very complex situation. "It's a very complex situation. We have on the Turkish level quite a diplomatic activity going on, because the Turkish prime minister personally appeared on live television in Damascus three days ago and asked the Egyptian government to facilitate this convoy; so this is a slap in the face, you can say, to the Turkish government," he further explained. "We don't yet know exactly what tactics we will follow. That would depend on the diplomatic situation, but one thing we are not going to do is run away. We came all this way to Aqaba." "We are very sad not yet angry, but we will get angry if the days go by," he noted. The humanitarian convoy arrived in Jordan on Tuesday and was expected to leave via sea to Egypt. The convoy left London almost two weeks ago with 80 vehicles. Its size grew with the addition of dozens of vehicles from Turkish charities. Galloway earlier appealed to Egyptian authorities to facilitate the convoy's passage through its territory. The convoy aims to break Israel's crippling blockade on Gaza. Lifeline 3, the third international convoy headed to Gaza under the name Viva Palestina, comprises 210 trucks laden with basic food items and medical supplies. 450 activists, including 30 Americans, 150 Turks and a number of Europeans are accompanying the convoy. The already impoverished Gaza Strip has been under a complete Israeli siege, with full cooperation of Egypt, ever since the Hamas resistance movement, which does not recognize Israel as a sovereign state, won parliamentary elections in a surprise victory in 2007. Israel's three-week offensive against Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009 which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead, including a large number of civilians, deteriorated the already dire situation. The Israeli assault led to the destruction of schools, mosques, houses as well as UN compounds, inflicting $ 1.6 billion damage on the Gazan economy. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Soros |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-12-26 10:06 |
| #6 Makes you wonder who is financing the stay in Jordan. Maybe once he becomes obnoxious enough, they will direct the convoy to stay in one of *their* immense Paleo refugee camps, which are just as nasty as Gaza. They would probably loot the convoy. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-12-26 09:58 |
| #5 "Oh Lord, I'm stuck in |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-12-26 09:49 |
| #4 I took him much more seriously when he had that red leotard on and was hamming it up with the transvestite... |
| Posted by: Raj 2009-12-26 09:05 |
| #3 Basically, no one trusts you, George. And no one really gives a stale poot for the Gazooks, either. I would have to say, you have a problem. And , George, a clue, you may be there for quite some time. Maybe you better rent a house to stay in.... for a while. |
| Posted by: Angleton9 2009-12-26 08:35 |
| #2 A "humanitarian" convoy with....450 "activists?" Sounds like awfully heavy support tail. How might we send in the aid but sent the activits back from whence they came? The Gazookians are certainly "activated" enough already. Oh by the way, before anyone leaves, please ensure that all containers and boxes are examined closely for contraband. Weapons, RDX, that sort of thing. If anything improper is found, everyone is charged and jailed and nothing leaves port. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-12-26 06:57 |
| #1 Quit yer bitchin' George. How many Britons would like an all expense paid winter vacation to the Gulf of Aqaba? Especially one that could be extended indefinitely. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-12-26 06:41 |