Israel calls on Egypt to stop overland convoy from reaching Gaza

News24

2 days ago

Israel asked Egypt not to allow pro-Palestinian convoys to enter Gaza.
Two convoys have yet to get permission from Egypt for their plans.
A French delegation, said that several French nationals were detained in their hotels.
Israel's defence minister on Wednesday called on Egypt to block two pro-Palestinian activist convoys planning to head to Egypt's Rafah border crossing with Gaza.
'I expect the Egyptian authorities to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border and not to allow them to carry out provocations or attempt to enter Gaza,' Israel Katz said in a statement.
Katz added that such actions 'would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed'.
His comments came as hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists on a Gaza-bound convoy arrived in the Libyan capital, driving eastward with the stated aim of breaking Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory.
The Soumoud convoy - meaning steadfastness in Arabic - left Tunis in buses and cars on Monday, hoping to pass through divided Libya and Egypt, which organisers say has yet to provide passage permits, to reach Gaza.
READ | 17 killed in Gaza as Palestinians scramble for 'drop in the ocean' food aid
Egypt said on Wednesday that it backs efforts to put 'pressure on Israel' to lift its blockade on Gaza, but added that any foreign delegations seeking to visit the border area must receive prior approval through official channels.
Chedly Ben Ibrahim/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Egypt 'asserts the importance of putting pressure on Israel to end the blockade on the (Gaza) Strip', the foreign ministry said in a statement.
It added that Egypt 'will not consider any requests or respond to any invitations submitted outside the framework defined by the regulatory guidelines and the mechanisms followed in this regard'.
The Sinai Peninsula is a tightly controlled security zone, with access routes frequently punctuated by military and police checkpoints.
READ | Israel set to deport Greta Thunberg and 'selfie yacht' crew as 'symbolic' Gaza land convoy launched
After 20 months of war, Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.
The United Nations has said the Palestinian territory was 'the hungriest place on Earth'.
Eyad Baba/AFP
Another activist group, the Global March to Gaza, which is coordinating with Soumoud, said it is organising a separate mobilisation starting in Cairo on Friday.
Organisers told AFP on Wednesday that around 4 000 participants are expected to join the march, adding they are not planning to enter Gaza.
According to the plan, activists would travel by bus to the city of Arish in northern Sinai before walking on foot for 50km to the Gaza border.
Participants would then camp near the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing for a few days and return to Cairo on 19 June.
AFP
Catherine Le Scolan-Quere, spokesperson for the group's French delegation, said that several French nationals who arrived in Egypt to take part in the event were detained in their hotels or upon arrival at Cairo airport.
Carolie Laghouati, a 39-year-old French nurse, said her friend along with nine others were detained by the Egyptian police at Cairo airport.
'We're locked up here, they tell us not to leave, they don't tell us what's going on, our passports are confiscated,' said her friend in a video sent to AFP.
The spokesperson of the French delegation hoped the permits would be issued 'quickly' by the Egyptian embassy in Paris and the French embassy in Cairo.