By IRNA,
London : Tens of people and pro-Palestinian activists, including Jewish community members, staged a demonstration outside the Egyptian Embassy in central London to urge Hosni Mubarak to open the Rafah crossing into the Gaza strip.
The protestors, organised by the British Muslim Initiative in association with the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, called on the Egyptian president to allow the international aid convoy, the Viva Palestina, to enter Gaza through the Egyptian border.
More than 200 vehicles packed with food and medicine departed from London on 6 December for Gaza.
They are now in the Syrian port of Lattakia, waiting to be transported to Egyptian port city of El-Arish, through which they can enter the Gaza.
IRNA reported on Thursday that the ship, which supposed to transport Viva Palestina convoy to El-Arish, has revoked its decision out of the fear of the possible Israeli attack.
The demonstrators in London chanted slogans such as “Mubarak Siege Must End”, “Mubarak Wall Must Fall”, “Free Free Palestine” and “Mubarak Zionist”.
They called on Egyptian officials to lift the ban on the entry of Viva Palestina convoy to Egypt and Gaza.
Betty Hunter, the director general of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, told IRNA that thousands of the besieged people in Gaza are waiting for the delivery of humanitarian aid packages.
“We understand that the Egyptian government is imposing conditions on the convoy which make it impossible for them to enter Gaza through Egypt.”
Hunter said three British parliamentarians were received by the Egyptian Embassy in London during a similar demonstration last Tuesday in front of the embassy in central London.
She added that Baroness Jenny Tonge, Jeremy Corbyn and Martin Linton were assured that the Gaza convoy would be allowed in to Gaza.
“We are urging the Egyptian assistance to ensure that the people of Gaza receive the medical aid which European citizens have worked hard to provide for the Palestinian people suffering under Israeli siege in Gaza.”
Hunter said that demonstrators were demanding to the Egyptian Embassy authorities to help allow the convoy To Gaza “to show the Palestinian people that they are not forgotten by people of conscience across the world.”
The Israeli regime has imposed a long-term blockade on the people of Gaza, banning the entry of basic needs and construction materials to the strip.
Last year, Israel invaded Gaza and killed more than 1,400 civilians and destroyed thousands of houses, schools and hospitals.
The Egyptian government is also building a steel wall along its border with Gaza to prevent the traffic of any goods to the blockaded strip, while avoiding opening the Rafah crossing for international aid convoys to pass through to Gaza.
Peace activists and human rights campaigners have called on the Egyptian government to lift the ban and allow the flow of international aid into Gaza to avoid a humanitarian crisis.