De facto gov.: Egypt denying Australians entry through Rafah
Date: 20 / 06 / 2009 Time: 17:00
www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38699

Gaza - Ma'an - Egyptian authorities have denied an Australian solidarity
delegation entry to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing for the eighth
consecutive day, according to the de facto government's official anti-siege
committee.

The committee said in a statement that a 10-person Australian delegation is
still stuck at the Egyptian city of Al-Arish after having contacted
different sides to obtain permission to enter the Gaza Strip.

The committee condemned the way Egyptian authorities deal with some
solidarity delegations heading to the Gaza Strip through its borders. "With
the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip by the Israeli occupation, our Egyptian
brothers should facilitate missions of European solidarity delegations whose
intention is to ease the suffering of Palestinian citizens in the Gaza
Strip," the committee's statement read.

In the same regard, the committee applauded the ongoing sit-in strike held
by the International Solidarity Movement at the Rafah crossing.

A week earlier, the de facto government's crossings spokesperson Adel Zu'rub
insisted that it is not enough to open Rafah "once in a while" and transfer
"drips" of aid and commercial goods into Gaza.

Rafah was last open for Gazans on 16-18 May, and only patients and aid
workers have passed through the crossing since then. Israeli crossings have
been likewise shut, with minimal amounts of aid getting into the Strip, and
only a handful of patients, visitors and aid workers being allowed in and
out of the area.

"The Egyptian side must to everything it can to ensure Rafah is open
consistently," Zu'rub said, adding that Egypt has the power to alleviate the
pressure of the siege on Gaza.