Tension rises at Egypt-Gaza border over international aid convoy delay

The border guard was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper while hundreds of Gazan youths hurled stones across the border at the Egyptian security forces, Egyptian security officials told Reuters on Wednesday. The incident came after the Egyptian police and members of the British-based Viva Palestina aid convoy clashed at the nearby Mediterranean port of El-Arish the night before when Egypt refused to allow part of the convoy to pass. The intermittent clashes at the port lasted for a couple of hours and left more than 50 activists and over a dozen members of the security forces injured. Activists briefly seized some policemen as well.

The convoy headed for the Rafah border gate to cross into Gaza on Wednesday following a deal with Egyptian authorities, who allowed 139 vehicles carrying aid materials to enter Gaza, banning 59 others.

But the clashes the day before add to the embarrassment of Egypt, which has come under fire from Arab and Muslim groups for cooperating with Israel in its 28-month blockade of the impoverished territory. The blockade was imposed after Hamas violently seized control of the territory from the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

More than 500 international activists accompanied the convoy, bringing tons of humanitarian supplies, as well as vehicles, to Gaza. The group includes British, American, Jordanian and Turkish activists and lawmakers.

The scuffle broke out late on Tuesday at an El-Arish port building when authorities told the organizers that out of the nearly 200 vehicles, some 59 couldn’t enter Gaza through Egypt, but must go through Israeli terminals. A security official said the vehicles in question are carrying pickup trucks, sedans, generators and other equipment, which are not allowed to pass through the Egyptian crossing at Rafah and must go via Israel. Only medical aid and passengers are allowed through, the official said.

British MP George Galloway told Sky News television that Egypt had violated an earlier agreement when it banned the entry of some of the vehicles. “We refused this because it’s a breach of the agreement which we reached,” he said. “It is completely unconscionable that 25 percent of our convoy should go to Israel and never arrive in Gaza, because nothing that goes to Israel ever arrives in Gaza.”

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said the rules were clear from the start and accused the activists of coordinating with Hamas to create problems. He said the private automobiles are not considered humanitarian goods and must enter from Israel. “We didn’t mislead anyone. They have their interests ... and they want to make up problems and clash with Egypt,” he told The Associated Press.

Egyptian authorities had already refused the convoy entry into the country from the Red Sea, forcing it to change course to the Mediterranean port. “We are activists. We condemn the Israeli siege to start with. We will only enter through an Egyptian-Palestinian crossing,” said Wael al-Sakka, a Jordanian activist.

Al-Sakka said the police charged a peaceful sit-in at the gates of the port. He said the group was not allowed to get out of the port building, denying government claims that they had taken control of the premises. “The Egyptians were too high-strung. The police are the reason for the tension,” al-Sakka said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had had late-night telephone conversations with his Egyptian counterpart on Tuesday to end the standoff at El-Arish port, Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Özügergin told the Anatolia news agency on Wednesday.

Abbas in Ankara

The tensions over the aid convoy coincided with the arrival of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Turkey for a visit. Representatives from Arab countries’ embassies in Ankara were present at the airport to greet Abbas, but there were no officials from the Egyptian Embassy.

Abbas was to discuss Middle East peace efforts as tensions mount over Israel’s approval of four new apartment buildings in disputed east Jerusalem. President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were to have talks with Abbas later on Wednesday to discuss US efforts to restart peace talks. A scheduled Gül-Abbas joint press conference was canceled because Gül has cold, officials at his office said. The two leaders were to meet at a dinner.

The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem for a future capital and demand all construction there to stop before negotiations resume. The latest project is being developed in the heart of a predominantly Arab area of the city and is potentially even more contentious than others because it is not in any of the established Jewish neighborhoods.