GAZA, (PIC)-- First deputy speaker of the Palestinian legislative council Dr. Ahmed Bahar has asked Cairo to allow entry of the humanitarian aid convoy that was heading to the Gaza Strip in the company of a nine-member Egyptian parliamentary delegation.
Bahar hoped on receiving the Egyptian lawmakers, who were allowed into Gaza on Tuesday without the aid convoy, that Cairo would retain the Rafah border terminal open for ever.
Mohammed Al-Beltaji, a member of the convoy, said that the Egyptian people were supportive of their Palestinian brethren, charging the Egyptian government of being responsible for the siege on Gaza.
He called on Cairo to permanently open the Rafah border terminal and allow free entry of aid to the besieged people of Gaza.
Beltaji told the PIC in a separate statement on Tuesday night that he was disappointed at the Egyptian security authority's refusal to allow entry of the Egyptian aid convoy into Gaza.
He said that the convoy included construction material such as cement and iron, describing the aid shipment as symbolic.
The MP said that the aid convoys to Gaza would not stop until the "oppressive siege" is lifted.
Beltaji opined that the Israeli siege on Gaza aimed at pressuring resistance into accepting conditions of the international quartet committee.
Meanwhile, senior Egyptian sources told the PIC on Tuesday that Egypt was pondering closure of the Rafah crossing anew within the few coming days following the meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh between Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and American vice president Joe Biden.
The sources said that Washington was pressuring Cairo in this regard, adding that the Egyptian decision to open the crossing for an indefinite period was meant to calm down the angry reactions in the Arab and Egyptian streets.
They pointed out that Cairo would only allow passage of foodstuff and medicines while blocking entry of construction material at the pretext they might be used in resistance operations.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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