VIVA! VIVA! PALESTINA!
17.30 GMT Wednesday 6th January
One month, thousands of miles, ten countries, one ship and a four flights later, Viva Palestina has begun to enter the besieged Gaza Strip.
"We are all emotional to see that all of Gaza are out to greet us! Our Viva Palestina convoy is symbolic! It shows the Palestianian people just how much the people of the West do care.
" We come in peace to deliver humanitarian aid and we hope that our convoy (and convoy's like ours) will help to build pressure on the Israeli government to break the siege."
Kevin Ovenden, convoy leader
18.30 GMT - Convoy continues to move into the strip to be greeted by flowers and flag-waving crowds. Press conference later to be followed tomorrow with ceremony to hand over the aid.
Up to the minute reports from the convoy can be found by CLICKING HERE and on Twitter
Al-Jazerra reports belowincluding interview with George Galloway MP - "The Palestinians will never be starved into surrrender."
Press TV reports below
Short but oh so sweet! - Headlines from Al-Jazeera
“It is shocking that the Egyptian government is behaving in this way. There can be no justification for preventing this aid and the people who have worked so hard to provide it from reaching Gaza . The Palestinians are waiting for this well publicised international convoy to arrive and these actions of the Egyptian government, and the building of Egypt's steel wall signal that Egypt is colluding with the Israeli government's illegal siege of Gaza.”
Betty Hunter, General Secretary of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Press TV analysis ands interview with Betty Hunter below
Part 1Part 2
Latest Radio Islam Interview with Kevin Ovenden and George Galloway
CLICK HERE
Viva Palestina: More Than 10 Injured, Seven Arrested
EL-ARISH PORT, Jan 6 (Bernama) -- More than 10 members of the Viva Palestina convoy were injured, four of them seriously, and seven members arrested by Egyptian police during a protest here Tuesday at 11.40pm local time.
Among those arrested was a Malaysian, Ibrahim Mohd Azmi, a University of Bristol medical student who was a convoy volunteer.
The protest was staged by Viva Palestina convoy members to protest against the decision by the Eqyptian government to bar 59 convoy vehicles from leaving here for Gaza.
SKY NEWS REPORT HERE
Turkish TV Report HERE
Press TV Report below
Crisis in Egypt
Viva Palestina faced with 2,000 riot police in the port of Al-Arish!
To all friends of Palestine,
Our situation is now at a crisis point! Riot has broken out in the port of Al- Arish.
This late afternoon we were negotiating with a senior official from Cairo who left negotiations some two hours ago and did not return. Our negotiations with the official was regarding taking our aid vehicles into Gaza.
He left two hours ago and did not come back. Egyptian authorities called over 2,000 riot police who then moved towards our camp at the port.
We have now blocked the entrance to the port and we are now faced with riot police and water cannons and are determined to defend our vehicles and aid.
The Egyptian authorities have by their stubbornness and hostility towards the convoy, brought us to a crisis point.
We are now calling upon all friends of palestine to mount protests in person where possible, but by any means available to Egyptian representatives, consulates and Embassy's and demand that the convoy are allowed a safe passage into Gaza tomorrow!
Kevin Ovenden Viva Palestina Convoy Leader
Contact details including email addresses and phone numbers of Egyptian Embassies and consulates can be found here
Click here to read an example of one email sent this evening - feel free to use/amend, etc.
Up to the minute reports from the convoy can be found by CLICKING HERE.
Images from Al-Arish
14.00 GMT: Convoy vehicles begin to leave port at Al-Arish
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