Italian organizations say the steel wall makes Egypt equal to Israel in the blockade of Gaza

[ 31/12/2009 - 11:27 AM ]

ROME, (PIC)--

A galaxy of Italian human rights organizations and dignitaries warned that the steel wall being built on the Palestinian-Egyptian borders would equalize Egypt with Israel in its blockade on the Gaza Strip.

In a letter to be handed Thursday to the Egyptian ambassador in Rome, the Italian organizations and figures said that Egypt has the right to take measure to protect its borders, but the blockade and starvation of Gaza people would not lead to stability in the region or give Egypt prestige and dignity.

The letter warned that Egypt’s wall would spread hatred between nations and would serve Israel alone, adding that it would cause a deep pain to the free peoples of the world.

In the same context, Al-Azhar scholars in Egypt strongly denounced their government for building the steel wall in Rafah border area, asserting that the construction of this wall is religiously forbidden and violates humanitarian law.

In a statement, the scholars urged the Arab and Muslim leaders to call for an urgent conference to take a position against the building of the steel wall and develop a comprehensive plan to lift the siege on Gaza.

The statement called for necessarily support the Palestinian resistance and its steadfastness in the face of the Israeli occupation.

The statement stressed that the protection of Gaza people safeguards the Egyptian national security and sovereignty and a sign of the interdependence and coherence of the Arab nation.

Swiss organizations, Algerian society condemn the steel wall

[ 31/12/2009 - 10:03 AM ]

BERN, (PIC)--

Twenty Swiss organizations have called for picketing the Egyptian embassy on Wednesday to protest the building of the steel wall under the Egyptian-Gaza borders while an Algerian society denounced the step.

The alliance of societies in solidarity with the Palestinian people, grouping 20 organizations, has said that the rally would also demand lifting the siege on Gaza and opening the Rafah border terminal.

The European solidarity movement with the Palestinian people has organized protest marches in London on Thursday to be followed by similar rallies in Greece, The Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland and Sweden on Saturday in front of the Egyptian embassies.

The demonstrators would denounce the wall and protest Cairo's refusal to allow more than 1,400 solidarity activists from heading to Rafah crossing to enter Gaza and for putting impediments before the Lifeline-3 aid convoy.

For its part, the Algerian society of Muslim scholars severely condemned Cairo for building the steel wall, adding that Gaza had suffered enough over more than three years of tight siege.

It called on the Egyptian scholars to rise up and demand an end to Gaza's strangulation.

Batsh: Steel wall an Egyptian mistake

[ 31/12/2009 - 09:52 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Khaled Al-Batsh, one of the senior leaders of the Islamic Jihad Movement, has rejected Egypt's construction of an underground steel wall along its borders with Gaza Strip as a "racist wall".

He said in a statement on Wednesday that there was no justification whatsoever for the building of that wall, adding that it was a mistake on the part of the Egyptian leadership.

The Jihad leader charged that the wall was meant as an additional pressure tool on the Palestinians, who have been under siege in Gaza for three consecutive years.

The Palestinians have never posed threats to the Egyptian national security, Batsh said, demanding an immediate halt to the construction of that wall.

He said that Egypt should have rather eased the siege on Gaza rather than build that wall, and championed uniting Palestinian ranks and rallying behind resistance in a bid to confront this new crisis.

For his part, Dr. Ahmed Bahar, the first deputy speaker of the Palestinian legislative council's (PLC) speaker, asked Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak not to bow to Zio-American pressures and to stop building that wall.

He told a rally for medical teams on Wednesday at the PLC courtyard that Egypt should open the Rafah crossing at least for the patients.

Gov't anti siege committee organizes protest march to Erez

[ 31/12/2009 - 09:42 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The government committee against the siege has announced that a rally would be organized near the Beit Hanun (Erez) crossing in northern Gaza Strip to protest the siege on Gaza and the Egyptian authorities' obstruction of an international march in solidarity with Gaza.

The committee in a statement on Wednesday said that the rally would be organized in the same date and place where more than 1,500 foreign activists where planning to picket.

The statement said that a number of war victims would attend the rally, and added that a press conference would be organized at conclusion of the rally.

More than 1,500 foreigners had gathered in Cairo in preparation for a march which they called "Freedom for Gaza" on the first anniversary of the Israeli war on Gaza but the Egyptian authorities blocked their march outside Cairo, as they were planning to march to Rafah and then enter Gaza.

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