Egypt bans all Gaza aid convoys

From Daily News Egypt:

Aid convoys bound for the Gaza Strip will now be banned from traveling across Egypt after activists this week clashed with police, the foreign minister said in remarks published on Saturday.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit told government newspaper Al-Ahram that members of one convoy led by British MP George Galloway committed “criminal” acts on Egyptian soil on their way to the blockaded Palestinian coastal enclave.

“Egypt will no longer allow convoys, regardless of their origin or who is organising them, from crossing its territory,” Aboul Gheit said.

“Members of the (Viva Palestina) convoy committed hostile acts, even criminal ones, on Egyptian territory,” the foreign minister added without elaborating.

On Tuesday night activists with the Viva Palestina convoy clashed with police in Egyptian the port town of El-Arish, 45 kilometers from the Gaza border.

Seven protesters were arrested during Tuesday’s clashes, but police swapped them for four policemen held by the activists.

A prosecutor in El-Arish later issued warrants for the arrest of seven activists, including two Britons and an American woman.

I have yet to see any comment from the Viva Palestina folks, the Free Gaza movement or Code Pink on this development.