Road to Hope (R2H) Convoy Reaches Gaza
Despite kidnapping, government obstacles and financial challenges
The Road to Hope Convoy reunited in Egypt after having been split by the Egyptian requirement to charter a ship from Libya to El Arish and the kidnapping of 10 convoy members from Libya to Greece. 3 members of the convoy travelled to Egypt by sea with 30 vehicles and £500,000 of humanitarian aid, 29 convoy members flew in a chartered jet from Libya to El Arish and 3 of the 10 kidnap victims flew from the UK and Greece to Egypt on November 21, 23 and 25, all reuniting on the 25th. The convoy was subsequently challenged by the Egyptian resistance to the 3 kidnapped convoy members rejoining the convoy, this because they had not flown in with the chartered jet from Libya. This was not possible however because of their inability to get new passports after having been separated from them against their will. Importantly, Egypt had approved travel to Gaza for all 3 of these convoy members just days before.
Being unable to negotiate the return of the kidnapped convoy members to the convoy they were compelled to jump into the vans when they proceeded from El Arish Port to Rafah. When the Egyptian authorities realized that these convoy members were among the entire convoy group at Rafah, they announced that these three would not be able to reach Gaza. Among these members was Ken O’Keefe, convoy leader and survivor of the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara. With the entire convoy standing firm, the Egyptian authorities reversed their decision after several hours and the entire convoy passed through to Gaza.
After a demanding and very long 7 week journey the convoy members have been given just over two days to stay in Gaza or risk joining the imprisoned population of Gaza; this is typical of the Egyptian control of the Rafah Crossing. 13members of the convoy were blacklisted by Egypt, including a seventy-year-old children’s entertainer and magician from Wales who was transporting toys for the children of Gaza. Also blacklisted was a Scottish national who has never left Scotland and has no affiliation with any organization, along with a 19 year-old British national, again with no associations that could be considered prohibitive. Several survivors of the Mavi Marmara were banned, along with British/Pakistani nationals and previous convoy members. This trend makes it harder and harder for people to support Palestine and should be considered a part of the overall blockade of Gaza.
The convoy members will do their best to experience as much of Gaza as possible and share with the world the reality of life for people entering four years of a brutal collective punishment policy. The vehicles and aid will be distributed to various charities and organizations that are doing invaluable work. Among the aid is medical equipment and medicines, wheel chairs, crutches, toys, clothes footballs and shoes.
Ken O’Keefe will remain in Gaza for 40 days (or longer if imprisoned) and begin daily video reports focusing on the children of Gaza. These will be posted at his Facebook and Twitter accounts and his blog.
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R2H Facts – The Road to Hope humanitarian aid convoy left London on the 10th of October with £500,000 of humanitarian aid for the besieged people of the Gaza Strip. The convoy travelled with over 100 members and 32 vehicles over 5,000 miles through the UK, France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya and Egypt.
Contact:
Ken O’Keefe (Gaza) +970 5977 52919
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/1worldcitizen
Twitter – http://twitter.com/1worldcitizen
Good luck to them all. This will not force the Israelis to lift the siege though will it? It might cause them some embarassment but won’t stop the punishment of Gaza
At Anon,
You are right. It wont force Israel to do anything. It will give the people of Gaza hope that there are many in the world who haven’t forgotten them, and it will inspire faith in humanity in general, when the “free world” is lead by men with a reptilian sense of ethics.
But only brute force will make Israel lift the siege. My scenario would be several Israeli troops captured in the next war in Lebanon (I’m not hoping for a war, but if one happens, I hope for such a result) and the Israelis will be forced to lift the siege as a condition for getting them back.
Other than that, I don’t see much else to lift the siege.
@Lysander: But only brute force will make Israel lift the siege
I am not so sure. Force – yes. But “brute” – I don’t think so.
Ken O’Keefe is preparing a large armada which shall set sail to Gaza sometimes early next year. I believe that if such an action is well organized, then the political costs of sustaining the siege of Gaza could be too high for Israel. I fully agree with Ken that a well-organized “peace armada” can totally render the entire Israeli Navy useless.
OT Putin hasn’t sold out to the US after all, despite Medvedev. He’s arguing that the euro should replace the dollar as world reserve currency.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26917.htm
Even if Kevin OKeefe embarasses the Israeli navy and delivers the supplies to Gaza that still won’t force the Israelis to lift the siege will it?
@anonymous:that still won’t force the Israelis to lift the siege will it?
I am convinced it could. The thing is, I think Ken is trying to achieve to different things:
a) make the Israelis look like the murderous bastards that they are.
b) ridicule them by breaking the siege in such a way as to inflict the maximal amount of loss of face on them.
If he is successful, and I hope he will, the Israelis will have a major political crisis on their hands. At that point they will try to save face by basically giving up.
Keep in mind that this siege of Gaza has absolutely ZERO objective reasons for it – it’s pure ideology. And when ideology clashes with reality, the latter always ends up winning.
I mean, really, does anybody seriously believe that the siege of Gaza is a sustainable long term policy?!
Of course not. Deep down, the Israelis must realize this, but they are way too ideological to allow something like a Palestinian democracy (the Israelis would call that “Hamasstan”) right next door because that would spell the end of Fatah and the rest of the collaborators in Ramallah and that, in turn, would become a major strategic problem for the Israeli plans to assimilate the West Bank.
But, of course, its not just the Israeli siege of Gaza which is doomed to failure, its their entire racist project, and all of it will slowly die, one step at a time.