Soumoud Convoy urges Egypt to allow its passage to Rafah

The Soumoud Convoy, which left Tunis on Monday to break the siege of Gaza, urged Egyptian authorities to allow its passage to the city of Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip.

The Soumoud Convoy, a land mission aimed at breaking the Israeli siege on Gaza, is currently awaiting Egyptian approval to proceed to the Rafah border crossing in northeastern Egypt.

Egypt said on Wednesday that it backs efforts to put pressure on Israel to lift its blockade on Gaza, but added that any foreign delegations seeking to visit the border area must receive prior approval through official channels.

Egypt asserts the importance of putting pressure on Israel to end the blockade on the (Gaza) Strip, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It added that Egypt will not consider any requests or respond to any invitations submitted outside the framework defined by the regulatory guidelines and the mechanisms followed in this regard.

Israel’s defence minister on Wednesday called on Egypt to block two pro-Palestinian activist convoys calling the participants jihadist protesters.

I expect the Egyptian authorities to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border and not to allow them to carry out provocations or attempt to enter Gaza, Israel Katz said in a statement.

Katz added that such actions would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed.

However, the initiative faces several challenges, with Cairo wary that the arrival of thousands of participants of various nationalities near the Gaza border could descend into chaos, shifting pressure onto Egypt rather than Israel.

Another activist group, the Global March to Gaza, which is coordinating with Soumoud, said it is organising a separate mobilisation starting in Cairo on Friday.

Organisers said on Wednesday that around 4,000 participants are expected to join the march, adding they are not planning to enter Gaza.

According to the plan, activists would travel by bus to the city of Arish in northern Sinai before walking on foot for 50 kilometres to the Gaza border.

Participants would then camp near the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing for a few days and return to Cairo on June 19.

Speaking on Wednesday, Soumoud convoy spokesman Ghassen El-Henchiri said that the participants were still awaiting the necessary permits to enter Egyptian territory and had not received a formal response by mid-Wednesday. He added that the meeting with Egypt’s ambassador in Tunis had been positive.

Egypt maintains that prior authorisation is required for such visits. The only recognised route for permission is through official requests made via Egyptian embassies abroad, foreign embassies in Cairo, or through registered NGOs submitting applications to the ministry of foreign affairs.

The Soumoud Convoy departed the Libyan city of Zawiya early Wednesday morning, en route to Misrata via Tripoli, as part of a solidarity effort to break the Israeli siege on Gaza. It will continue its journey eastward through Libya, aiming to reach the Egyptian border and then proceed to the Rafah crossing.