A governmental committee to break the siege in Gaza said that human right solidarity convoy ”Miles of Smiles 26” is to reach Gaza next Sunday, via Rafah crossing, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Aladdin al-Battah pointed out that the convoy will be charged with humanitarian aid and medical materials for the hospitals in besieged Gaza, and will include more than 30 activists from Arab and European countries.
He appreciated the Egyptian authorities’ decision to allow the convoy to pass through its territories, calling to facilitate the passage of convoys to the Gaza Strip.
The Commission indicated in its statistical report, last January, that the percentage of visiting delegations to Gaza had declined in the second half of last year by up to 95%, in comparison to the first half of the same year.
Israel has subjected the Gaza Strip to a policy of closure since 1991. However, the current, most extreme form, of closure has been applied continuously since 2007.
Apart from depriving the 1.8 million inhabitants of Gaza of basic goods and crippling the economy by preventing trade with the outside world, the closure regime has prolonged the suffering caused by the Israeli attacks on Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009.
