Egypt willing to give RI aid access to Gaza

INDONESIA: The Embassy of Egypt in Jakarta refuted allegation that their government had denied Asian convoy activists bringing aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip through the Egyptian border.

The Embassy said the Egyptian government acknowledged the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and the harsh living conditions imposed by the unjust blockade on the strip. “Therefore, our government has been swift in granting access to both Indonesian aid convoy as well as the ‘Asia to Gaza Solidarity Caravan’,” the Embassy said in the press statement, on Thursday.

This fact, the Embassy added, was in line with what had been reported in the Antara news agency on Jan. 3, detailing that an official reception has been accorded to convoy members by the governor of North Sinai.

In addition, the chairman of North Sinai Red Crescent Gen. (ret.) Osama Serghani had welcomed the humanitarian assistance from Indonesia. “This is the first foreign assistance for Palestine in 2011,” he said. — JP