Five thousand miles and 23 days later, the large aid convoy spearheaded by British MP George Galloway yesterday arrived in Gaza.
The main problem that Galloway and his group encountered occurred in El-Arish, Egypt, where they were pelted with stones by thugs after Galloway criticized the Egyptian government for its role in helping to maintain the Israeli-ordained siege of Gaza. (He also, according to some reports had called for the Egyptian army to overthrow the regime. If that is true, it was not only impolitic and tactically unwise but actually an outrageous thing to advocate. Can anyone help me ascertain whether he did or not?)
AFP reports this from Gaza today:
- George Galloway on Tuesday donated thousands of dollars and dozens of vehicles to the Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip after arriving in an aid convoy.
“We are giving you now 100 vehicles and all of their contents, and we make no apology for what I am about to say. We are giving them to the elected government of Palestine,” Galloway said at a press conference in Gaza City.
Galloway said he personally would be donating three cars and 25,000 pounds to Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya as he dared the West to try to prosecute him for aiding what it considers a terror group.
“I say now to the British and European governments, if you want to take me to court, I promise you there is no jury in all of Britain who will convict me. They will convict you.”
Galloway made the announcement at an outdoor conference in the presence of several senior Hamas officials, and his words were greeted by shouts of “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Great).
… The convoy included 12 ambulances and a fire engine and carried aid worth more than one million pounds.
Thanks to George Galloway and to all who are defending the just cause!
Thank you Helina.
Hafid
Obviously it’s good that aid has reached Gaza, it’s also good to see so many people who care so deeply. And the thuggery of those pelted the convoy should be condemned in strong terms.
However, before lavishing praise on George Galloway, it’s worth noting that he did not ‘spearhead’ this initiative, and in fact he only joined it in Cairo so that he good benefit from the publicity without having to put in the hard slog. This is his modus operandi, and is reported by Sky News and Middle East Online: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=30838, http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Galloways-Gaza-Aid-Convoy-Halted-In-Egypt-In-Clashes-With-Security-Forces/Article/200903215237373.
Some other members of the Viva Palestina group have written to the Guardian complaining that the focus has been on Galloway, rather than the broad group of people who actually gave the impetus to the mission: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/09/viva-palestina-galloway-convoy-gaza.
His calls for the overthrow of the Egyptian government by the military are not surprising: he often says and does outrageous things. Apart from praising Saddam Hussein for his indefatigability, he also sought to expoit racial tensions in one of the poorest areas of east London in order to get elected. The Times reports his comments about the Egyptan government in compelling detail: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5872129.ece.
Have compassion on the people of Gaza, but don’t let people like George Galloway hijack it.
You are a great person, Helena !
Thank you so much.
Philip, I think you mischaracterise the Guardian letter writers’ complaint. They were complaining about the media’s almost exclusive focus on Galloway (to undermine the campaign?) and their sparse coverage of what was, by any standards, a large aid effort to help people living under illegal siege and occupation.
Egypt’s role in the blockade bears some scrutiny as does that of the EU who were bullied into a collective position on the elected Hamas government by its larger members.
France and Ireland have called for flexibility towards Hamas. Right wing European governments (Czech Republic, Germany, Italy) oppose this. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1059097.html
Chas Freeman is out.
AIPAC wins another one, but is it a pyrrhic victory?
Charles Freeman has withdrawn his name for the intelligence post for which he was so well qualified after another outrageous smear and threat campaign by the usual suspects.
Obama apparently lacked the guts to stand up to it. But there were a great many voices raised in defense this time and the public reaction to allowing the Lobby to run – or at least wield veto power over – US intelligence may be significant. The Lobby stands nakedly exposed as having opposed an eminently qualified appointee solely on the basis that he was not sufficiently pro – Israel.
The whole recognition of Hezbollah is what jumps out at me for now. This whole Gaza aid thing is great but without ANY change in policy towards Hamas and those borders, then I believe this will only prolong the agony.
Hopefully Britain can lead the way for a stronger EU position vis-a-vis Israel than U.S.
Thank you, George
If people like George Galloway were in charge of Britain I like to think that we would not have been joined at the hip with one vile U.S. administration after another, and we wouldn’t have been dragged into neocon wars on behalf of Israel.
We would have taken the precaution of firewalling ourselves against infection from America’s poxed financial institutions.
We would be trading happily with the Muslim world instead of conniving with the EU to grant undeserved advantages to Zionist business interests. We would not have bestowed a knighthood on the Israeli regime’s bloodthirsty president; and long ago all those connected with the Israel lobby would have been expelled from Westminster as agents of a foreign power.
The Royal Navy, instead of lurking in the Gulf, would now be patrolling the Gaza coast guaranteeing freedom of the seas to Gazan fishermen and merchant and passenger shipping wishing to do business in Palestine.
The British army, instead of being bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, would be in Gaza constructing the seaport and reinstating the airport, so that people could visit their friends without running the humiliating gauntlet of Israel’s neurotic security apparatus and businessmen could develop the seaside enclave’s vital import/export trade.
Say what you like about George Galloway… he’s made it possible for people to imagine the world as it ought to be.
God bless MP Galloway. People like him are demonized but theirs is a reward in heaven.