Al Hoss describes Egyptian obstruction to Viva Palestina as a painful development

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Dr Saleem Al Hoss today described the obstruction which the Viva Palestina convoy encountered on its way to Gaza to deliver aid to the blockaded territory as obstacles not from the “Israeli” enemy ‘but from an Arab source’, namely Egypt. ‘This is not only painful but tragic’, he said.

Dr Al Hoss noted in a statement the convoy was stopped in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba for five days before Turkey managed to mediate their onward journey. He asked, ‘where is the Arab sense of pride, where is the patriotic responsibility, where is the human compassion?’ The former Lebanese leader said if Egypt was really democracy that represents the will of its people its ruler would not have been able to pursue the path he has adopted. Democracy would have reflected the true will of the Egyptian people through loyalty to their Arab brothers and they would never have accepted what is happening.

Dr Al Hoss said ‘there are droves of foreign sympathizers with the people of Gaza demanding entry into the Strip and they are still awaiting permission to do so. If they wanted to enter Israel, they [the Egyptian authorities] would have opened the crossings for them without the least hesitation. Strange how we have become closer to our enemies than our Arab brothers,’ he said.

Source: Al Khaleej, Beirut