Maghreb land convoy heads to Gaza in effort to break the siege

A convoy of thousands of volunteers, who include diplomats, has set out from Algeria yesterday heading for Tunisia and onwards to Gaza in an effort to break the siege.

Carrying vital supplies including food, water and medical aid, the convoy is due to drive through Tunisia, where more vessels are due to join, then onwards to Libya, then Egypt and through to the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza.

The Coordinating Committee for Joint Action for Palestine in Tunisia said: “Participants in the convoy will head to the Ras Jedir border crossing on the Tunisian-Libyan border, then travel along the Libyan coastal road to Cairo, and finally reach the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian-Palestinian border to deliver messages of solidarity and aid to the people of Gaza.”

The land convoy will include union and political figures, as well as human rights activists, lawyers, doctors, journalists, and members of youth organisations.

On 31 May, Wael Nawar, spokesperson for the Caravan of Steadfastness initiative, reported that thousands of people from Tunisia and other Maghreb countries had joined the convoy.

“The convoy will include delegations from Mauritania, Morocco, and Algeria, as well as thousands from Tunisia and Libya. We will head directly to Cairo, then to Al-Arish in Egypt, and finally to Rafah [in southern Gaza],” Nawar said according to the Palestinian Information Centre.

He confirmed that as of 30 May, more than 7,000 people of various Maghreb nationalities had registered to join the convoy.

Several Tunisian organisations expressed their support for and participation in the convoy, including the Tunisian General Labour Union, the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate, the National Bar Association of Tunisia, the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, the Tunisian Medical Council, and the Tunisian Organisation of Young Doctors.