Israeli Defense Minister Katz called in Egypt on Wednesday to prevent militants from reaching Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip and entering Palestinian territory as Egyptian authorities said they would ask militants to obtain entry permits.
Kaz said in a statement that allowing militants to enter Gaza would endanger the security of Israeli forces and would not be allowed. Israeli troops currently control the Gaza side of the Rafah border.
Earlier, Egyptian authorities called on militants to go from Tunisia to the official permits on the border with Gaza in solidarity with Palestinian civilians. According to the TAP of the state news agency, about 200 people in Algeria, about 200 militants from buses and cars set off by bus and cars from Tunisia.
They hope to travel through Libya and Egypt to reach the crossing of Rafa and Gaza in order to protest Israel's actions in the war.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in Cairo that activists must submit applications through the Egyptian embassy, Cairo's foreign mission or directly through the organization.
“Access to border areas must comply with strict regulations and prior coordination through official channels. Requests should be submitted in advance,” the ministry said in a statement.
It added that Egypt stressed that any delegation that bypassed these agreements would not be allowed in.
An Egyptian security source said authorities arrested more than 100 militants when they arrived in the country.
Among them are 52 French, 67 Algeria, 13 Moroccan and 8 Libyan nationals.
The convoy has traveled through several cities in Tunisia, from there into neighboring Libya. It will continue along the Mediterranean coast to Egypt and finally along Rafa.
Ahmed Ghniyah, the “unwavering” Western coordinator, reportedly received about 400 requests when Libyan volunteers were eager to join the aid convoy.
Militants say they want to use their convoys to draw attention to humanitarian emergencies in the Gaza Strip and protest the Israeli attack.
The plan is to get them on Friday walk about 50 kilometers from the coastal town of Al-Alish to the border crossing point on Rafah. They plan to demonstrate there for a few days starting Sunday.
Participants of the “flexible fleet” hold the Palestinian flag. The Sumud convoy is composed of civil society volunteers who travel from Tunisia to Gaza through Libya and Egypt, trying to break the Israeli siege. hasan mrad/images live Zuma Press Wire/DPA
