News
from Cairo and Gaza
ABCD
On January
1st, the 'Gaza Freedom March' announced the 'Cairo
Declaration'
aimed at accelerating the global campaign for
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli Apartheid.
On January 2nd, roughly 1400 activists from 43 countries converged in Cairo on their way to Gaza to join with Palestinians marching to break Israel's illegal siege. They were prevented from entering Gaza by the Egyptian
authorities.
On
Sunday, Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah border crossing, allowing those with permits to
cross. Around 133 people crossed from Gaza into Egypt - mostly students with visas for foreign countries, and patients in need urgent of medical
care. Another 25 people crossed the other direction - largely those who live in Egypt with family in Gaza, or Palestinians who had been unable to return home due to the border
closures. Although opened sporadically, the Rafah border crossing has largely remained shut - as have the Israeli-controlled crossings into Gaza
since June 2007.
