12 April 2009

Egypt Steals 2 Million Dollars Meant for Gazans

Egyptian security forces have arrested a man who was attempting to transfer USD 2 million of aid to the beleaguered Gaza Strip.

The man, named Hassan Mohamed Hassouna, was trying to take the sum to the northern Sinai Peninsula from which it was supposed to reach the Palestinians, in desperate need of aid after three weeks of Israeli onslaught.

Last week, however, the Egyptian security forces arrested Hassouna, his driver and eight-year-old son in Cairo before putting the three in detention, Reuters reported.

The arrest follows other instances in which Cairo prevented the Israeli-blockaded coastal strip from receiving financial assistance.

Substantially restraining the area, Egypt closed its Rafah border crossing with the strip when it came under unrelenting Israeli raids claiming the border post was an Egyptian-Israeli crossing and should not be used without the Tel Aviv's permission.

The Rafah crossing is the Gaza Strip's only border that bypasses Israel. Right and Humanitarian groups have been frequently stalled in Egypt before they could find their way into the coastal strip to deliver aid and supplies.

Egypt's actions have prompted strong reactions from the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah which holds Cairo responsible for the aggravation of the current oppression against the Palestinian public. source