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Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip on Sunday allowing only for permitted entries. The temporary move that expires tomorrow follows the denied entry last week of the vast majority of international activists who had gathered in Cairo to participate in the Gaza Freedom March. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry had previously cited a “sensitive situation” in closing the border to those seeking to meet up with Palestinian demonstrators on New Year’s Eve in Gaza in the effort calling for the end of the Israeli siege of the territory. The march on the Israeli Erez border was also set to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Israel’s “Operation Cast Lead” assault on Gaza. On Wednesday, an exception was made to allow entry for up to one hundred international activists and more than eighty delegates eventually crossed. The rest of the nearly 1,300 Gaza Freedom marchers from over 40 countries remained in Cairo as solidarity demonstrations were held throughout the week. On New Year’s Eve, hundreds of protestors, including many from the United States, were assaulted by plainclothes Egyptian security forces. Nevertheless, actions continued on New Year’s Day outside of the Israeli Embassy in Cairo as the Gaza Freedom March issued a declaration calling on an end to Israeli apartheid.

GUEST: Yvonne Lidley, a Gaza Freedom Marcher

For more information, visit www.gazafreedommarch.org.