The brother of one of the Dundee activists stalled on an overland aid mission to Gaza has described the hold-up as “frustrating.”
Khalid El-Awaisi heard from his brother Ali briefly on Friday when he phoned home from the aid convoy waiting in Libya to be allowed into Egypt.
“Ali said the Egyptians were not allowing them through and they might be waiting there for a week,” said Khalid. “I am really disappointed this is happening after it was agreed beforehand.
“The Egyptians have said they can still go by sea or air but the point is they are a land convoy.”
The Road to Hope convoy of 35 vehicles left Britain over two weeks ago equipped with vital medical aid to deliver to Gaza.
Once they have reached their destination the activists plan to leave the vehicles and fly home so the Palestinians can use them for ambulances and other transportation.
Khalid said, “There’s currently negotiations and diplomacy, but it’s frustrating because you are trying to deliver aid and it’s not actually Israel that’s stopping them, but other countries they have agreements with.”
He added that many of the 90 people taking part in the convoy are professionals with only a limited amount of time off from their day jobs meaning the delay is putting further strain on the success of the mission.