Lifeline 3
Encyclopedia
Lifeline 3, or in full Viva Palestina — a lifeline to Gaza, 3 was a convoy
carrying humanitarian aid
, solidarity, and a political message. It was led by George Galloway
(a member of the Respect Party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom
) and Viva Palestina
, a British
registered charity. It travelled from the United Kingdom
to the Gaza Strip
during the winter of 2009–10, collecting volunteers and vehicles from other countries along the way, notably Turkey
, due to the IHH (İnsani Yardım Vakfı)
organisation. The Gaza Strip has been blockaded by Israel
and Egypt
since 2007, when Hamas
took power in the territory following its victory in the Palestinian legislative election, 2006
.
A Palestinian
protest in support of the convoy culminated in the fatal shooting of an Egyptian border guard by person unknown. Violent clashes between convoy members and Egyptian police led to the deportation of Galloway and other members from Egypt and a declaration by the Egyptian government that no similar convoys would be allowed to pass through the country in the future.
and spent five days there negotiating with the Egyptian consul for passage through Egypt's Red Sea
port. A statement from the Egyptian ministry of information said that Galloway had been told before the convoy's departure that the group had to travel through the Mediterranean port of El Arish. Failing to receive permission, the convoy travelled to the Syria
n Mediterranean port of Latakia
and from there to El Arish.
delegation – would have to pass through Israel on their way to the Gaza Strip. Galloway alleged that the stipulation was a breach of an earlier agreement, while an Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that nobody had been misled and that the activists were coordinating with Hamas to create problems.
The clash began at the El-Arish port building. The activists broke a security gate, leading to a fracas that Egyptian police subdued with water cannons. Activists and police were also seen hurling rocks at each other. According to an anonymous Egyptian security official, the activists blocked the port gates with trucks, burned tires, and briefly captured a police officer and four of his men, injuring them. Dozens of protesters and police were injured. Seven convoy members were arrested and ordered arrested again if they returned to Egypt.
s at Egyptian border guards and some attempted to scale the border fence. An Egyptian border guard was fatally shot (by whom is uncertain), and 10 Palestinians were injured, some very seriously, after gunfire erupted on both sides of the border.
Mosques throughout Egypt criticized Hamas over the killing of the Egyptian soldier during the Friday prayers on 8 January. London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi
reported that most of the 140,000 mosques operating under the auspices of Egypt's Ministry of Awqaf took part in the criticism. Egyptian government officials and media columnists also launched a scathing attack on Hamas.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri
said the Egyptian soldier was accidentally killed by Egyptian soldiers who had opened fire on a group of Palestinian youths demonstrating near the border.
and permanently banned from the country.
The Foreign Ministry of Egypt released a statement reading: "George Galloway is considered persona non grata and will not be allowed to enter into Egypt again". Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit
stated that "members of the convoy committed hostile acts, even criminal ones, on Egyptian territory," and declared that "Egypt will no longer allow convoys, regardless of their origin or who is organizing them, from crossing its territory".
Shortly after his deportation Galloway said, "It is a badge of honour to be deported by a dictatorship" and "I've been thrown out of better joints than that." He also stated, "I wish that Egypt and Britain had leaders like[ Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan
."
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
carrying humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
, solidarity, and a political message. It was led by George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
(a member of the Respect Party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
) and Viva Palestina
Viva Palestina
Viva Palestina is a British-based registered charity which came into being in January 2009 with the initial intention of running a humanitarian aid convoy to the Gaza Strip...
, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
registered charity. It travelled from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
during the winter of 2009–10, collecting volunteers and vehicles from other countries along the way, notably Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, due to the IHH (İnsani Yardım Vakfı)
IHH (Insani Yardim Vakfi)
IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation or İHH is an Islamic Turkish NGO active in more than 100 countries.Established in 1992 and officially registered in Istanbul in 1995, İHH...
organisation. The Gaza Strip has been blockaded by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
since 2007, when Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
took power in the territory following its victory in the Palestinian legislative election, 2006
Palestinian legislative election, 2006
On January 25, 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council , the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority . Notwithstanding the 2005 municipal elections and the January 9, 2005 presidential election, this was the first election to the PLC since 1996; subsequent...
.
A Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
protest in support of the convoy culminated in the fatal shooting of an Egyptian border guard by person unknown. Violent clashes between convoy members and Egyptian police led to the deportation of Galloway and other members from Egypt and a declaration by the Egyptian government that no similar convoys would be allowed to pass through the country in the future.
Travel to Egypt
The convoy departed from London on 6 December 2009. It reached the Jordanian harbour of AqabaAqaba
Aqaba is a coastal city in the far south of Jordan, the capital of Aqaba Governorate at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Aqaba is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country's only seaport. Aqaba is best known today as a diving and beach resort, but industrial activity remains important...
and spent five days there negotiating with the Egyptian consul for passage through Egypt's Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
port. A statement from the Egyptian ministry of information said that Galloway had been told before the convoy's departure that the group had to travel through the Mediterranean port of El Arish. Failing to receive permission, the convoy travelled to the Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n Mediterranean port of Latakia
Latakia
Latakia, or Latakiyah , is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages...
and from there to El Arish.
Clash with Egyptian police
On 5 January 2010, some members of the convoy clashed with Egyptian police in El-Arish following Egypt's stipulation that 59 vehicles – 33 of them empty saloon (sedan) cars donated by the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
delegation – would have to pass through Israel on their way to the Gaza Strip. Galloway alleged that the stipulation was a breach of an earlier agreement, while an Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that nobody had been misled and that the activists were coordinating with Hamas to create problems.
The clash began at the El-Arish port building. The activists broke a security gate, leading to a fracas that Egyptian police subdued with water cannons. Activists and police were also seen hurling rocks at each other. According to an anonymous Egyptian security official, the activists blocked the port gates with trucks, burned tires, and briefly captured a police officer and four of his men, injuring them. Dozens of protesters and police were injured. Seven convoy members were arrested and ordered arrested again if they returned to Egypt.
Gaza border riot
On 6 January 2010, Hamas staged a protest at the Gaza-Egypt border over the delay in the convoy's arrival. Hundreds of Hamas loyalists threw rocks and Molotov cocktailMolotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s at Egyptian border guards and some attempted to scale the border fence. An Egyptian border guard was fatally shot (by whom is uncertain), and 10 Palestinians were injured, some very seriously, after gunfire erupted on both sides of the border.
Mosques throughout Egypt criticized Hamas over the killing of the Egyptian soldier during the Friday prayers on 8 January. London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi
Al-Quds Al-Arabi
Al-Quds Al-Arabi , is an independent pan-Arab daily newspaper published in London since 1989. The paper is owned by Palestinian expatriates, and edited by Abd al-Bari Atwan who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Gaza Strip in 1950. Its motto is . Its circulation is estimated to be...
reported that most of the 140,000 mosques operating under the auspices of Egypt's Ministry of Awqaf took part in the criticism. Egyptian government officials and media columnists also launched a scathing attack on Hamas.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri
Sami Abu Zuhri
Sami Abu Zuhri is a senior spokesman for the Palestinian political party Hamas. Zuhri, a relatively unknown member of Hamas, gained notoriety on May 19, 2006, when Palestinian security and customs officials discovered he had 640,000 euros on his person; another report claimed he held a larger sum...
said the Egyptian soldier was accidentally killed by Egyptian soldiers who had opened fire on a group of Palestinian youths demonstrating near the border.
Deportation from Egypt
On 8 January 2010, George Galloway was deported from Egypt, declared persona non grataPersona non grata
Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...
and permanently banned from the country.
The Foreign Ministry of Egypt released a statement reading: "George Galloway is considered persona non grata and will not be allowed to enter into Egypt again". Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit
Ahmed Aboul Gheit
Ahmed Aboul-Gheit is an Egyptian diplomat who was the Foreign Minister of Egypt from 11 July 2004 to 6 March 2011, since the government of Ahmed Nazif took office. Aboul-Gheit previously served as Egypt's ambassador to the United Nations. In December 2005 he began mediating the Chad-Sudan conflict...
stated that "members of the convoy committed hostile acts, even criminal ones, on Egyptian territory," and declared that "Egypt will no longer allow convoys, regardless of their origin or who is organizing them, from crossing its territory".
Shortly after his deportation Galloway said, "It is a badge of honour to be deported by a dictatorship" and "I've been thrown out of better joints than that." He also stated, "I wish that Egypt and Britain had leaders like
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
."