[Ismini Vlassopoulou/InTime News]
The 42 Greek citizens who arrived at Cairo Airport on Thursday morning intending to join the Gaza March, and were briefly detained by Egyptian authorities, have been cleared to enter Egypt, according to diplomatic sources.
From the early morning hours, the consul general of Greece in Cairo was present at the airport and maintained constant communication with them.
A statement posted on the website of the Greek Embassy in Cairo urges Greek citizens intending to participate in the march to Gaza to follow the instructions of local authorities.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that in order to access the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip, specifically the city of Arish and the Rafah border crossing, a special permit is required.
Egyptian authorities have deported more than three dozen activists, mostly holding European passports, upon their arrival at Cairo International Airport over the past two days, an Egyptian official told the Associated Press on Thursday.
The official said the activists aimed to travel to Northern Sinai “without obtaining required authorizations.”
To draw attention to the humanitarian crisis affecting the people of Gaza due to the Israeli aid blockade, thousands of marchers have spent months organizing a 30-mile (48-kilometer) trek across the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt’s border with the enclave.
The march, set to take place on Sunday, aims to “create international moral and media pressure” to open the Rafah crossing and lift the blockade.
According to reports, Greece has one of the largest contingents expected to participate, with hundreds of Greek activists planning to join the march. [Kathimerini, AP]