(NEWS) Gaza-Bound Aid Convoy Arrives In Syrian Territories

"DAMASCUS, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Viva Palestina 5, a Gaza-bound international aid convoy, has crossed the Turkish-Syrian borders late Saturday.

The convoy which consists of 43 vehicles carrying medical, food aids and some 400 pro-Palestinian activists, arrived Saturday night in the Syrian Bab el-Hawa border point, 380 km north of Damascus. It was received by hundreds of Syrians and members of Palestinian organizations.



'The convoy aims at raising the international focus on Gaza,' Nichole Marsh, one of the convoy's leaders from New Zealand told Xinhua.

'It's led by British former parliament member George Galawi, who will join us within a couple of days,' she added.

Pippa Bartolotti, a pro-Palestinian activist from Britain, said 'the most important thing is to raise the attention of media, not the Syrian and Turkish media but the U.S. and British.'

Viva Palestina movement has organized three massive land convoys to Gaza in the last 18 months, all of which have delivered their aid.

Israel has imposed a comprehensive siege on Gaza Strip after Hamas achieved a vast majority in the Palestinian legislative elections in December 2006.

In May, Israeli navy forces stormed a Turkish Gaza-bound aid ship and detained some 700 people aboard. The incident killed at least nine pro-Palestinian activists, which sparked widespread condemnation." (source)