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OPT: Egypt shows solidarity

"By allowing Palestinians to cross the border at Rafah, Egypt is giving a clear invitation to the world community to show a wholly different level of solidarity towards the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip. Norway must follow suit", says Secretary General of Norwegian People's Aid, Petter Eide.

Norwegian People's Aid has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a meeting in order to discuss the acute situation on the Gaza Strip.

"It is time that Norway called in the Israeli ambassador for a dressing down. The situation on the Gaza Strip is extreme and requires extreme action", says Eide.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured across the border to Egypt following the explosions that breached the border on Tuesday night. They bought clothes, medicines, fuel and other necessities which are impossible to get hold of on the Gaza Strip owing to the Israeli blockade. Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak says he took the decision to allow the Palestinians across the border.

"The sheer number of people streaming across the border to Egypt to buy the most basic products shows how Israel's blockade has turned Gaza into a pressure cooker, and that the lid has now come off. There is no way the one-off deliveries to arrive from Israel yesterday can be said to meet the current demand and Israeli warnings of continued closure to deliveries will simply lead to an ever-increasing lack of necessities and a consequent increase in humanitarian problems", says Eide.

"The solution to the current situation is to ensure the normal freedom of movement across the borders into Gaza and to allow unrestricted delivery of goods and fuel", he emphasises.

The Norwegian People's Aid local office in Gaza was forced to close its doors on Tuesday owing to power cuts but was able to reopen for a few hours the following day.