Iranian MPs to join Asian Gaza Convoy

A delegation of Iranian parliamentarians is set to accompany pro-Palestinian activists of Asian Gaza Convoy in the group's road trip to Gaza.   The Iranian delegation, comprised of seven lawmakers, will travel with the group to Syria and from there will head to Gaza via the Rafah crossing in Egypt to display their solidarity with the Palestinian people in their resistance against the Israeli regime, ISNA reported on Tuesday. A group of 50 activists, currently in Iran en route to Gaza, originally started their planned nine-country road convoy trip from New Delhi, India. The convoy estimates that it will arrive at the Rafah Crossing in late December to deliver its cargo of the much needed medical and relief supplies for the impoverished people in Gaza. “This group will board a ship in Syria destined for Egypt and since the Egyptian government has promised to grant us visas, the Iranian delegation will accompany the pro-Palestinian activists, said Majlis (parliament) member Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash. The member of Majlis Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy emphasized that Iran's Foreign Ministry has performed the required formalities to obtain entry visas to Egypt for the Iranian lawmakers. Bighash, Avaz Heidarpour, Parvi Sarvari, Ali Motahari, Ali Asghar Zarei, Hassan Ghafourifard and Shabib Jooyjari are the seven Iranian MPs that intend to join the Asian Gaza Convoy. The Asian People's Solidarity with Palestine convoy, which has travelled across Iran en route to Gaza, arrived in Tehran on Sunday and was greeted by the city's people and officials, including Tehran's Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. The caravan arrived Saturday in the holy city of Qom, where members of the convoy met with a number of the city's major religious figures. The convoy entered Iran through the southeastern city of Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchestan province on December 9. Tel Aviv imposed an economic siege on the Gaza Strip in June 2007 after Hamas took control of the coastal sliver. The illegal blockade has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic condition of the impoverished territory. Some 1.5 million Gazans are being denied of their basic rights, including freedom of movement, and the rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education. Poverty and unemployment rates stand at approximately 80 and 60 percent, respectively, in the Gaza Strip.