http://www.nytimes.com
Published: October 21, 2010

Gaza: Donated Vans Driven From Egypt
By Fares Akra
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Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists drove scores of donated vans into Gaza on Thursday after Egypt let them pass through. Kevin Ovenden of Viva Palestina, a group in London that sponsored the aid convoy, said at a news conference in Gaza that Middle East peace could be achieved only by including Hamas, the Islamist group that governs Gaza. The convoy of 140 vans started its journey last month in London. A ship picked up the convoy in Syria this week and docked in the Egyptian port of Al-Arish in the northern Sinai. Egypt is set to send the rest of the cargo to Gaza via ground crossings with Israel. Israel and Egypt have imposed an embargo on Gaza because of their dispute with Hamas, but international outcry, especially after the killings of nine activists in a Turkish flotilla last May, has caused some easing in the policy.