British MP George Galloway was officially deported from Cairo today (Friday), when Egyptian plain-clothes police officers bundled him onto a London plane.
Galloway had been trying to return to Rafah after news broke that seven of the Viva Palestina convoy members were said to be arrested. Police, who at one point were numbered at 25 mainly plain-clothes officers, refused to allow him to return.
Several officers even followed Galloway to the toilet, rest room and a BA lounge.
The incident began after George Galloway and his colleague Ron McKay arrived at the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt.
As soon as they emerged onto Egyptian soil both Men were forcibly pushed into a van, refused exit and told that they were leaving the country. They were then driven off in a police convoy. Viva Palestina convoy of 550 people from 17 countries was attacked by Egyptian riot police and plane clothes intelligence officers in the early hours of Wednesday (6th January). 55 of the convoy members were injured and 7 were also arrested.
However Galloway and Turkish MP's struck a deal with Egyptian authorities, part of this deal was that the 7 detainees were released without charge.
On the enforced drive to Cairo, news came through of the imminent arrest of the 7 but when Galloway demanded to return to Rafah, permission was repeatedly denied.
Meanwhile, MP George Galloway vowed that more aid convoys would be organized for Gaza from Venezuela, South Africa and Malaysia.
Speaking at a program for Al-Jazeera TV on Wednesday night, he said that the Venezuelan and South African presidents would head their countries' convoys while former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohammed would head his country's aid convoy.
Galloway lashed out at the Egyptian authorities for assaulting members of the Lifeline-3 convoy in El-Arish just for bringing food and medicine to the besieged people of Gaza.
The Egyptian authorities promised to allow the convoy to enter Gaza through El-Arish harbor but they did not live up to their promises on the contrary they "besieged us, they locked us up, they betrayed us", he said.
The MP described El-Arish incidents as a "shame on Egypt", expressing conviction that 80% of the Egyptian people do not approve the way his convoy was treated.

PIC/Ab.