history in the making | Photo 02

The crew of the fire-engine that acts as the symbol and mascot of the Viva Palestina convoy, currently undergoing repairs courtesy of some mechanics in Fez, Morocco. The bulk of the mile-long convoy, meanwhile, is either at or on its way to the Moroccan border town of Oujda.

Tomorrow, politicians around the world will watch in disbelief as the convoy of over 100 vehicles and 315 volunteers carrying more than a million pounds of aid to Gaza makes history by crossing from Morocco into Algeria. Or at least they would if this remarkable convoy organised by ordinary members of the British public was getting anything like the publicity that it so surely deserves.

In a magnificent gesture of solidarity with the people of Gaza, Morocco and Algeria have agreed to set aside their differences to open their land border for the first time since 1994 for the sake of the convoy, something that Condaleezza Rice failed on several occasions to persuade the two countries to do.

The Morocco-Algeria border was first closed following the Sahara war and remained closed into the Eighties. It was then closed again in 1994 following a terrorist strike on a hotel in Marrakech, which the Moroccan government believed had been organised by Algerian secret services.

Read Yvonne Ridley's blog from the convoy, from which this is paraphrased.

Make a donation in support of the people of GazaViva Palestina!Ilford HP5© mark kerrison