From the beginning of our trip we intended to cross into Israel from Jordan. There were no guarantees we would get in given the nature of our cycle. However after several hours at the border at Sheik Hussein Bridge we succeeded. The reason for approaching Gaza this way was to bring home that the responsibility for the well-being of the civilian population in the West Bank and Gaza (i.e. Occupied Palestinian Territories) lies with the occupying state, i.e. Israel. If you look at the map of Gaza there are two crossings that are currently in use, Erez on the Israeli side and Rafah on the Egyptian side. We wanted to take our bikes and vehicle through Erez. However we received news that Rafah was going to open during our stay and that we stood a much better chance of getting our vehicle in. We were armed with a letter of invitation from the UN and we applied for permission to enter both crossings with the relevant authorities. On the application document stated that a decision would be made after 5 days. As we contemplated heading towards Erez (the Israeli crossing) our application to enter was now being processed for over two weeks! Without permission we knew we would waste a lot of time and we were advised that our vehicle would never succeed in getting in. Furthermore Israel usually comes up with a bureaucratic excuse for refusing entry and would be more effective in communicating this to the media (e.g. failure to present correct documents). With the Rafah crossing opening on the Egyptian side we decided to hop in our van and leave Israel via the only crossing that lets private vehicles into Egypt; the southern most point of Israel, Eliat. Once inside Eygpt we travelled overnight through the Sinai towards Rafah but at 4am we were pulled in at a military checkpoint 170km from Gaza. After much questioning we were escorted the rest of the journey by military vehicles. Upon reaching Rafah we attempted to cross but were rejected twice. We received no explanation as to why we were refused and the Irish embassy is still seeking the reason for this refusal in writing. After speaking to members of the International Camp that protests against the closure of Rafah crossing the military requested that we leave. Eventually after just 3 hours we were once again under military escort the entire journey to Cairo.

At least six parties have an interest in the operation of Rafah - the Hamas government (Gaza), the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Egypt, Israel, the EU and the USA. Diplomats and UN agencies in Gaza are unsure who really controls Rafah. Israel says it no longer has a presence there or any control. Hamas officials say Egypt now has full control but most people suspect that the Egyptians work with Israel on the limited operation of the crossing. As I understand it the Egyptians want to keep Rafah closed otherwise with the Israeli crossings practically shut Gaza would be effectively passed off to them. Also they are no friends of Hamas, the democratically elected authority that currently governs Gaza.