Egypt's first lady leads pro-Palestinian march

RAFAH, Egypt -- Egypt's first lady led a march of humanitarian volunteers Monday and then watched from a reviewing stand as a line of Egyptian trucks and ambulances headed to the Gaza Strip with aid for the Palestinians.

The scene of official compassion and largesse came amid anger among many Arabs at Israel's actions against Palestinians. The convoy's send-off occurred hours after Israel began a new incursion in the Palestinian territories, with tanks and troops invading the West Bank city of Hebron, 55 miles northwest of the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border.

"We have come to the borders of Egypt to show our support," Suzanne Mubarak said in remarks addressed to the Palestinians following the march.

"We assure you that we live your struggle, second by second, and look forward to a comprehensive and just peace," she said.

Wearing a white Red Crescent band on her left arm, Mubarak had marched with several hundred Red Crescent volunteers and officials and politicians.

The marchers carried banners with slogans such as "Aiding the wounded is an urgent, humanitarian message."

Mubarak is chairwoman of the Egyptian Red Crescent, which gathered 300 tons of donated food, medicine and clothing for Monday's convoy.

Her march echoed a small pro-Palestinian protest April 9 in the Jordanian capital led by Jordan's Queen Rania. Jordan is another moderate Arab state that has had to contend with calls from its citizens to take strong action against Israel.

Since Israeli troops pursuing militants moved into the West Bank on March 29, protests across Egypt have featured not just criticism of Israel and the United States, seen as Israel's main sponsor, but also criticism of Egypt. Egyptian demonstrators have demanded their government break diplomatic ties with Israel, annul its peace treaty with the Jewish state and even go to war to help the Palestinians.

Last week, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called Israel's treatment of the Palestinians "barbaric." But his government also insists the Arab-Israeli conflict must be settled peacefully.

Israel, which controls the Gaza crossing, allowed the convoy of 20 trucks and six ambulances to enter the Gaza Strip after a delay of more than two hours for border formalities. The ambulances are a gift to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The Sinai peninsula, which includes Rafah, was lost to Israel in the 1967 Mideast War and returned under Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with the Jewish state.