Local Editor, 5-1-2010



Thousands of angry protesters in Turkey have staged a demonstration in the capital Istanbul to condemn the Egyptian police crackdown on a Gaza-bound aid convoy.

At least 55 people were injured in clashes that broke out between riot police and Viva Palestina activists at the Egyptian port of Al Arish on Tuesday, after Egypt said it would not allow 59 trucks for the relief convoy to enter the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Following the incident, Turkish protesters poured into streets and assembled in front of the Egyptian consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday.

They carried flags of Palestine and chanted slogans in condemnation of Cairo's use of force against the human rights activists and "Israel's" ongoing siege of the Palestinian coastal enclave.