Luxembourgers on their way back to the Grand Duchy after Gaza march

Five activists from Luxembourg who participated in a march to Gaza are on their way back to the Grand Duchy, days after Egyptian authorities detained one of the group.

The delegation from Luxembourg travelled to the “March to Gaza”, an international event in which participants walk 50km through the Sinai desert in a bid to increase international pressure to allow aid supplies to enter the Gaza Strip.

One of the group, Lalla Zineb Bouanani, was detained by customs officers upon her arrival at Cairo Airport on Friday. Her phone and passport were initially confiscated, according to a press release by the campaign group Comité pour une paix juste au Proche-Orient (CPJPO), before she was later released.

On Monday afternoon, the delegation confirmed that the five-member group had begun its journey back to Luxembourg, and are expected to arrive back in the country on Tuesday.

It comes as a demonstration was held outside Luxembourg’s parliament on Monday by the national branch of the Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders, MSF) charity calling for action to “end the siege of Gaza; to halt the militarization of humanitarian aid; and to restore a lasting ceasefire,” the organisation said.

“The European Union and European governments – including Luxembourg – have the political, economic, and diplomatic means to exert real pressure on Israel to end this offensive and open the crossings into Gaza to humanitarian aid,” Thomas Kauffmann, General Director of MSF Luxembourg, said in a press release.

“These levers are not theoretical: they can be used concretely to uphold international law and protect civilians. We call on our political decision-makers to act decisively and finally exert their influence on Israel to: lift the siege, defend humanitarian action, and end its complicity in this campaign of ethnic cleansing,” added Kauffmann.

While Luxembourg publicly supports a two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, the country is yet to recognise Palestinian statehood.

(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Machine translated, with editing, adaptation and additional reporting by John Monaghan)