From Jerusalem to Gaza… via Taba, Suez and Many Checkpoints

ABC News’ Lama Hasan reports:

What began as a nine-hour trip from Jerusalem to Rafah turned into a 38-hour ordeal. 

We set off at 5 a.m. from Jerusalem, heading south along the highways that border the no man’s land between Israel and Gaza. As dawn broke we breezed along, passing checkpoints controlled by Israeli Defense Forces near the settlements here, which have been the targets of Hamas’ rockets.

It was only when we got to the Egyptian side that the delays began. First they told us we didn’t have a necessary letter saying we were entering as journalists, so we had to get a local hotel to construct an explanation saying we were tourists. Hurdle number one over, and we’re on our way.

Not so fast. As soon as we got through immigration, another stumbling block, we were expected to have a letter from Cairo’s press association that had our equipment details. We spent three hours in their rudimentary customs office scrambling to get the letter. Another problem: it was a Friday, the day of the Muslim sabbath when many businesses are closed. With no one in the office in Cairo, we took shelter in the nearest hotel to try again first thing the next day.

As soon as the customs office opened, we were its first customers, but there was more waiting for us. The press association’s manager had not arrived. A couple of hours later and the needed fax, officially stamped and signed, came through.

There was a collective sigh of relief in the car. We were finally on our way to Rafah, a town split between Egypt and Gaza along the Mediterranean Sea. Or so we thought. There are two routes: one is a shortcut and the other is the long way around, which takes you past the Suez Canal. of course, we decided on the short cut. We were stopped in the town of Al Nakhel and asked for another permission letter to enter, this time from the town’s local secret police headquarters. And off we went, only to be faced with more waiting, and then we were finally told foreigners were not allowed to pass on the quick route because, they said, it is a sensitive area with military bases.

No choices left, so it’s the long route. Eight hours later and we’re still on the road.