Alex Salmond is to intervene to help Scots stranded at the Egyptian border while driving a van full of vital medicine to people in Gaza.

Alex Salmond is to intervene to help Scots stranded at the Egyptian border while driving a van full of vital medicine to people in Gaza.

Khalil Al Niss and Linda Willis from Balerno, Edinburgh, spent more than 10 days travelling across Europe with an estimated 1.5 tons of medical supplies donated by Scots.

But the van has been stuck at the border between Egypt and Gaza for nearly a fortnight after officials refused them entry to the territory, claiming they do not have the correct paperwork.

Linda Willis, 51, a practice nurse at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, has returned home leaving Mr Al Niss, 49, who is from Jerusalem, to continue to try to get the humanitarian aid through. One of the hospitals is just five minutes from the border.

The couple supported by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign were destined to take the supplies for use in the hospitals of Gaza, where there is a severe shortage of basic medical necessities.

Now Alex Salmond has said he will do what he can to support the couple in their efforts to get round the red tape.

A spokesman for the First Minister said he would be contacting the Egyptian and Israeli ambassadors in Britain to urge them to allow the humanitarian aid into Gaza.

"Clearly there are issues around the fact Egyptians were looking for official documentation," the spokesman said. "We believe wholeheartedly in the concept of humaniatrian aid and here are two people who are trying to get supplies in. And we will do what we can to engage with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities to allow this passage to take place."

The idea for the trip originally came about when the couple were discussing holiday plans, after Mr Al Niss, a delivery driver, had purchased a van to help with his work.

The van was packed with medical supplies including medication for heart conditions and diabetes, as well as syringes, bandages, swabs, antibiotics, blood bottles for taking samples, and more advanced equipment such as endotracheal tubes for use in surgery. The aid mission is stuck at the Rafah crossing, the only Egypt-Gaza gateway which has been continuously closed since June 2007, with brief openings for extreme cases. They were initially made to wait more than 24 hours at the border town of Nuweiba, where Egyptian authorities sent them to six departments to fill out forms.

The couple have been interviewed by numerous officials from the Egyptian border, Egyptian intelligence, and the Palestinian Authority, but still lack the permission to deliver the medical supplies. The pair have been told they may be able to cross at another crossing, but with no definite agreement.

The two recently submitted to Egypt's Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman a letter with the signatures of six Scottish MPs supporting their mission. Although the letter was requested by the Egyptian authorities handling the case, the couple are understood to have yet to receive a reply.

They have also faced down threats to impound their van.