AFP - An aid convoy trying to reach the blockaded Gaza Strip through Egypt was still stranded in Jordan on Sunday amid Cairo's refusal to let it cross through its territory.

Members of the convoy, which is led by British MP George Galloway, were however hoping for a solution thanks to mediation by Turkey to enter Gaza through the Red Sea port of Nuweiba, the most direct route.

"We are still stuck in Aqaba, awaiting a solution to this problem, which was unfortunately created by Egypt," Zaher Birawi, spokesmen for the convoy, told AFP.

"We have told the Egyptians that we were not trying to challenge them and urged them to help us, but they refused."

Around 250 trucks laden with European, Turkish and Arab aid -- both food and medical supplies-- arrived Thursday in Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba hoping to catch a ferry across to Nuweiba.

But Egypt has said the convoy can only enter through El-Arish, on the Mediterranean coast, which would mean going around the Sinai peninsula and through the Suez Canal.

"The Turkish government interfered and dispatched an official on Saturday, and he is currently in talks with the Egyptian consulate in Aqaba, but so far there is no breakthrough," Birawi said.

"Egypt has told the Turkish mediator that we have to coordinate with the Israelis, but we categorically reject this condition even if we have to stay in Aqaba for a year."

He said 15 members of the convoy "have started a hunger strike, while a rally will be held later Sunday."

Galloway, who is leading the convoy, issued a statement on Thursday urging Egypt to facilitate the convoy's passage.

In March, Galloway handed over thousands of dollars and dozens of vehicles to the Hamas-run government in Gaza after arriving in an aid convoy.

Israel and Egypt have severely restricted travel to and from the Gaza Strip since the Islamist Hamas movement seized power there in June 2007.

Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza is the only access point into the Palestinian territory that bypasses Israel.

Meanwhile some 100 members of Jordan's powerful trade union federation and the Muslim Brotherhood staged a protest Sunday in Amman against Egypt's decision.

"Muslims and Arabs around the world should press the Egyptian regime to allow the entry of the convoy through Nuweiba," Hammam Said, the overall leader of the Islamist group, told a rally.