Last update - 00:00 18/10/2007
Roughly 100 stranded Palestinians protest on Egypt-Israel border
By The Associated Press
A group of stranded Palestinians protested on the Egyptian border Thursday, demanding to cross into Israel so they could reach their families in the Gaza Strip and other Palestinians territories, police said.
The rally of about 100 Palestinians included men, women and children who carried banners calling on Israel to let them in and facilitate their return through Israel to the Gaza Strip, witnesses said.
"Get us back to our people and sons... we have spent Ramadan and the Eid away from our people," some banners read, referring to the Muslim holy month celebrations that ended last week. Children led the rally carrying Egyptian flags.
Egyptian police had blocked the streets of El-Arish with their vehicles to prevent demonstrators from marching through downtown.
A security official in northern Sinai, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to give press statements, said the rally had ended peacefully by midday.
The Egypt-Gaza crossing was closed in June after the militant Hamas group took over the coastal strip. In coordination with Israel, Egypt has allowed several hundred Palestinians to return home by crossing through Israeli territory instead.
But many remain on Egyptian soil, often living in miserable conditions.
Palestinian diplomats in Cairo estimate that 2,000 Palestinians remain stranded in Egypt, including university students and people who sought medical care abroad.
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