Israel buses hundreds of Palestinians to Egypt for Mecca hajj
By The Associated Press
The Israeli government bused hundreds of Palestinians to Egypt yesterday so they could make the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, later this month.
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The Israel Defense Forces bused the pilgrims to Egypt, because the Israeli-controlled side of the Gaza-Egypt crossing was destroyed last month in a bombing by Hamas.
Col. Yoav Mordechai, head of Israel's Gaza liaison office, said the army had arranged for some 4,500 Palestinians to be taken on Israeli buses to Egypt, where they will board planes for Saudi Arabia.
The buses, secured by the army, left Gaza at the Erez crossing and passed into Israel before crossing back into Gaza along the volatile Philadelphi Route and then into Egypt, Mordechai said.
Islam's holiest place
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims annually join the Hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. This year the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is scheduled for January 22.
Mordechai said it will take several weeks for Israel to finish repairing the damage to the Gaza-Egypt border crossing caused by the Dec. 12 attack, in which Hamas killed five soldiers when it detonated 1.5 tons of explosives packed into a tunnel dug under an army outpost.
The first busloads of Palestinians, which came to about 800 people, left yesterday morning, and another 800 will be bused each day through January 7, Mordechai said
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