Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., December 08, 2007 Kislev 28, 5768 | | Israel Time: 05:14 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File Hanukkah

Palestinian pilgrims crossing the Rafah border from Gaza to Egypt en route to Mecca. (AP) del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 09:04 07/12/2007 PA miffed at Egyptian-Saudi deal with Hamas over hajj pilgrims By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Saudi Arabia, Hosni Mubarak  The news from the Rafah border crossing earlier this week astounded the leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah. They had arranged with Israel to allow some 2,000 Palestinians from Gaza to go to Saudi Arabia via the Kerem Shalom and Allenby Bridge border crossings for the hajj celebrations. But Cairo apparently had different plans. The Egyptians allowed 700 Palestinians on Monday and 1,300 on Tuesday to cross the border into Sinai, where buses were waiting to take them to Saudi Arabia. "The Egyptians stabbed us in the back," a senior PA official said. It turned out that the move had been coordinated with the Hamas government and Saudi Arabia. The Saudi embassy in Cairo swiftly processed the Gaza pilgrims' visa applications sent by the Hamas government, while the Saudi embassy in Amman held up all the visa applications sent by the PA, even those of West Bank pilgrims. Advertisement The PA, which had invested huge efforts in organizing the pilgrims' trip to Saudi Arabia in a bid to improve President Mahmoud Abbas' status in the Gaza Strip, was enraged by Egypt and Saudi Arabia's conduct. The PA official in charge of civil coordination, Hussein al-Sheikh, had told the people in Gaza that the visas Hamas would issue for traveling to Saudi Arabia would be invalid. PA officials managed to reach an agreement with the Israeli authorities on taking some 2,000 people out of Gaza and transferring them through Israel - an unprecedented understanding in Hamas-era Gaza. Ismail Haniyeh's government, however, had assured Gaza Strip residents all along that the pilgrims would leave via the Rafah crossing in coordination with Egypt. In other words, this was a planned move. PA officials have difficulty understanding why Egypt and Saudi Arabia acted against Abbas' interests in this way. Only a week earlier Abbas met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Now they assume that Cairo and Riyadh wanted to protest Abbas' persistent refusal to resume the dialogue with Hamas. Egypt and Saudi Arabia have recently given Abbas hints that he should resume the talks, but a senior Palestinian official said that "all told it's a continuation of the Egyptian game and the dual policy regarding Hamas." Indeed, it seems that despite Egypt's repeated assertions of its uncompromising war on Hamas and Gaza terror organizations, Cairo and especially Egyptian intelligence officials prefer to keep normal relations with Hamas, even at Abbas' expense. Related articles: The Palestinians after the summit / Bring in Hamas Egypt relaxes border with Gaza to let pilgrims travel to Mecca Arabs thwart PA UN bid to condemn Hamas Bookmark to del.icio.us Foreign correspondents Police probe 3 Israeli journalists suspected of unauthorized travel to enemy states. Petrol protest Gaza gas station owners refuse to accept reduced fuel supplies from Israel.   1.   Egypt and Saudi 06:15  |  Fadhil 07/12/07   2.   First decent thing by either government in a while! 07:30  |  Khalid 07/12/07   3.   Bottom line 07:34  |  Fred Omran 07/12/07   4.   "The Egyptians stabbed us in the back" 08:17  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 07/12/07   5.   OF COURSE 08:31  |  sami 07/12/07   6.   NO UNDERMINING Abbas/Moderates! Hamas Is NOT On Their Level. 08:39  |  Proud Pal Defender 07/12/07   7.   MOVE HAMAS To Egypt&Saudi Arabia Then BLOCKADE/BOYCOTT/SANCTION! 09:19  |  Proud Pal Defender 07/12/07   8.   #3 Proud Pal Defender 09:33  |  Fadhil 07/12/07   9.   #2 Cipora Juliana Kohn 10:10  |  Fadhil 07/12/07   10.   NO UNDERMINING Abbas/Moderates!! Hamas Is NOT On Their Level. 10:19  |  Proud Pal Defender 07/12/07   11.   why do Jews are always interested in blockading, starving others? 10:40  |  German girl 07/12/07   12.   4/German Girl is Very Smart - Why Torment Gaza Endlessly 11:10  |  1 state solution 07/12/07   13.   German Girl 11:16  |  Serge 07/12/07   14.   Abbas is seen as an Israeli stooge 11:28  |  The Arab Hammer 07/12/07   15.   This is the true story 11:29  |  David 07/12/07   16.   PA & EGYPT 12:00  |  PIERRE 07/12/07   17.   GAZAN HAVE RIGHT TO GO TO PILGRIMAGE 12:05  |  TrippleJump 07/12/07   18.   Abbas only wants to assert his authority: He has NONE 12:05  |  Eric 07/12/07   19.   Hamas are the REAL Palestinian people representative 12:06  |  James 07/12/07   20.   BLESSED BE GAZA AND THE PEOPLE OF GAZA 12:07  |  Drogba 07/12/07   21.   To Drogba # 20 ... Could you be more SPECIFIC pls... 13:38  |  Klaudia 07/12/07   22.   Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood. 13:42  |  Stephen. 07/12/07   23.   #11 German Girl--I`m NOT Jewish. I Support The Palestinians. 15:36  |  Proud Pal Defender 07/12/07

Today Online Bradley's Burston: Self Test: Are you a fanatic on the Middle East? Responses: 103 Rice warns Israel against East J'lem construction Responses: 212 Yoel Marcus: Olmert wants to leave his mark as a PM with a peace agenda Responses: 41 Defense officials: Hamas upgraded Qassam arsenal Responses: 175 Magnate in U.K. scandal: I feared charges of a 'Jewish conspiracy' Responses: 78 Rosner's Domain The attack on Hanukkah (WTR) The NIE and the freedom to grumble Poll: Do you trust the new intelligence on Iran? Israel Factor: Yes to Rudy, no to Mideast mediation More Headlines 21:34 Rice warns Israel against East J'lem construction 18:11 Livni, at NATO: There is no doubt Iran is seeking nuclear arms 18:21 Magnate in U.K. scandal: I feared charges of a 'Jewish conspiracy' 19:54 Poll: Few West Bank settlers willing to leave homes for cash 19:08 Thousands come to J'lem to protest plans to divide capital 17:41 Muslim religious heads from Indonesia pay a rare public visit to Israel 20:27 Arab League head urges world to increase aid to Palestinians 17:16 Palestinians: IDF soldiers kill Gaza farmer near Israel border 17:22 IDF troops briefly detain two journalists at West Bank protest 17:02 Two Israelis arrested in Thailand for possession of 23,000 Ecstasy pills Previous Editions Select Day 07 dec 06 dec 05 dec 04 dec 03 dec 02 dec 30 nov 29 nov 28 nov 27 nov 26 nov 25 nov

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