Stranded Gazan pilgrims return to Strip via Israel - Haaretz

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Wed., January 02, 2008 Tevet 24, 5768

Israel Time: 01:53 (EST+7)

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Stranded Gazan pilgrims return to Strip via Israel

By Yoav Stern and Avi Issacharoff

Several hundred Palestinians who have been stranded in Sinai for the past few months finally began their journey back to the Gaza Strip yesterday.

Their return to Gaza has been delayed because the Palestinians refuse to enter via an Israeli checkpoint, but the only direct crossing between Egypt and Gaza, the Rafah crossing, has been shut down since Hamas took over the Strip last June.

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According to Egyptian officials, the Palestinians were first taken to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, where their travel documents were checked. Then, they were taken to the Kerem Shalom checkpoint between Egypt and Israel, where Israeli officials checked their documents. They were then bused through Israel to the Erez checkpoint, whence they entered Gaza.

However, about 1,000 Palestinians are still living on boats in the Sinai port of Nuweiba, while approximately another 1,200 are living in tents at Al-Arish, in the northern Sinai. Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in Al-Arish yesterday to reiterate their opposition to entering Gaza via Israel.

Israel fears that the travelers, who include senior Hamas officials and Palestinian parliamentarians, will return carrying tens of millions of dollars for Hamas. This is why it has insisted that they return via Israel and undergo Israeli security checks, and Egypt has thus far acceded to this demand.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is slated to visit Egypt today and meet with President Hosni Mubarak. The plight of the travelers, many of whom left Gaza to attend the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, will be one of the main topics on the agenda.

The Arab media has also been increasingly critical of Egypt over its refusal to allow the Palestinians to enter Gaza directly, and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood launched its own attack on the government over this issue yesterday. Khalil al-Haya, a senior Hamas official who is one of the stranded travelers, told the Quds Fares Web site that some of the travelers are sick, while some have tied themselves to life belts and are threatening to jump into the sea.

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