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Middle East
Partial relief for Gaza pilgrims
Many remain stranded off Egypt, but some are allowed to resume journey back to Gaza.
Last Modified: 30 Dec 2007 19:56 GMT
The pilgrims have been stranded in ferries
off Egypt for three days
Some of the 2,000 Palestinians who were stranded on Egypt's Red Sea border as they returned from the annual Hajj pilgrimage, have been allowed to continue their journey back to Gaza.

The Palestinians were stranded for three days on ferries on the Egyptian coast after sailing on Friday from Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba.
Passengers from one of the ferries are now on a bus to the Egyptian city of Arish, but it is not yet clear which crossing they will use to go back to Gaza.

The second ferry is still being held in the Red Sea.
On Saturday, Hamas called on Egypt to open its border with the Gaza Strip to let the Palestinians return home from the pilgrimage in Mecca.

Egypt demanded that the Palestinians return to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip via Israel, but many feared they would be detained by the authorities if they did.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official, said Israel and the US were pressuring Egypt not to allow the pilgrims to return to Gaza.
 
Abu Zuhri said: "We are aware of the Israeli and American pressures on Egypt, and we urge Egypt to reject these pressures and to allow the pilgrims a safe return through Rafah."

The group fears Israel will arrest some of the pilgrims, who Israel believe may be carrying money for Hamas and other groups.

Possible options

Hussein Abdul Ghani, Al Jazeera's Cairo bureau chief, said the Egyptian authorities were considering three options:

The first was to receive assurances from Israel to let the Palestinian pilgrims return to Gaza via Israel without arresting any of them.

The second option was to move the pilgrims to camps near Arish, in the Sinai region of Egypt.

The third was to let the pilgrims return through the Rafah crossing, against the wish of the Israeli government.

Israel had protested against Egypt's decision to let the pilgrims leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing to perform the Hajj earlier in the month.

But Ahmed Abdul Gheit, Egypt's foreign minister, said that he was "not concerned" about the Israeli protests; what concerned him was enabling Palestinian pilgrims to perform the Hajj.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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