Israel buses Palestinians to Egypt to join Muslim pilgrimage

GAZA: Israel bused hundreds of Palestinians to Egypt on Sunday so they could make the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca later this month. The Israeli army bused the pilgrims to Egypt because the Israeli-controlled side of the Gaza-Egypt crossing was destroyed last month in a bombing by the militant Hamas group. Col Yoav Mordechai, head of Israel’s Gaza liaison office, said the army had arranged for about 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, leave Gaza at the Erez crossing and pass into Israel before crossing back into Gaza along the volatile Philadelphi Route - a patrol road that is the frequent scene of fighting - and then into Egypt, Mordechai said. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims annually join the Hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest place in Islam. This year the Hajj is scheduled for Jan 22. ap

Home | Foreign