By Xinhua
Gaza : About 700 Palestinian pilgrims from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip have passed to Egypt through Rafah crossing in southern Gaza Strip on Monday morning, thanks to a deal between Egypt and Hamas to facilitate their travel through the closed terminal.
Witnesses at the crossing said that the pilgrims, whose religious trips were sponsored by the Hamas administration in Gaza, have crossed to the final end of the crossing.
The witnesses added that the Egyptian security authority has lists of the pilgrims’ names and calling every Hajj pilgrim by his name, in a move to make sure that he is going to Saudi Arabia for Hajj.
Israel and Egypt has been closing the crossing point since mid-June when Hamas routed security forces loyal to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and took control of the Gaza Strip.
The 700 pilgrims have got their visas to Saudi Arabia through the Hamas administration in Gaza, which Abbas had sacked after June. Some other 2,000 pilgrims, registered through acting Palestinian government in Ramallah, are scheduled to leave on Wednesday through Israel and Jordan.