Saudi Arabia has prevented senior members of Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) to continue on to Damascus to meet the leaders of their organizations after the Hajj.A source said that many senior members of Hamas and other groups joined dozens including a faction from the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades on a pilgrimage which began in Egypt.
At the end of the Hajj the members wished to continue on their way via Syria, but the Saudis, who had previously received information about the plan, seized their passports. The passports were returned when they got on a plane bound for Egypt.
Egyptian security forces at the Rafah Border Crossing searched the Hamas members' belongings to make sure that they were not attempting to smuggle money into Gaza.
The Saudi action was surprising because ties between Saudi Arabia and Syria have been warming lately. Assad and Abdullah met in Beirut four months ago to discuss Lebanon, for example.