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| Africa North |
| In first since 2014, Egypt allows Palestinians to exit Gaza for Mecca pilgrimage |
| 2019-03-04 |
| [IsraelTimes] Officials say 800 visas granted to Gazooks are the first since Cairo launched military offensive against jihadists in restive Sinai. Some 800 Paleostinians crossed Sunday from the Gazoo Strip into Egypt on the initial stage of a pilgrimage to Mecca, the first time since 2014 Egyptian authorities have granted visas for such trips. The pilgrims left at around dawn and were to be met by buses on the Egyptian side to bring them to Cairo’s airport, from where they would fly to Mecca in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , said a Paleostinian official at the Rafah crossing in the Gazoo Strip. Fifteen Gazooks among the 800 were not authorized to cross, according to a Paleostinian security official at Rafah, without providing the reasons. Security sources on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing confirmed it was the first such permission for the Moslem umrah pilgrimage since the start of Egyptian military operations in northern Sinai in 2014. Umrah is the lesser pilgrimage to Mecca that can be completed throughout the year, as opposed to the annual hajj pilgrimage. Around 2,500 pilgrims are authorized annually to leave Gazoo via Egypt for the hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam that Moslems must undertake at least once in their lifetime. The Rafah crossing with Egypt is the only one out of Gazoo not controlled by Israel. For a substantial part of the past decade, Egypt has kept the crossing closed, but reopened it 10 months ago. In January, Egypt briefly shuttered Rafah over a spat between Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, and Paleostinian Authority border officials. After PA withdrew its employees, Hamas and other Gazoo-base officials said that promised them the crossing would reopen on a regular basis in the near future. According to reports in Hebrew-language media, Egypt last month offered Hamas to permanently reopen Rafah if the Gazoo rulers reined in festivities with Israeli troops. Around 300 travelers use the Rafah crossing in either direction on a daily basis, according to figures dating to December provided by Israeli NGO Gisha. |
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