Hajj Pilgrims Resist Egyptian Orders to Await Solution in Camps

About 1,900 residents of the Gaza Strip who have refused to re-enter through an Israeli-controlled checkpoint are also refusing Egyptian efforts to house them in Sinai camps until the matter is resolved. Although the group left through the Rafah crossing to join the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Egypt has refused to allow them to return by the same route. Many of the pilgrims are associated with Hamas and fear Israel will arrest them. Meanwhile, Israel is pressuring Egypt not to let them through the Rafah crossing for fear that arms and money will be smuggled in.