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Pilgrims re-enter Gaza, ending desert standoff

RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Egypt allowed more than 2,000 Palestinian pilgrims to enter the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, drawing a fierce rebuke from Israel, which had tried to prevent top members of the militant Hamas from returning home.

Egypt's decision to open its border deepened a crisis in relations with Israel, which has accused Cairo of not doing enough to stop Palestinian smuggling of weapons and contraband into Gaza through tunnels under the border.

Israeli security officials said they expressed their outrage to Egypt, accusing the country of reneging on recent pledges to keep the border sealed.

The Muslim pilgrims left Gaza last month to make a pilgrimage known as a hajj to Saudi Arabia. They became trapped in Egypt on Saturday when the Egyptian government - apparently at Israel's request - said they would have to cross through Israel, instead of going directly into Gaza through Rafah.

At least 10 senior Hamas memberswere among the pilgrims. Israel was concerned they were carrying large sums of money for Gaza's Hamas rulers, who have been under an Israeli blockade since seizing the territory from their Fatah rivals in June. Israel considers Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction, a terrorist group.

The pilgrims refused to enter Israel and staged violent protests, setting fire to the desert camps where they were held.

The standoff was sensitive for Egypt, which is deeply worried about being seen in the Arab world as worsening the Palestinians' hardships in Gaza. Israel has sealed Gaza since the Hamas takeover, deepening the area's economic problems.

Moreover, the situation threatened to deteriorate into Palestinian protests in the Sinai. If Egypt had to resort to force to put down protests, it would likely spark widespread anger among its own population and other Arabs, even more so because the Palestinians are Muslim pilgrims, who are supposed to be allowed to travel as freely as possible.

Israel and Egypt signed a peace deal - Israel's first with an Arab country - in 1979. But relations have often been chilly.

[Last modified January 3, 2008, 01:34:59]