Several Palestinian militiamen who tried to cross the Rafah border on Sunday on their way to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca
were turned back by Palestinian Authority policemen and European monitors.
This is the first time that such people are banned from leaving the Gaza Strip since Israel relinquished control over the Rafah border crossing last summer.
One of those who were turned back was Jamal Abu Samhadanah, the overall commander of the Popular Resistance Committees in the Gaza Strip. The group consists of gunmen from various Palestinian factions and has been responsible for many attacks on IDF soldiers and Jewish settlers since the beginning of the intifada in September 2000. The group is also responsible for the attack on a US diplomatic convoy in October 2003 in which three Americans were killed.
Abu Samhadana, a former Fatah operative, arrived at the terminal accompanied by a large number of gunmen. PA security officers who spotted him informed him that he wouldn't be allowed to cross into Egypt and asked him to return to the Gaza Strip.
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