Palestinians barred from pilgrimage

[Scurrilous]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8A897868-30F2-485E-A7B8-CB9C98A8D8FD.htm

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"Israeli authorities have barred between 360 and 386 Palestinians from travelling from the Gaza Strip to the city of Makka in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage of Hajj.

Palestinian authorities received a list from Israeli authorities with the names of the pilgrims on it, including women and elderly men, and said Israel was creating "false pretexts" to keep them from leaving the Gaza Strip.

According to information gathered by the Palestine Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Israeli authorities provided the Palestinian Ministry of Civil Affairs with a list of 386 pilgrims from the Gaza Strip, claiming that they will be prohibited from travelling to Saudi Arabia through Rafah Terminal for security reasons."

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"In a statement, the PCHR, said "this denial of access to the Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia represents a clear violation of the right to freedom of religion, as enshrined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as numerous other provisions of international human rights and humanitarian law."