Posted on 03/03/2003 11:08:45 AM PST by yonif
March 2, 2003
During the course of the past week Palestinians who left the West Bank and Gaza Strip in order to perform the Haj (holy pilgrimage) to Mecca, retuned safely with the help and coordination of the IDF.
Approximately 4,700 pilgrims, residents of the Gaza Strip, returned via the Rafah border crossing starting from February 16, 2003 and continued to arrive during the course of that week until the end of the operation on February 21, 2003.
A similar effort begun on February 17, 2003 to re-admit approximately 4, 880 Palestinian pilgrims back into the West Bank via the Allanby Bridge.
The checkpoint at the bridge operated twenty four hours a day in order to provide pilgrims with a quick and efficient crossing.
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