Zionist forces have blocked hundreds of Palestinians seeking solace from making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Palestinian rights groups said on Friday.
Zionist forces imposed tight travel curbs early this month on palestinians younger than 35 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying this was needed to stop attacks on settlements and Israel proper by militants waging an uprising for independence. But the more than 10,000 Palestinians who registered to make this year's Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam's holiest site, in Saudi Arabia never expected the blanket ban would also stifle acts of faith.
"What does the world have to say about this? They block our road to worship God!" cried Raafat al-Qidra after he was turned away by Israeli authorities from Gaza's Rafah crossing point to Egypt, a standard over land route to Saudi Arabia.
Since the Palestinian uprising erupted in September 2000 after peace talks broke down, Israel has blacklisted would-be Hajjis on the basis of their perceived security threat