Egypt Opens Crossing So Palestinians Can Return

Pilgrims returning from Mecca sit next to their bags after crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip at Rafah. (By Abid Katib -- Getty Images)

Hossam Zaki, a spokesman for Egypt's Foreign Ministry, cited the "pressing humanitarian situation" of the pilgrims to justify the decision to let them through. The people went through standard border checks, he said.

Zaki said the opening was not meant to send a message to Israel or to imply Egyptian recognition of the Hamas government in Gaza. He urged Israel to bring any concerns directly to Egyptian authorities.

News agencies said reporters saw at least one Hamas official among the people crossing Wednesday.

On the Gaza side of the crossing, a few hundred supporters of Hamas and the armed group Islamic Jihad took to the streets in celebration, waving banners and firing shots into the air.

In a televised statement, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh thanked the Egyptian, Jordanian and Saudi governments. "We would not allow our people returning from hajj to be subject to Israeli blackmailing," he said. "They should leave in dignity and come back in dignity."

Israeli officials stressed security concerns. "The problem is that we don't know who these people are who went to Mecca and who they met with there," said Shlomo Dror, a spokesman for Israel's Defense Ministry. "There is always a possibility that they brought back money into Gaza for terror. They could bring even ammunition, because we didn't get to check them."

In the foreign aid bill passed by Congress last month, lawmakers withheld $100 million in aid to Egypt until Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice certifies that sufficient actions have been taken by Egypt to stop smuggling between Egypt and Gaza. Bush can waive the restriction on national security grounds, however.

Kessler reported from Washington. Staff writer Jonathan Finer in Jerusalem and special correspondent Islam Abdul Karim in Gaza City contributed to this report.