Haniyeh heads to Saudi for the Hajj

Deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau Ismail Haniyeh yesterday left the Gaza Strip heading to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

According to local media sources, Haniyeh left Gaza via the Rafah crossing and headed to Cairo airport from there.

Last week, Egyptian authorities opened the crossing for three days to allow Palestinians to make their way to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj.

Rafah has remained closed since the ouster of the first freely elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. It has opened only intermittently mainly for humanitarian cases.

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