President Abbas slams Hamas for depriving thousands of Palestinians of haj pilgrimage

       Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday blamed Hamas for preventing thousands of Palestinians taking part in the haj pilgrimage, saying even Israel had not held back pilgrims from the sacred rites. "Unfortunately, this is the first time in the history of the Palestinian people that pilgrims were prevented. Israel never once prevented pilgrims," Abbas told reporters during the haj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. "The pilgrims from Gaza were deprived of haj this year - hopefully, next year they will be the first to come as part of the pilgrim quota for Gaza."Palestinian pilgrims bound for the holy city of Mecca were prevented from leaving the Gaza Strip via Egypt on Saturday. The enclave's Hamas Islamist rulers and the rival Fatah leadership in the West Bank blamed each other for the hold-up. Saudi Arabia was also involved in the dispute. Saudi Arabia granted visas to Palestinians who registered through the Palestinian Authority run by Abbas' secular Fatah faction. Hamas asked Saudi Arabia to give visas to some 3,000 people who tried to arrange haj through Hamas authorities in Gaza and some Hamas figures said they would prevent anyone leaving Gaza for the pilgrimage unless Saudi Arabia approved the trips. "This is the third time in the history of Islam that pilgrims are prevented from coming to the Kaaba," Abbas said, referring to the ancient cubic shrine at the center of the Grand Mosque in Meccam, media reported. (00,00)