Palestinian pilgrims set fire to temporary Egyptian camps

MORE than a thousand Palestinian pilgrims set fire yesterday to temporary camps set up by the Egyptian government to house them until a dispute over how they will return to the Gaza Strip is resolved.

The Palestinians arrived by bus at 11 temporary camps in the Sinai outside the Mediterranean coastal city of el-Arish on Sunday, but refused to occupy them, protesting against Egypt’s attempts to have them return to Gaza through the Israeli-controlled Aouja border crossing.

The pilgrims shouted angry slogans against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his government for not allowing them to cross into Gaza through Rafah, where Israel has no control.