RAFAH, Gaza Strip, Jan 2 (Reuters) - About 150 Palestinian pilgrims returning from Mecca entered the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after a border-crossing dispute left about 2,000 of them stranded in Egypt for days, witnesses said.

Egyptian security and border sources said most of a first batch of 1,152 Palestinian pilgrims had already crossed over on Wednesday, and that a remaining group of nearly 1,000 pilgrims were expected to cross soon.

The pilgrims are the first large batch returning to the Palestinian territory after completing the annual Islamic haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, officials said. They entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, which is run by Egypt and the Islamist movement Hamas which controls Gaza.

Israel had insisted the pilgrims should pass through a different crossing controlled by Israel to ensure none of the pilgrims carried arms or money for Hamas.

An Israeli security official said he was unaware of any agreement to allow the pilgrims to pass through Rafah. Israel has no presence at Rafah, but a U.S.-brokered deal between Israel and the Palestinians says the crossing cannot be opened without Israel's consent.

The pilgrims had been stranded in Egypt while Cairo tried to negotiate an agreement on their return with Israel and the Palestinians. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Caroline Drees)

AlertNet news is provided by