Special report: Internal situation in Palestine  

    GAZA, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Islamic Hamas movement on Saturday called on the Egyptian authorities to let more than 4,000 Palestinians stranded at the Egyptian side of Rafah border crossing back into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

    Fawzi Barhoum, spokesman for Hamas in Gaza, told reporters that Hamas is following up with great concern the situation of thousands of stranded Palestinians at the border crossing.

    "We are very much concerned about thousands of our people, stranded at Rafah crossing with miserable living conditions because the crossing is shut down," said Barhoum, adding that "we hope the crossing would be opened again."

    Reports coming from the crossing said that the bulk of the stranded were women and children as well as patients who left Gaza for medical services in Arab and foreign hospitals.

    Rafah crossing on the Egyptian-Gaza borders was shut down earlier last week after Islamic Hamas movement militarily controlled the Gaza Strip.

    Palestinian security officers who ran Rafah crossing as well as other crossings between Gaza Strip and Israel fled their posts after Hamas' grip of Gaza.