GAZA CITY, 6 February 2003 — Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said yesterday that Israeli authorities have prevented 1,000 Palestinians from leaving for Makkah. Erakat said that 600 Palestinians had barred from leaving via the Israeli-controlled border with Jordan, and another 400 stopped by the authorities in Rafah, on the border with Egypt. “The Palestinian Authority condemns this measure against religious freedom,” he said. (AFP)