A senior Palestinian parliamentarian says six legislators from the militant Islamic Hamas movement have been barred by Egypt from crossing its border with Gaza on their way to visit other Arab countries, the Associated Press reported.
The strip's only other frontier is with Israel, where Hamas officials are subject to capture and imprisonment.
Acting parliament speaker Ahmed Bahar said in a statement Sunday that "the Egyptians have rejected a request" for he and and five colleagues to travel through their territory. The statement did not give the lawmakers' destination or the purpose of their trip.
An Egyptian security official said the men tried to cross the border without prior coordination and were turned away.
He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.