GAZA, November 28 (RIA Novosti) - The radical Islamic movement Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip for over a year, is confiscating hajj documents from pilgrims trying to leave the enclave for Mecca, Palestinian radio said on Friday.

Radio reports quoted eyewitnesses as saying that police in Gaza had cordoned off roads to the Egyptian border and were seizing travel documents issued by the Saudis through the Palestinian National Authority.

The Palestinian National Authority controls the West Bank and does not recognize Hamas as the legitimate ruler of the Gaza Strip.

A spokesman for the Gaza Interior Ministry, Ihab al-Ghusain, said that residents of Gaza had applied for hajj documents via Hamas, but were turned down by the Saudi authorities.

The MENA news agency reported on Thursday that the Egyptian authorities were planning to temporally reopen the Rafah border crossing with Gaza to allow Palestinian hajj pilgrims to make their way to Saudi Arabia and Mecca.

The agency said that permission to cross the border would only be given to Palestinians in possession of an official hajj registration certificate. Saudi Arabia requires pilgrims to register in advance.

Egypt and Israel closed their border crossings with the Gaza Strip after Hamas seized control of the enclave in June 2007. The blockade has led to a drastic deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Gaza, according to aid agencies working in the region.