EGYPT, SAUDI ARABIA URGE HAMAS TO END ‘GREAT MARCH OF RETURN’ PROTESTS:

Both Saudi Arabia and Egypt have called on terrorist organization Hamas to end the annual weekly protests it is holding for the "Great March of Return," according to an Egyptian source. An Egyptian Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying that, in exchange for halting the protests, Egypt would ensure that the Rafah border crossing, which Egypt controls, would be regularly opened. The source said that the agreement had come under the direction of the Saudis. "The situation in Gaza is nearing an explosion towards anyone blockading the Strip," the source said, "and therefore there is a fear that Palestinian anger will turn toward Egypt in the coming weeks." Last Friday's protests marked the second week of the "Great March of Return" in Gaza. Crowds of approximately 20,000 turned out to protest on the border between Gaza and Israel. Ten Gazans were killed in the clashes, while estimates of the number of protesters injured vary. The protests are expected to continue each Friday for the next several weeks. (J.Post)