Closed.

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of the Islamist group Hamas, was prevented from returning to Gaza on Thursday after a two-week trip abroad, a spokewoman for European monitors at the border said.

``It is closed, the operation has stopped for a while until the situation with Haniyeh is clarified,'' the spokeswoman for the European monitors at the Rafah crossing said.

Haniyeh was expected to try to bring millions of dollars in assistance for his government through the crossing, on the border with Egypt.

``We have no more information because he is in Egyptian side,'' the spokeswoman said.

Israeli security sources said that Defense Minister Amir Peretz had instructed the crossing to be closed.