The Ministry of Endowments in the Gaza Strip reported that 2,500 Palestinians are unable to perform the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage this year due to the 9-month war in Gaza and the Israeli control over the Rafah crossing, which connects Gaza to Egypt.
Ikrami Al-Mudallal, spokesperson for the Ministry, emphasized the Ministry’s stance that such circumstances constitute a blatant infringement upon religious freedoms.
The ongoing war, he added, has disrupted essential Hajj preparations, such as finalizing transportation agreements in Egypt and Saudi Arabia and securing accommodations in Mecca and Medina.
Al-Mudallal highlighted that the closure of the Rafah crossing, coupled with the persisting war, has resulted in the grounding of 2,500 Gaza pilgrims, including accompanying delegations, preventing them from embarking on their pilgrimage.
This contingent represents 38% of the total 6,600 Palestinian pilgrims originally scheduled to participate, Al-Mudallal added.
He also said the ministry is in contact with the relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia and Egypt to address what they describe as a “blatant infringement” of Palestinian pilgrims’ rights and to find ways for them to travel for Hajj.
He assured that the pilgrims affected this year “would not lose their right to perform Hajj next year, with priority given to them,” especially since many have waited years for their turn and 70% are elderly or ill.
This year, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s royal gesture to host 500 pilgrims from the families of those killed and wounded in Gaza was allocated to families outside the Gaza Strip, according to Al-Mudallal.
“This gesture allowed those who had left Gaza to perform the Hajj, preserving Gaza’s right to the royal gesture,” he said.
On June 6, the Saudi monarch ordered the exceptional hosting of 1,000 pilgrims from the families of Gaza’s killed and wounded as part of the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
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