Arab-Israeli pilgrims use temporary Jordan passports

The Jordanian government has confirmed that it issues temporary passports for Arab-Israeli passport holders so that they can enter the Kingdom to perform the Haj.
This follows the Saudi government this week rejecting reports that it would endorse Haj visas on Israeli passports if they were issued by its consulates abroad.
Every year, nearly 5,000 Arab citizens of Israel, arrive in the Kingdom to perform the pilgrimage. These citizens are holders of Israeli passports, which are not recognized by Saudi Arabia or the majority of Arab states, except for Jordan and Egypt that signed peace treaties with Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively.
“We understand the problems Arab-Israelis are going through, therefore we try to facilitate their travel to the Kingdom as much as we can. We issue them a one-month passport upon their arrival in the Kingdom, which they use when applying for a visa at the Saudi embassy for the Haj,” Director General of the Jordanian Passport and Civil Status Department Marqan Qutaishat told Arab News on Friday.
Qutaishat said these pilgrims would then have to hand in these temporary passports to the Jordanian government after completing the Haj.

In a statement to the media this week, Saudi Ambassador to Amman Sami Al-Saleh stressed that the embassy does not accept Israeli passports. He reiterated that Arab-Israelis traveling from the occupied lands in Palestine are issued Haj visas in temporary passports issued by the Jordanian government.

 

 

This statement follows reports earlier this week that the Saudi Passport Department would allow Arabs holding Israeli passports to enter the Kingdom provided their visas were issued by a consulate abroad and approved by the Haj Ministry.
Ahmed Luhaidan, spokesman for the passports department, told Arab News on the phone that the department does not issue visas. The Saudi Foreign Ministry is mandated to do this, he said.
Earlier, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) confirmed there are no direct flights between the airports of the Kingdom and that of Occupied Palestine for the Haj season.
Khaled Al-Khaibari, spokesman for GACA, denied reports in Israeli media saying that Saudi Arabia would allow entry to pilgrims traveling to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah from Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
He said Gaza pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage via Egyptian airports, while pilgrims of the West Bank do so by air or road through Jordan.

70-Year-Old Nigerian Pilgrim Dies At The 2013 Hajj Pilgrimage

The Sokoto State delegation to the 2013 Hajj Pilgrimage on Saturday in Sokoto said one of its male pilgrims, Amadu Achida, has died in Saudi Arabia.

Labaran Dundaye, the Chairman of the delegation’s Publicity Committee, disclosed this in a telephone interview.
He said the 70-year-old Achida, died on Oct. 16 at Muna, two days after observing the Arafat.
“Achida, who hailed from Wurno Local Government of Sokoto State, died after the Arafat which is considered to be the peak of the annual Islamic pilgrimage,’’ Dundaye said.
The delegation official, who is also the Chairman of the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), said the deceased died after a brief illness.
“The incident took place at Muna, near Makkah, two days after the Arafat and he was complaining of minor body pains and other bodily discomforts.
“Shortly after, he was confirmed dead, and this made him so far the only pilgrim from the state who died during this year’s Hajj exercise,’’ he said.
Dundaye said Achida’s remains had since been buried by the Saudi authorities at Makkah, after a funeral prayer at the Grand Mosque at the Ka’abah.
He however said all the remaining pilgrims from the state were hale and hearty, while the family of the deceased had since been duly informed about his demise.