SHAFAQNA– The Saudi Arabia has banned hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with temporary passports from participating in the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages in Saudi Arabia.
The measure is part of Saudi Arabia’s new policy to stop issuing visas for Hajj and Umrah to Palestinians in Jordan, Lebanon, East Jerusalem, and, most recently, to Palestinians living in Israel, who hold temporary travel documents issued by Jordan or Lebanon – a policy that became effective on September 12, said the report. The increased travel restrictions now affect almost 3 million Palestinians.
Travel agencies in Jordan and the Israeli occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds were informed of the Saudi decision in early September without any further explanations on the reason of the ban.
“They will refuse to issue visas for any temporary passport that has no national [citizenship] number,” Abu Khaled al-Jimzawi, an East al-Quds-based tourism office director, told the Middle East Eye.
The new Saudi policy will deny the Palestinians the chance to participate in the Hajj pilgrimage, a religious ritual that has to be completed by Muslims at least once in their lifetime.
This affects over 700,000 refugees, who will need to return to their country to obtain an ID number. But there’s no guarantee that they will be allowed to leave once they go back to Palestine.
Many Palestinians fled to Jordan between 1947 and 1967 as a result of Israeli occupation. Today, more than 600,000 Palestinians live in Jordan without any citizenship but are given temporary Jordanian passports for travel. Moreover, the Saudi decision will also affect most Palestinian residents of the Israeli occupied East Jerusalem as they also rely on the temporary Jordanian passports.
“When I heard the decision, I was shocked. Mecca and Medina are for all Muslims, not only for the Saudis. They have no right to deprive Muslims from worshipping in the holy mosques”, a Palestinian refugee told trtworld .
“Why are the Palestinians who have no national numbers deprived of performing these acts of worship?” Ahmad Walid Husein al Miynawi said.
Observers believe the passport ban seeks to induce Palestinian refugees to apply for Jordanian citizenship. East Jerusalem residents will have to apply for Israeli citizenship or request travel documents from the Palestinian Authority, a move that is known to be used by Israel to revoke resident status from Palestinians on the basis of numerous pretexts, such as a newly passed “breach of loyalty” law.
Internal emails from US President Senior Adviser Jared Kushner disclosed by the Foreign Policy Magazine in August revealed plans that sought to neutralize Palestinian refugees in Jordan, effectively ending their Palestine related status.
Furthermore, some Arab media outlets speculate the Saudi decision to be in line with what US President Donald Trump has labeled as the “Deal of the Century”, underlining the US president’s allegedly new Middle East road map. Trump has yet to officially publish the controversial proposal that has drawn condemnation from many Palestinian and regional figures, press tv told.
“Saudi Arabia is pressuring Jordan to naturalise the Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Palestinians in East Jerusalem, and now Palestinians in Israel. The same could happen in Lebanon. Then, you will not have a Palestinian refugees problem,” the source said, Qatar Tribune reported.
Meanwhile, a Jordanian diplomatic source confirmed to Middle East Eye that the move is part of an agreement with Israel to end the “Palestinian identity and the right of return for refugees”, RT reported.