Israel’s siege of Rafah blocks 2500 Palestinians from Hajj

Israel’s forceful occupation of the Rafah crossing has prevented 2,500 Palestinians from performing the sacred pilgrimage of Hajj this year, according to the Ministry of Endowments in Gaza.

“This is a clear violation of religious freedom,” ministry spokesperson Ikrami Al-Mudallal spoke to Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

Due to the ongoing Israeli genocide in the enclave, the usual Hajj preparations for the pilgrims could not be completed.

The ministry was unable to finalise transportation contracts within Egypt and Saudi Arabia or complete the necessary arrangements for facilitating the pilgrimage, including booking accommodations in Mecca and Medina.

“The closure of the Rafah crossing and the ongoing conflict has stopped 2,500 Gaza pilgrims, including accompanying missions, from traveling to perform Hajj,” Al-Mudallal noted.

“This group represents 38 percent of the total 6,600 Palestinian pilgrims,” he added.

The spokesperson denounced it as a 'blatant infringement' of the rights of Palestinians. He stated that contacts have already been made with Saudi Arabia and Egypt to address the issue.

He assured that pilgrims unable to perform Hajj this year would retain the right to participate next year, with priority given to their applications.

In March, last year, the Endowment Ministry in Gaza conducted a lottery for Palestinians wishing to perform Hajj for 2023, and 2024 and prioritized allocating limited slots to elderly and sick individuals.

Al-Mudallal also mentioned that Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s royal gesture to host 500 Palestinian pilgrims from families of those killed or wounded in Gaza was allocated to people outside the blockaded enclave.

The Rafah border crossing which connects Gaza and Egypt has been closed since May 7 as the Israeli army escalated its military offensive, killing thousands of innocent civilians who took shelter in the southern city.