Fayyad excluding Jerusalemite pilgrims from Hajj mission and Israeli occupation stops dozens of pilgrims from leaving for Makka

Protest against Fayyad for excluding Jerusalemite pilgrims from Hajj mission

[ 06/11/2010 - 01:58 PM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Dozens of Jerusalemite families of prisoners, ex-detainees and martyrs on Friday rallied outside the house of Salam Fayyad, head of Fatah's government in Ramallah city, in protest at excluding them from the pilgrimage (Hajj) mission to Makkah this year as part of the generous gesture made by Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz.

The Saudi monarch's gesture was a plan to bring 2,000 pilgrims to perform Hajj, including 204 Palestinians, who are relatives of martyrs, prisoners and released prisoners, from occupied Jerusalem and the 1948 occupied lands, but Fayyad's ministry of religious affairs informed them their names were removed from the list of pilgrims approved to travel this year.

Head of the family committee for Jerusalemite prisoners Amjad Abu Assab said that most of those whose names were excluded from the Saudi king's gesture were elderly people who are either blind, have chronic diseases or use crutches and wheelchairs.

Abu Assab stressed that this matter was not only an affront to those pilgrims, but also it was an act of contempt for Jerusalem, its people, prisoners, and martyrs.

In a separate incident, the Palestinian authority's security militias kidnapped two Palestinian citizens affiliated with Hamas Movement in the cities of Al-Khalil and Jenin, according to local sources on Saturday.

Israeli occupation stops dozens of pilgrims from leaving for Makka

[ 05/11/2010 - 09:47 PM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The Palestinian captives committee said that the Israeli occupation authorities refused to allow dozens of pilgrims from leaving the West Bank to Amman on their way to Makka to perform Hajj.

The committee added in a statement on Friday that the Israeli occupation intelligence held the pilgrims in different areas of the Allenby bridge border crossing. Some of them were thoroughly searched and questioned by occupation intelligence officers.

Some of them were barred from travelling on allegations they constitute a security threat to "Israel" and others under other "security" pretexts.

The committee condemned the ill treatment meted to the pilgrims by the occupation forces and said that the so called security reasons for the travel ban are fabricated and are just used to stop pilgrims from travelling.


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