[Haj pilgrims from Indonesia arriving in Madinah on May 26, 2023.]
Tel Aviv/Jeddah: The Saudi administration is yet to take a final call for direct Hajj flights from Israel despite several rounds of meeting between the two countries on the matter.
As many as 2,700 Israeli Muslims had performed Hajj in 2022. But the number this year is almost doubled with around 4,500 Muslims living in Israel already registering for Hajj 2023.
Saudi Arabia had in the last year opened its airspace for Israeli air carriers for overflights. It however is yet to allow direct flights from Israel for its citizens.
Due to this Israeli Haj pilgrims travel to Makkah via a third country. This adds unnecessary financial burden on Muslim pilgrims from Israel.
Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Makkah and is likely to be performed from June 26 to July 1. The final date will be confirmed based on citing of Eid al Adha 2023 moon.
The first Hajj flight landed at Madinah International Airport on May 21. Since then hundreds of flights carrying thousands of Muslims from around the world are landing in Jeddah and Madinah Haj Terminus of daily basis.
The Israeli administration had earlier hoped that direct flights from Israel to Jeddah near Makkah can start as early as June first week, noting that the permission could come at the 11th hour.
“This issue is under discussion. I cannot tell you if there is any progress,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said last week in an interview with Army Radio.
Meanwhile, Israel is reported to have already approached airlines in Jordan and Bahrain – both of which Tel Aviv has open ties with – with the proposal to operate direct flights between Ben Gurion Airport and Jeddah near Makkah.
It is also claimed that Riyadh is putting forward the condition that Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank are also allowed to fly directly from Tel Aviv to Jeddah, as their lack of Israeli citizenship currently restricts them from moving freely within Israel and forces them to travel to Makkah only by transiting third-party countries.
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