AFP, Riyadh :
Saudi Arabia said Thursday that Qataris wanting to perform this year’s hajj will be authorised to enter the kingdom for the pilgrimage, despite a diplomatic spat between the two countries.
In a statement, the Saudi hajj ministry said Qataris and residents of the Gulf emirate could join the pilgrimage as they were already “electronically registered for the hajj” and they had the necessary permits from Riyadh and Doha. But the ministry has imposed restrictions on Qatari pilgrims arriving by plane, saying they must use airlines in agreement with the Saudi authorities.
They also needed to get visas on arrival in Jeddah or Medina, their sole points of entry in the kingdom, the ministry added.
The hajj, a pillar of Islam that capable Muslims must perform at least once in a lifetime, is to take place this year at the beginning of September. Saudi Arabia and its allies Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties and imposed sanctions on Doha in June, including the closure of their airspace to Qatari airlines.
The four Arab states accuse Qatar of supporting extremists and of growing too close to Shiite-dominated Iran, the regional arch-rival of Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.
Reuters adds: Egypt accused Qatar on Thursday of adopting a “pro-terrorist” policy that violated United Nations Security Council resolutions and described it as “shameful” that the 15-member body had not held Qatar accountable.
Qatar’s U.N. ambassador rejected the “baseless accusations” made by Egyptian Deputy U.N. Ambassador Ihab Awad Moustafa after the Security Council adopted a resolution to renew sanctions on ISIS and al Qaeda.
“It’s crucial for the Security Council to make these countries that don’t respect these resolutions accountable,” Moustafa told the council. “For example, the adoption by the Qatar regime of a pro-terrorist policy.”
Al-Thani told Reuters after the meeting: “Egypt is exploiting their Security Council seat to drag in issues that are not relevant to the council’s agenda … it’s just serving their own national agenda.” Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt imposed sanctions on Qatar last month, saying the gas-rich Gulf state financed terrorists throughout the region, allegations Qatar denies.
Moustafa told the council that Qatar “believes that the economic interests and the different political orientations will protect them from any accountability vis-a-vis the Security Council because it has violated the resolutions of the council.”
“That shameful situation cannot continue,” he said. “This council’s resolutions must be effective, they must stop any violation.”
Any push to impose U.N. sanctions on Qatar would likely be difficult as it needs either consensus approval behind closed doors by the Security Council or a vote on a resolution, which would need nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, Russia or China.
Saudi Arabia said Thursday that Qataris wanting to perform this year’s hajj will be authorised to enter the kingdom for the pilgrimage, despite a diplomatic spat between the two countries.
In a statement, the Saudi hajj ministry said Qataris and residents of the Gulf emirate could join the pilgrimage as they were already “electronically registered for the hajj” and they had the necessary permits from Riyadh and Doha. But the ministry has imposed restrictions on Qatari pilgrims arriving by plane, saying they must use airlines in agreement with the Saudi authorities.
They also needed to get visas on arrival in Jeddah or Medina, their sole points of entry in the kingdom, the ministry added.
The hajj, a pillar of Islam that capable Muslims must perform at least once in a lifetime, is to take place this year at the beginning of September. Saudi Arabia and its allies Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties and imposed sanctions on Doha in June, including the closure of their airspace to Qatari airlines.
The four Arab states accuse Qatar of supporting extremists and of growing too close to Shiite-dominated Iran, the regional arch-rival of Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.
Reuters adds: Egypt accused Qatar on Thursday of adopting a “pro-terrorist” policy that violated United Nations Security Council resolutions and described it as “shameful” that the 15-member body had not held Qatar accountable.
Qatar’s U.N. ambassador rejected the “baseless accusations” made by Egyptian Deputy U.N. Ambassador Ihab Awad Moustafa after the Security Council adopted a resolution to renew sanctions on ISIS and al Qaeda.
“It’s crucial for the Security Council to make these countries that don’t respect these resolutions accountable,” Moustafa told the council. “For example, the adoption by the Qatar regime of a pro-terrorist policy.”
Al-Thani told Reuters after the meeting: “Egypt is exploiting their Security Council seat to drag in issues that are not relevant to the council’s agenda … it’s just serving their own national agenda.” Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt imposed sanctions on Qatar last month, saying the gas-rich Gulf state financed terrorists throughout the region, allegations Qatar denies.
Moustafa told the council that Qatar “believes that the economic interests and the different political orientations will protect them from any accountability vis-a-vis the Security Council because it has violated the resolutions of the council.”
“That shameful situation cannot continue,” he said. “This council’s resolutions must be effective, they must stop any violation.”
Any push to impose U.N. sanctions on Qatar would likely be difficult as it needs either consensus approval behind closed doors by the Security Council or a vote on a resolution, which would need nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, Russia or China.
