TEHRAN- Saudi Arabia has tried to demonize pilgrims who seek to express solidarity with Palestinian people during the Hajj rituals amid growing international outcry over Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip.

Saudi officials have resorted to warnings and threats in an attempt to stave off potential protests or chants about Israel’s genocidal war during the five-day Hajj which officially began on Friday. 

"The kingdom resolutely confirms that it will not allow any attempt to turn the sacred sites [in Mecca] into an arena for mob chanting," a spokesperson for the Saudi Interior Ministry said on Friday. 

Colonel Talal Al-Shalhoub, added, "The security and safety of the guests of Rahman is a red line."

Al-Shalhoub has tried to smear pro-Palestine pilgrims who want an end to the Israeli appalling atrocities in Gaza by comparing them with mobs. 

When Al-Shalhoub also points to “red line”, he means that Israel should be treated with kid gloves!

Last week, Saudi Arabia's minister in charge of religious pilgrimages, also warned against any pro-Palestine activities during the Hajj. 

“Hajj is for worship and not for any political slogans, and this is what the leadership of the kingdom want to ensure - that Hajj contains the highest manifestations of humility, tranquility and spirituality," Tawfiq al-Rabiah said. 

Saudi Arabia has presented itself as a champion of the Palestinian cause. But such positions have often contradicted this claim and brought the Kingdom’s hypocrisy to light.

Hamas Hajj message 

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas attached significance to this year’s Hajj rituals as Israel presses ahead with its war on Gaza which has killed more than 37,000

Palestinians since October 7. The war erupted after Hamas carried out a surprise military operation in southern Israel dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

The spokesperson for the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, asked Hajj pilgrims to pray for the Gaza Strip and the people of Palestine.

Abu Obeida defended Hamas’ October 7 military operation, stressing that the Hajj is an opportunity that can shed light on Israeli plots against Palestinians. 

"'The Al-Aqsa Flood' started for the third holiest site in Islam, and the rituals of Hajj are an opportunity to remind the two-billion-strong Muslim nation of the reality of our struggle with our enemy, who is violating the site of the Messenger of God and perpetrates corruption and Judaization in it every day," he added. 

Overt political action

Saudi Arbia however, has tried to silence those who want to be the voice of defenseless Palestinians in Gaza. 

Saudi Arabia was considering establishing formal diplomatic ties with Israel before October 7. But it had to suspend its normalization efforts due to global outcry over Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. 

For now, the Kingdom has pulled the plug on pro-Palestine activities during Hajj to appease Israel. 

According to US media, Saudi Arabia was among five Arab countries whose senior military officials held talks with top Israeli and US military figures in Bahrain on Monday. 
Such moves show that despite Israel’s massacre of Palestinian civilians, Saudi Arbia still seeks to establish ties with the regime. 

Saudi Arabia contradicting Prophet Muhammad

Irrespective of the politically-motivated restrictions that Saudi Arabi has imposed on pro-Palestine pilgrims, this act flatly contradicts the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.

The prophet of Islam delivered his final speech, known as the Farewell Sermon, at Mount Arafat. It is a sacred hill in Saudi Arabia where Muslims from around the world congregate on the second day of Hajj rituals for intense, daylong worship and reflection. 

Prophet Muhammad called for equality and unity among Muslims in that sermon. 

Presently, Saudi Arabi is not only complicit in the Israeli genocide in Gaza but has also turned a blind eye to the call made by Islam’s prophet.