RIYADH – Israel announced on Monday that direct flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia for the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage would not take place this year, dampening hopes for such travel arrangements.
Despite the fact that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain among others have established ties with Israel in 2020, Saudi Arabia has refrained from doing so, though it was expected that direct Hajj flights might start this year.
Israeli and U.S. officials had anticipated that Saudi Arabia might allow members of Israel’s Muslim minority to fly directly for the Hajj as a gesture of goodwill, but the hopes have dashed now.
With the pilgrimage approaching and no airlines applying for special flights to Saudi destinations, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the flights would not materialize this year.
“Perhaps for the next Hajj we will be in a position to help in this matter, and (direct) flights will depart from here,” National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told Kan radio but added that it was too early.
In May this year, Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen reportedly said a request for direct Hajj flights had been sent to the Saudi administration.
“I am very optimistic about advancing relations with Saudi Arabia. If Saudi Arabia gives permission for direct flights to Israel for Hajj, then these flights will be active from June to August and it will benefit the 18 percent Muslim population living in Israel,” the minister was quoted as saying by international media.
As per the existing procedures, pilgrims from Israel and Palestine travel to Makkah through third-party countries and this causes additional costs.
It is noteworthy that this is the first time Saudi Arabia would be welcoming pilgrims in large numbers i.e around 2.3m after the pandemic restrictions have been lifted. Around one million people joined the 2022 Hajj season and only those in age bracket 18 to 65 who were fully vaccinated or immunized against the virus and did not suffer from chronic diseases were allowed to visit the kingdom.
