Al-Habbash said that he would meet with Saudi Minister of Haj Dr Fouad Al-Farsy on Wednesday to discuss "the preparations and arrangements for receiving Palestinian pilgrims in Hajj season 1431H." He said that the total number of Palestinian pilgrims is 5,500 every year.
Al-Habbash added that his ministry "is seeking to increase the quota of pilgrims allocated to the Palestinian Authority (PA)." The minister expressed his hope that the Saudi authorities will agree to increase the quota, highlighting the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah's initiative last year to host 2,000 Palestinian pilgrims belonging to families of martyrs from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
He added that the PA would do its utmost to "administer the Hajj season in a successful way without discrimination or politicization." The minster was referring to the internal Palestinian split where the PA administers the Hajj season in the West Bank and the deposed Hamas government administers it in the Gaza Strip since 2007.
Al-Habbash urged the Palestinian pilgrims to leave Saudi Arabia after Hajj. The mister said that the overstaying of Gaza pilgrims in Makkah after Hajj and Umrah caused a problem between Saudi companies and those in Gaza.
