Millions of Palestinians no longer eligible for Saudi visas
A Saudi decision to deny visas to people holding temporary passports but without national identification numbers means that millions of Palestinian Muslims in Israel, Jordan and Lebanon will not be able to perform religious rites at Islamic holy sites in the kingdom.
An unannounced policy by the Saudi government has made millions of Palestinians unable to travel to Saudi Arabia for the hajj, umrah (the non-mandatory, lesser pilgrimage) or work. Over the past two months, Saudi consular officials have informed Jordanian travel agencies servicing hajj and umrah tourism that the kingdom will no longer accept visa applications for individuals with temporary travel documents.
The decision affects hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in Jerusalem, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan who have temporary passports but no national identification numbers. Al-Monitor viewed text messages from Saudi consular officials based in Amman, Jordan, to travel agents instructing them not to submit applications from persons with temporary documents. Saudi officials in Amman have refused comment on the issue to the media.
Kamal Abu Diab, secretary of the Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents, told Al-Monitor that he had been told by the Saudis to inform all travel agents not to submit applications from individuals who are not full citizens of an Arab country and who do not have a legitimate national ID number.
“We informed the Ministry of Islamic Waqf and the Foreign Ministry, which have been working hard to resolve this problem,” Abu Diab said, adding that the ban affects some 200 travel agencies that have worked with Palestinians in Jordan, Jerusalem and Israel.
