Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH — The Palestinian Council of Ministers expressed on Thursday its deep thanks to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for hosting family members of martyrs from Palestine and other Arab and Muslim countries.

The Cabinet also appreciated the King’s directives to clear all obstacles so as to enable the pilgrims perform their rituals in ease, safe and comfort. Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah chaired the weekly session of the Palestinian Cabinet held in Ramallah.

The Council lauded the great efforts exerted by all the concerned agencies and departments in making available of the best possible facilities and services for the pilgrims since their arrival in the Kingdom until their departure. It also congratulated the Palestinian pilgrims for performing the annual pilgrimage of Haj, the fifth pillar of Islam.

The families of martyrs from Palestine as well as some other countries, including Sudan and Egypt, performed Haj under the Guests Program of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for Haj and Umrah, supervised by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance.

A total of 1,000 pilgrims from the West Bank and Gaza came to perform Haj under the King’s Guests Program this year. This was for the 9th consecutive year the King is hosting relatives of Palestinian martyrs as Guests of Allah.

Meanwhile, the department for the affairs of Haj and Umrah at the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques offered gifts for Haj pilgrims at the Haj terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA), Jeddah. The pilgrims were presented with copies of the Holy Qur’an and religious books, bottles of Zamzam, and some gifts, according to Faisal Bin Saleh Madani, director of the department.

Meanwhile, Tunisian Minister of Religious Affairs and head of the Tunisian Haj Mission Ahmed Adhoum lauded the outstanding efforts made by Saudi Arabia under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, to ensure safety and security of pilgrims and provide them with the best possible services to perform their rituals in an atmosphere of tranquility and comfort.

He also thanked various Saudi agencies supervising the Haj operation for their great cooperation with pilgrims’ missions, which reflected positively on the performance of the Haj rituals.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, a number of Tunisian pilgrims and officials congratulated the Kingdom for the success of this year’s Haj season, stressing that the Kingdom has demonstrated to the whole world its ability to organize the largest gathering of Muslims in the world.