Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH — King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, will host 2,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip to perform Haj this year, a Palestinian official said. Mohammed Al-Habbash, the Palestinian Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs, said that the guests include relatives of martyrs as well as relatives of prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails. Al-Habbash said that the invitees will be selected equally and according to special criteria. The minister said that the transportation and housing costs of the pilgrims will be covered by the monarch. King Abdullah invites thousands of pilgrims from different countries, including leaders of Muslim communities and senior government officials, to perform Haj every year. The minister commended the King's gesture and said all Palestinians, especially the relatives of prisoners and martyrs, would be thankful to him. “It is a source of relief to the martyrs' families who respect King Abdullah and the Saudi people.” He also praised the monarch's initiative to transfer $100 million in emergency aid to the Palestinian Authority, allowing it to pay the June salaries to 148,000 public sector employees. Al-Habbash said that the PA will do its utmost to “administer the Haj season in a successful way without discrimination or politicization.” The minster was referring to the internal Palestinian split where the PA administers the Haj season in the West Bank and the deposed Hamas government administers it in the Gaza Strip since 2007.
