Amid visit by Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, Saudi Arabia refuses entry to Hamas delegation

Riyadh: A visit to Saudi Arabia by a delegation of top Hamas officials scheduled to begin this week has been postponed after the Kingdom refused to grant visas.

According to media reports, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Doha, Qatar, had reached a verbal agreement to allow
the Hamas delegation to travel to Mecca on Monday. However, despite the agreement, the government of Saudi Arabia refused to provide entry visas to the Hamas officials.

The development comes amid a visit by Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas to Saudi Arabia.

The visit was supposed to be the first official tour of Saudi Arabia by Hamas officials following several years of tense relations. The authorities in Saudi Arabia have also arrested several persons accused of having ties with Hamas.

Ismail Haniyeh, the director of Hamas’ political bureau, was apparently going to lead the trip, which would also include Musa Abu Marzouk, the deputy chairman of the bureau, Zaher Jabarin, the head of the organization’s office for martyrs, wounded, and prisoners, and the head of its diaspora office.

According to the report, the Saudis did consent to the release of a number of Palestinian inmates connected to Hamas who had been detained in custody for a number of years.

Reports of the cancellation of the Hamas delegation’s visit to Saudi Arabia was confirmed by Arabic-language news outlet Arabi21.

Since the Saudis decided in March to reestablish diplomatic ties with Iran, it would have been the first time an official Hamas delegation had visited Saudi Arabia since 2015.

The failure of the 2007 “Mecca Agreement,” which was an attempt by the Saudis to mediate a reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip, caused a deterioration in relations between Saudi Arabia and Hamas.

Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas in Saudi Arabia

On Monday, Palestine President and Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas embarked on an official visit to Saudi Arabia.

In order to get Abbas to Jordan and subsequently Saudi Arabia, where he would meet with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on Tuesday, two Jordanian helicopters landed in Ramallah on Sunday.

According to reports, Abbas is travelling with Hussein al-Sheikh, the secretary of the PLO Executive Committee, and Majed Faraj, the chief of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service.
Abbas will also participate in an Iftar meal, held daily at sundown during the month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan.

In an interview with the P.A.-backed radio station Voice of Palestine, the Palestinian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Bassam al-Agha, stated that “President Abbas will discuss during his visit the situation in Palestine and the crimes of the occupation in the city of Jerusalem.”

On Wednesday, the Palestine President is expected to travel back to Ramallah.

Saudi Arabia on Friday hosted a meeting of ministers from Arab nations in Jeddah. During the meeting, discussions focussed on how to support the cause of Palestine and bring about an end to the civil war in Syria. Participating nations included Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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