A Saudi who allegedly helped a non-Muslim enter the holy city of Mecca has
been arrested, police in the kingdom said on Friday, after online backlash
against an Israeli journalist.
اضافة اعلان
The journalist, Gil Tamary of Israel's Channel 13, on Monday posted to
Twitter video of himself sneaking into Mecca, Islam's holiest city, in defiance
of a ban on non-Muslims.
Mecca regional police have "referred a citizen" to prosecutors for
alleged complicity in "transferring and facilitating the entry of a
(non-Muslim) journalist", a police spokesperson said in comments reported
by the official Saudi Press Agency.
SPA did not name the journalist but said he is an American citizen, whose
case has also been referred to prosecutors "to take the necessary
procedures against him in accordance with the applied laws".
Despite growing behind-the-scenes business and security contacts, Saudi
Arabia does not recognise Israel and did not join the 2020 US-brokered Abraham
Accords that saw the Jewish state establish ties with two of the kingdom's
neighbours, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
In his roughly 10-minute clip, Tamary visits Mount Arafat, where robed
Muslim pilgrims gather to pray during the climax of the hajj pilgrimage each
year.
He makes clear he knows that what he's doing is outlawed but says he wanted
to showcase "a place that is so important to our Muslim brothers and
sisters".
Tamary's justification, and subsequent apology, did little to quiet angry
Saudi social media responses.
The controversy followed US President
Joe Biden's visit to both Israel and
Saudi Arabia last week.
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