"The Israeli army would detain me at the crossings they control in occupied Palestinian territories if I tried to get out," Siam said

By Yasser El-Banna, IOL Gaza Correspondent

GAZA CITY, January 22 (IslamOnline.net) – Probably what afflicts Palestinian resistance activists more than Israel’s state-of-the-art war machine, is their inability to make it for Saudi Arabia to perform hajj.

Said Siam, a 47-year-old Palestinian activist, is one of hundreds yearning for the spiritual journey, which physically and financially able Muslims should make once in a lifetime.

The major obstacle standing in the way of the long-cherished dream is the decade-old Israeli occupation.

"The Israeli army would immediately detain me at the any of the crossings they control in occupied Palestinian territories," Siam told IslamOnline.net.

He asserted that his crime – in the eyes of the Israeli troops– is resisting a long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories.

"While people speak about the spiritual joy of the hajj journey and long to visit the holy city of Makkah, we are being punished just for resisting the occupation of our land," lamented Siam, a Hamas activist.

"We hope that one day our country would be liberated and we would be able to perform hajj, " he said.

Israeli authorities have prevented 96 Palestinians on Wednesday, January 21, from leaving to Saudi Arabia to perform hajj, giving no justifications.

On January 13, Israel issued a list of 370 Palestinians from Gaza Strip and double that number from the West Bank who are banned from performing hajj.

The list includes relatives of Palestinian resistance fighters involved in anti-Israel attacks.

Hope

Khaled Al-Batch of the Islamic Jihad, shared grief over the inability to take the spiritual journey to Israeli security restrictions.

"Every year, I grieve on this occasion for not being able to go to the holy land. Despite the current hard times, there is still hope to perform pilgrimage," the 44-year-old activist told IOL.

A Palestinian resistance activist, who gave his name as Abu Moaz, said he feared the risk of being detained by Israeli soldiers if attempting to leave the occupied Palestinian territories for hajj.

He had been detained by occupation forces before the beginning of Intifada.

"In light of these circumstances, I am not ready to surrender to the occupation troops, though there is no evidence against me," the 37-year-old man said.

No Ordinance

Salem Salama, a professor in the Islamic University in Gaza, said the ban imposed by Israeli occupation authorities on Palestinian activists make them fall under the category of Muslims unable to perform this religious duty.

"Hajj should be performed by those who are able to perform it. The ability to perform Hajj is interpreted as having enough food and a means of transportation.

"The scholars pointed out that insecure roads fall under the category of [inability]," said Salama.

He asserted that a Palestinian, who is banned from performing hajj, can delegate another person to perform it on his behalf.

Saudi authorities have allowed some 10,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the kingdom for hajj, marking an increase of 5000.