The first group of Palestinian pilgrims from the occupied West Bank began to leave for Saudi Arabia on Monday to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, as Israel continues to prevent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from making the soul-searching journey for the third consecutive year, Anadolu reports.
Waleed Ghannam, director of police at the Karama crossing, which serves as the main thoroughfare for West Bank Palestinians to travel abroad, said buses carrying pilgrims began arriving in the morning in Jericho, where travel procedures were being completed before their departure for Saudi Arabia.
The first group includes 2,230 pilgrims, while 1,730 others are scheduled to leave Tuesday as part of ongoing arrangements to send Palestinian pilgrims to the holy sites in Saudi Arabia, Ghannam told Anadolu.
Most pilgrims will leave Monday and Tuesday, while departures will continue until May 20, with a maximum of 500 pilgrims leaving each day, he added.
About 6,600 Palestinians from the West Bank will perform Hajj this year, according to official figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa inspected arrangements for pilgrims heading to Saudi Arabia and reviewed preparations for their travel and accommodation, his office said in a statement.
Mustafa heard briefings from Amin Qandil, head of the General Authority for Crossings and Borders, and Awqaf Minister Mohammed Najm on measures to facilitate the pilgrims’ travel, the statement said.
The Hajj pilgrimage is the fifth pillar of the Islamic faith, a ritual that must be performed by all Muslims, if financially viable, at least once in their lives. It is expected to take place later this month.
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This comes as Palestinians in Gaza have been barred from performing Hajj for the third year in a row, as Israel continues to keep Gaza’s crossings restricted and as humanitarian and security conditions deteriorate in the blockaded territory.
The Awqaf Ministry said March 3 that the remaining share of Gaza pilgrims had been transferred to the West Bank and East Jerusalem as an exceptional and temporary measure for this year.
The ministry said at the time that the decision was made because of the limited time under the Hajj protocol signed with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, which set March 20, 2026, as the deadline to issue Hajj visas.
Palestinians in Gaza face extremely difficult humanitarian and living conditions following Israel’s two-year war, along with years of restrictions on movement and travel.
The suffering has worsened amid widespread destruction and shortages of food, medicine and fuel, while hundreds of thousands of Palestinians face repeated displacement in overcrowded areas lacking basic services.
Israel closed the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only outlet for Palestinians, after its forces seized it in May 2024. It reopened the crossing Feb. 2, 2026, for patients and wounded people on a very limited basis, while maintaining strict restrictions on entry and exit.
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