A wave of anger overwhelms Saudi Arabia after the publication of a video made by an Israeli journalist during the pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest place in Islam which is forbidden to enter unless you are a Muslim.

In his 10-minute video, Gil Tamary, of Israel’s Channel 13, visits Mount Arafat, an essential and sacred stop in the framework of the great pilgrimage to Mecca, which took place this year in early July. As a precaution, the driver’s face is pixelated.

In the images, Tamary acknowledges that her presence is illegal and congratulates herself on being “the first Israeli journalist to make a video hereand in Hebrew. “He apologized on Tuesday, explaining that his goal was” to show the importance of Mecca and the beauty of Islam. “

In case they were detained by the police, the reporter had prepared a false story that they were visiting relatives in Mecca.

But his explanations did not calm the anger in both the media and social networks, where the feeling that religion had been disrespectful was so intense that a hashtag that in Arabic means “a Jew in the sacred mosque” went viral.

The appearance of the video could have political consequences for relations between the two countries. It should be remembered that Saudi Arabia and Israel they have no official diplomatic tieseven as the US tries to bring them closer in an attempt to contain Iran in the region.

Arrests in Saudi Arabia

Saudi authorities announced on Friday the arrest of a man who helped a “non-Muslim” to get to Meccaafter the controversy aroused by the video made by an Israeli journalist who broke into the holiest place of Islam.

“An accomplice citizen, who guided and facilitated entry of a non-Muslim journalist with US citizenship in the Holy City, was transferred to the prosecutor’s office, “the spokesman for the Mecca police said.

Tamary’s video sparked a series of hostile reactions on social media this week in this Gulf Muslim monarchy.

Citizens of Israel can only enter Saudi Arabia with a second passport when they have multiple nationalities.

This is “a direct violation of the regulation that prohibits non-Muslims from entering Mecca”, explained the police spokesman and specified that they will present “legal proceedings” against this “accomplice”.

On the other hand, “the case of the journalist who committed this crime has been forwarded to the prosecutor, who will take the necessary measures”, he added, without specifying whether the journalist in question was Gil Tamary.

Source: AFP