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Hajj Concludes Sunday, Pilgrims to Self-Isolate

Hajj pilgrims at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
Hajj pilgrims at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Hajj Concludes Sunday, Pilgrims to Self-Isolate

Hajj pilgrims at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
Hajj pilgrims at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

The Hajj pilgrimage will end on Sunday with worhsippers performing the final “farewell” tawaf, or circumambulation of the holy Kaaba, at the Grand Mosque in Makkah city.

The pilgrims will conclude their holy journey with home isolation as part of the ongoing precautions against the novel coronavirus.

The pilgrims will kick off the final day of the Hajj at dawn on Sunday with the ritual stoning of the devil, by collecting small, medium and large stones, said Saudi deputy minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Abdul Fattah al-Mashat.

They will then head to Mina and at 4:00 pm, they will depart to the Grand Mosque for the final tawaf.

They will be tested for the coronavirus soon after concluding the rituals ahead of their departure from Makkah, he added.

The first day of the stoning of the devil began on Saturday amid heavy security and health measures. Authorities ensured that social distancing measures were adopted and the pilgrims were presented with a souvenir gift from the Hajj and Umrah Ministry on the occasion of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

The disinfection of the Grand Mosque continued on Saturday. The holy mosque has been disinfected at a rate of ten times per day.

The Saudi Health Ministry said there have been no cases of the COVID-19 illness among this year's pilgrims. Government precautions included testing pilgrims for the virus, monitoring their movement with electronic wristbands and requiring them to quarantine before and after.

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Gulf

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Arrives in Jeddah

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. (SPA file)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. (SPA file)
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Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Arrives in Jeddah

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. (SPA file)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. (SPA file)

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived in Jeddah on Tuesday coming from Riyadh.

At King Abdulaziz International Airport, he was received by Deputy Governor of Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz.

King Salman was accompanied by several princes and senior officials.

At King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Salman was seen off by Governor of Riyadh Region Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz and Deputy Governor of Riyadh Region Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz.

Gulf

Saudi Arabia Declares Wednesday First Day of Ramadan

Saudi Arabia declares Wednesday the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (Majmaah University)
Saudi Arabia declares Wednesday the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (Majmaah University)
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Saudi Arabia Declares Wednesday First Day of Ramadan

Saudi Arabia declares Wednesday the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (Majmaah University)
Saudi Arabia declares Wednesday the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (Majmaah University)

Saudi Arabia declared on Tuesday that the holy fasting month of Ramadan will begin on Wednesday.

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also declared that Ramadan will begin on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court had on Sunday urged Muslims across the Kingdom to sight the crescent moon that signals the advent of Ramadan on Tuesday evening.

Gulf

Saudi Arabia, Arab and Islamic Countries Condemn Israel’s 'State Land' Decision in West Bank 

The West Bank village of al-Ram is pictured behind Israel's controversial separation barrier from the outskirts of Jerusalem on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
The West Bank village of al-Ram is pictured behind Israel's controversial separation barrier from the outskirts of Jerusalem on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Saudi Arabia, Arab and Islamic Countries Condemn Israel’s 'State Land' Decision in West Bank 

The West Bank village of al-Ram is pictured behind Israel's controversial separation barrier from the outskirts of Jerusalem on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
The West Bank village of al-Ram is pictured behind Israel's controversial separation barrier from the outskirts of Jerusalem on February 16, 2026. (AFP)

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Türkiye strongly condemned on Tuesday Israel's decision to designate lands in the occupied West Bank as so-called "state land".

They also slammed it for approving procedures for the registration and settlement of land ownership across extensive areas of the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967.

They condemned the moves as “a grave escalation aimed at accelerating illegal settlement activity, land confiscation, entrenching Israeli control, and applying unlawful Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territory and undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”

These measures are “a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as a violation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, foremost among them Resolution 2334,” the FMs said in a statement.

“The decision also contradicts the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice concerning the legal consequences arising from Israeli policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which underscored the illegality of measures intended to alter the legal, historical, and demographic status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the obligation to end the occupation, and the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force,” they added.

“This step reflects an attempt to impose a new legal and administrative reality designed to consolidate control over the occupied land, thereby undermining the two-state solution, eroding the prospects for the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian State, and jeopardizing the attainment of a just and comprehensive peace in the region,” they warned.

The foreign ministers reiterated their “categorical rejection of all unilateral measures aimed at altering the legal, demographic, and historical status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

They stressed that such policies are “a dangerous escalation that will further heighten tensions and instability in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the region as a whole.”

They called on the international community “to assume its responsibilities and take clear and decisive steps to halt these violations, ensure respect for international law, and safeguard the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them their right to self-determination, ending the occupation, and establishing their independent and sovereign State based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”