RIYADH
\nA Saudi who allegedly helped a non-Muslim enter the holy city of Makkah has been arrested, police in the kingdom said on Friday, after online backlash against an Israeli journalist. The journalist, Gil Tamary of Israel\u2019s Channel 13, on Monday posted to Twitter video of himself sneaking into Makkah, Islam\u2019s holiest city, in defiance of a ban on non-Muslims.
\nMakkah regional police have \u201creferred a citizen\u201d to prosecutors for alleged complicity in \u201ctransferring and facilitating the entry of a (non-Muslim) journalist\u201d, a police spokesperson said in comments reported by the official Saudi Press Agency.
\nSPA did not name the journalist but said he is an American citizen, whose case has also been referred to prosecutors \u201cto take the necessary procedures against him in accordance with the applied laws\u201d.
\nThe spokesperson for the Makkah Police stressed that all those coming to the kingdom must respect the laws and abide by their requirements, especially with regard to the Two Holy Mosques and holy sites, and that any violation of this kind is considered a crime that will not be tolerated and penalties will be applied to its perpetrators based on the relevant regulations.
\nDespite 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\u2019s neighbours, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
\nIn 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.
\nHe makes clear he knows that what he\u2019s doing is outlawed but says he wanted to showcase \u201ca place that is so important to our Muslim brothers and sisters\u201d.
\nTamary\u2019s justification, and subsequent apology, did little to quiet angry Saudi social media responses.
\nThe controversy followed US President Joe Biden\u2019s visit to both Israel and Saudi Arabia last week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RIYADH A Saudi who allegedly helped a non-Muslim enter the holy city of Makkah has been arrested, police in the kingdom said on Friday, after online backlash against an Israeli journalist. The journalist, Gil Tamary of Israel\u2019s Channel 13, on Monday posted to Twitter video of himself sneaking into Makkah, Islam\u2019s holiest city, in defiance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[5542,9780,9388,501,9781],"class_list":["post-272892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-hajj","tag-israeli-reporter","tag-makkah","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-sneaks"],"yoast_head":"\n