Saudi cleric announces plans to visit Jerusalem

by Dan Slobodkin

A prominent Saudi cleric stirred controversy after announcing he intended to visit Jerusalem, while Israel replied by suggesting he apply for a visa from Jordan, according to a report on the Al Arabiya News Channel.

Riyadh-based Sheikh Mohamed al-Areefi announced on the satellite channel Iqraa that the next episode of his show would be about Israel and that he intended to visit Jerusalem the following week to shoot a talk show there.

However, Areefi neither specified the exact date nor how he would enter Jerusalem, since Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic ties with Israel and bans its citizens from entering the country.

In response to Areefi’s announcement the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that the cleric could apply for a visa through the embassy in Amman.

Although the case is unprecedented, Areefi’s application would be dealt with according to the regular procedure followed with all countries, including those with no diplomatic ties with Israel or those considered enemy states.

A source in the Jerusalem municipality commented that people from all faiths are welcome in the city as long as they have no intention of stirring political unrest in the “already simmering capital.”

By undertaking such a trip, Areefi will be charged with breaking our travel ban and will be penalized accordingly, said Major Badr Malik, official spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s passport authority.

“We won’t hold him accountable for statements he makes on TV since these could be sheer propaganda,” he told the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan on Wednesday. “But if the Ministry of Interior verifies that he actually went to Israel, he will be penalized.”

Malik added that traveling to countries on which the government imposes a ban requires special permission from Saudi government authorities. Otherwise, the trip is considered a violation of the law.

It has not been confirmed whether Areefi will actually be able to broadcast the next episode of his show, called Daa Basmatak (Leave Your Fingerprint), from Jerusalem, but Mohamed Ahmed Salaam, chairman of the Iqraa channel, promised that Areefi’s next episode will be a surprise.

“The next episode is a surprise and we don’t want to spoil it,” he said in an interview with CNN.

Salaam added that many of the reports that will be featuring in next Friday’s episode have already been prepared and that the problems concerning Areefi’s visit to Jerusalem have been solved.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Islamic movements called upon Areefi to cancel his plans to visit Jerusalem since the trip would be perceived as a form of normalization with Israel.

“Areefi is welcome to visit any spot in Palestine any time, but this visit would be misunderstood,” Khaled al-Batsh of Islamic Jihad told Al Arabiya. “It would be a kind of legitimization of the status quo in Jerusalem.”

Ismail Radwan, a spokesman for the Gaza-based terror organization, said visiting Jerusalem under the current circumstances is discouraged.

Tags: Areefi, Jerusalem, Saudi Arabia