Haj agencies win royal plaudits for stellar work

October 8, 2014

Jeddah, Oct 8: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has commended the efforts of government agencies and private organizations in making this year’s Haj a "big success," enabling more than 2 million Hajis to perform their rituals in peace and comfort.

“We appreciate the efforts of your royal highness and the Supreme Haj Committee as well as security officers and employees of public and private agencies in making the Haj operation a big success,” the king said in a cable to Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif, chairman of the committee.

King Abdullah thanked the Almighty for His blessings and praised all officials and employees of Haj-related organizations for doing their jobs responsibly. “This has resulted in them efficiently carrying out the various plans related to Haj security, health services, traffic and pilgrim safety,” the king said.

King Abdullah underscored the coordinated efforts that allowed pilgrims to move smoothly to the tent city of Mina, Mount Arafat for the standing in prayer ritual, before moving to Muzdalifah and then Mina for the stoning of the Jamrat, without any major incidents.

“We thank God for protecting the health of pilgrims from infectious diseases,” the king said while praising the precautionary measures taken by the Health Ministry. He reiterated Saudi Arabia’s readiness to extend the best possible services to the guests of God.

Prince Mohammed had sent a message to King Abdullah congratulating him on the successful completion of the pilgrimage. He said over 2 million faithful, which included 1.4 million foreign Hajis, stood at Arafat on Friday. “There was uninterrupted water and electricity supply,” he said while praising municipal workers for cleaning Makkah and the holy sites.

According to a report carried by a local news website, two pilgrims died and 95 fainted inside the Grand Mosque on Monday after nearly 1.5 million thronged the mosque complex for Tawaf Al-Wida. The Civil Defense and Special Security Force deployed more officers at the mosque to control the crowd.

Mahmoud Al-Sayed from Egypt said he was extremely happy for having the rare opportunity to perform his first Haj. “I never expected this huge arrangements made by the Saudi government for the pilgrimage,” he said.

“Nobody can underestimate the marvelous services being extended by the Kingdom for the welfare of pilgrims,” said Anwar Al-Kuthairy of Yemen. “The introduction of the Mashair Railway was a wonderful idea that facilitated the movement of pilgrims between the holy sites,” said Tunisian Makhlafi Abdullah.

Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, congratulated King Abdullah, Crown Prince Salman and Makkah Gov. Prince Mishaal for the successful Haj operation.

“Pilgrims have been able to make use of the second phase of mataf expansion and the historic giant expansion of the Grand Mosque ordered by the king during this Haj season,” Al-Sudais said.

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UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians

News Network

November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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