Local Haj likely to get 40% cheaper

August 15, 2015

Jeddah, Aug 15: Prices for local Haj packages are expected to drop between 30 and 40 percent this year, according to an official at the Ministry of Haj.

Most local Haj operators have begun to change their packages after the ministry announced the launch of the online portal for local pilgrims.

According to the source, the portal will help curb the incidence of fake Haj campaigns, ensure the security of pilgrims, combat exceedingly high prices and guarantee the rights of all parties.

Hussain Al-Shareef, deputy minister for Haj affairs, said the portal will allow residents and citizens to easily access licensed Haj companies, as well as obtain clear and transparent information about services provided.

Starting next week, individuals can access the site and register in order to identify services without visiting the company.

He said the ministry has sought to unify the types of services provided in order to assure equality and ensure no companies are overpricing their services.

Prices for local Haj packages under the new system vary between SR5,893 and SR8,146 per person, depending on the group and level, as well as on the form of transportation included. Last year, prices varied between SR8,500 and SR14,500, and often went as high as SR20,000 per person.

According to Osama Al-Filani, president of the National Committee for Haj, the portal includes a number of positive benefits, as it will reduce prices by at least 40 percent this year.

He said it would also allow the ministry to monitor and tighten control over all services provided to pilgrims to ensure there are no violations of regulations and Haj instructions, as well as achieve transparency in the disclosure of prices and eliminate fake offices.

“But the system may contribute to the reduction of competitiveness and development in the sector,” he said, noting that VIP packages do not constitute more than 1 percent of the total allocated places for local pilgrims.

He called for an assessment of the situation and a re-evaluation of the system following the pilgrimage season.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

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.

Comments