Saudi Arabia: Holy Kaabah, Holy Mosque

We use cookies and other technologies to recognize your repeat visits and preferences, as well as to measure campaigns and analyze traffic. To learn more about cookies, including how to disable them, view our Privacy Policy. By clicking "I Accept" or by using our site, you consent to the use of cookies I Accept Saudi crown prince climbs atop Mecca’s Kaaba, angering foes Mohammed bin Salman criticized at home and abroad by both Islamists and liberals after personally inspecting holy site By TOI STAFF 13 Feb 2019, 10:13 pm 1 Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, front second right, during a visit to the Kaaba shrine at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, February 12, 2019. (Twitter screen capture) 589 shares Saudi Arabia’s controversial crown prince drew condemnation from critics on Tuesday after walking on the roof of the Kaaba, the cube-shaped building that stands on the holiest site in Islam. Mohammed bin Salman was visiting the Kaaba in Mecca, to which Muslims around the world pray five times daily, in order to inspect the construction work underway to renovate and expand the vast Grand Mosque complex surrounding it, known to Muslims as the Masjid al-Haram. The Saudi government’s oversight of the complex marks one of its claims to authority and legitimacy. Saudi King Salman’s formal title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the first in Mecca and the second in nearby Medina. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories FREE SIGN UP But the Tuesday visit by the crown prince, who wields de facto executive power in the country, comes amid widespread criticism over a crackdown against dissidents, a regional clash with Shiite Iran that has seen a bloody intervention in Yemen and an accompanying and ongoing humanitarian disaster there, and the October murder in Istanbul by Saudi agents of regime critic Jamal Khashoggi, which drew withering international condemnation and hurt Riyadh’s relations with some Western governments. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia during a visit to the Kaaba shrine at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, February 12, 2019. (Twitter screen capture) A Twitter hashtag “Mohammed bin Salman in the Holy Mosque” offered a window into the opposition the Saudi monarchy faces. A Saudi feminist charged that the prince was attempting to mollify Islamists with the visit after a “backlash” caused by his “liberation reforms.” Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, front left, visits the Kaaba shrine at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, February 12, 2019. (Twitter screen capture) Bin Salman has been excoriated by conservatives for ending some of the kingdom’s most criticized social restrictions, such as the ban on women driving, and by liberals and Western governments for simultaneously cracking down on women’s rights activists and other dissenters. Amani Al-Ahmadi | أماني الأحمدي @amani_aal #MBS is currently in Mecca to discuss a future holy mosque expanding project. This isn’t surprising considering the backlash MBS has been receiving due to his liberation reforms. More publicity stunts designed to boost his image with Islamists. #محمد_بن_سلمان_في_الحرم_المكي أخبار السعودية @SaudiNews50 فيديو .. . ولي العهد من على سطح الكعبة المشرفة . . #محمد_بن_سلمان_في_الحرم_المكي . 13 9:52 AM - Feb 12, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy See Amani Al-Ahmadi | أماني الأحمدي's other Tweets Some accused the crown prince of treating the holy site “like his garden.” The Arabian Republic @ArabianRepublic World’s Muslim Feel Angry seeing Brutal Killer Mohammad Bin Salman walking on the roof of The Kaaba like his garden.#SaudiDictatorRegime is using Holy Kaaba as his personal property, it should be jointly managed by Muslim World.#DemocracyInSaudi #محمد_بن_سلمان_في_الحرم_المكي 22 4:56 AM - Feb 13, 2019 26 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy One user identifying himself as a Yemeni Salafist called the Saudi prince a “criminal,” and was among many who slammed the visit because it forced the removal of ordinary worshipers from the holy site, a long-controversial policy during visits by dignitaries. Another user mocked the crown prince’s photo standing and praying at the Kaaba wall, comparing it to US President Donald Trump praying at Jerusalem’s Western Wall. فهد الهاجري @Q_FAHAD_R #محمد_بن_سلمان_في_الحرم_المكي هذه الكعبة المشرفة وليست حائط المبكى يا مبس 6 12:15 PM - Feb 13, 2019 See فهد الهاجري's other Tweets Twitter Ads info and privacy One user urged the crown prince to take Machiavelli’s advice that a prince should avoid “being hated and despised.” An English-language school in Riyadh noticed the anger, and decided to offer a free lesson: “Instead of using ‘very angry’ to express your emotions use the correct synonym: annoyed, frustrated, angry, furious or enraged!” it wrote using the MBS hashtag. View image on Twitter English Educational Centre #EEC @info_eec Instead of using “Very angry” to express your emotions use the correct synonym: annoyed, frustrated, angry, furious or enraged! . .#Learn more synonyms & sign up for our General #English Courses TODAY! contact us now: 0112034430 0509558733 .#محمد_بن_سلمان_في_الحرم_المكي 2 11:09 AM - Feb 12, 2019 · English Educational Centre See English Educational Centre #EEC's other Tweets Twitter Ads info and privacy READ MORE: Israel & the Region Mohammed bin Salman Kaaba Saudi Arabia reforms Iran-Saudi Arabia relations Saudi royalty Saudi women Saudi women driving Saudi Arabia-Yemen relations Yemen civil war Saudi Arabia Mecca 589 shares SPONSORED STORIES His dad was an imam, his wife has Jewish roots: Meet El Salvador’s new leader Chelsea Clinton announces pregnancy The World’s Top 25 Richest Politicians & Their Wealth Investing.com Is Google spying on you? Here's how to stop them with DuckDuckGo Duck Duck Go on Quora Jordan’s queen pushes back on questions over wardrobe spending Jewish family claims kicked off plane due to religion, not body odor Recommended by COMMENTS FEBRUARY 17, 2019 CURRENT TOP STORIES BREAKING NEWS IDF soldier wounded, 19 Gazan rioters reported shot as border heats up Israel strikes back with tank fire at Hamas posts after serviceman hit by improvised explosive, as dozens of Gazans burn tires, throw bombs at troops and security fence, army says By JUDAH ARI GROSS Today, 9:55 pm 0 A masked Palestinian demonstrator pulls a burning tire during a night demonstration near the fence along the border with Israel, east of Gaza City, on February 11, 2019. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP) 7 shares An IDF soldier was moderately injured in clashes along the northern Gaza border on Sunday night, days after a similar attack lightly wounded a Border Police officer, the army said. The serviceman appeared to have been hit by an improvised explosive thrown by Palestinians during a riot along the Gaza border, east of the city of Jabaliya, around 9:00 p.m., the Israel Defense Forces said. He was taken to Ashkelon’s Barzilai Medical Center in moderate condition. The soldier sustained shrapnel wounds to the neck, the hospital said. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories FREE SIGN UP During the same clash in the northern Gaza Strip, 19 Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire, the spokesman for the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said in a statement to reporters. They suffered varying injuries of different degrees, he added. One person was seriously injured, sustaining a head wound, according to the health ministry. The Gaza health ministry spokesman said there were no Palestinian fatalities in the clash. Palestinian media reported that the rioters tried to breach the security fence, but were driven back by Israeli gunfire. In response to the riot, Israeli tanks shelled two Hamas observation posts near the border, the army said. The military said during the riot, dozens of Palestinian rioters burned tires and threw improvised explosive devices at the security fence surrounding the northern Gaza Strip and the Israeli troops on the other side. “An IDF soldier was injured apparently by an explosive device that was thrown at him,” the army said. After doctors worked to stop the bleeding to his neck, the soldier was taken into surgery, the hospital said. The Sunday night clash came two days after a massive border riot in which an Israeli Border Police officer from an undercover unit was lightly wounded by shrapnel in the leg when a pipe bomb exploded next to his team, police said. An Israeli Military Intelligence assessment released last Wednesday warned that Hamas, the terror group that controls Gaza, may seek to spark a war with Israel in the near future in an attempt to elicit international sympathy and an influx of international aid money to the Gaza Strip. The IDF believes Hamas or the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second largest terror group in Gaza, could attempt to draw Israel into a war by conducting an attack along the border — an anti-tank missile strike, an ambush from an as-yet-undiscovered tunnel or a similar low-level but significant attack. In light of this view, IDF chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, whose tenure began last month, called for the military to update operational plans for fighting in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian protesters run toward the fence along the border with Israel, east of Gaza City, on February 15, 2019. An Israeli military vehicle is pictured on the other side of the fence. (Said Khatib/AFP) Since last March, the Gaza border has seen large-scale weekly clashes on Fridays, smaller protests along the northern Gaza border on Tuesdays, as well as periodic flareups between the Israeli military and Palestinian terror organizations. For the past several months, Egypt, UN special coordinator to the Middle East peace process Nikolay Mladenov and Qatar have worked to try to restore calm in Gaza and prevent flareups between Israel and terror groups in the Strip. Israel has demanded an end to the violent demonstrations along the border in any ceasefire agreement. Earlier this month Israel announced that it had begun the final phase of construction of a 20-foot (some 6 meters) high galvanized steel fence that will completely surround the Strip. The barrier will extend 65 kilometers (40 miles) miles around the enclave and sit atop the subterranean concrete wall that Israel is constructing around Gaza to block terrorist groups’ attack tunnels. Adam Rasgon, Times of Israel staff and AFP contributed to this report. READ MORE: Israel & the Region Gaza border Gaza Strip IDF Israel Defense Forces Jabaliya 7 shares SPONSORED STORIES Top Venezuelan opposition figure asks Jewish expats to return Pro-Hamas TV station labeled a terrorist group by Israel halts its operations Netanyahu’s staff scrambles after he speaks of ‘war against Iran’ IDF warns Hamas likely to spark war in Gaza in bid for international support Pence urges EU to pull out of nuclear deal, says Iran planning ‘new Holocaust’ Israeli court bars woman from receiving sperm of US serial donor Recommended by COMMENTS MORE Ministers approve slashing $138 million from Palestinians over terror payments Amid anger over murder of teen in Jerusalem, security cabinet backs implementation of law to deduct amount equal to PA payments to attackers and families By TOI STAFF Today, 8:45 pm 3 An Israeli woman holds a sign reading 'Our blood is not worthless,' during a rally in Tel Aviv on February 9, 2019, following the murder of 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90) 3 shares The security cabinet on Sunday approved the implementation of a law to cut over half a billion shekels in funds to the Palestinian Authority over its payments to terrorists and their families. Applying the law has faced opposition from the security establishment, who worry it could destabilize the situation in the West Bank. A statement from the security cabinet said that ministers agreed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could withhold NIS 502,697,000 ($138 million) in PA tax revenues, the amount Israeli officials say the PA paid out in stipends to attackers and their families in 2018. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories FREE SIGN UP Netanyahu also instructed security authorities to examine additional payments the PA is making in relation to terrorists and their families, the statement said. “The amount frozen will be adjusted accordingly,” it noted. The $138 million will likely be deducted incrementally over a 12-month period, according to local media reports. Senior Palestine Liberation Organization official Ahmed Majdalani accused Israel and the United States, which has cut hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian aid, of an attempt at blackmail. “The occupation government is seeking to destroy the national authority in partnership with the US administration of Donald Trump,” Majdalani said in a statement. He described the move as “piracy.” Acting Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah responded to the cabinet decision by calling the witholding of funds “collective punishment.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), Zvi Hauser (C) and Moshe Ya’alon attend the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem on March 10, 2013. (Miriam Alster/Flash90) Economy and Industry Minister Eli Cohen, a member of the security cabinet, welcomed the decision. “It can’t be that the families of terrorists who murdered Jews in cold blood, enjoy a stipend or wage for those acts of terror,” he said. “Today, in the cabinet, we stopped that absurdity.” Israel collects around $127 million a month in customs duties levied on goods destined for Palestinian markets that transit through Israeli ports, and then transfers the money to the PA. The law withholding the tax revenues, passed by the Knesset last year, is opposed by Israeli security officials who say further cuts to the PA budget could hurt security cooperation and destabilize the West Bank. The government has refused to implement the measure, though politicians have faced public pressure to crack down on the PA’s payments, which are viewed as incentivizing terror attacks. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen standing at the PA presidential headquarters in Ramallah on February 5, 2019. (Credit: Wafa) At the meeting, security officials warned ministers that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would not halt the payments but rather cut funding for the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Hamas terror group, Channel 12 television reported. Officials cautioned that a further cut to services in the enclave, already ravaged by economic and humanitarian difficulties, could ignite violence directed at Israel. Such a development would shatter a fragile calm which has settled on the Israel-Gaza border following months of violent protests. Netanyahu, who is seeking reelection this April, has come under increasing pressure to act in the wake of the brutal murder of an Israeli teen in a terrorist attack earlier this month. Last week, he told ministers that he would deduct the payments immediately after he received permission from the security cabinet. Arafat Irfaiya, charged with the murder of 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher, at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s court on February 11, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90) A West Bank-based Palestinian man, Arafat Irfayia, 29, was arrested the day after the body of 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher was found in a southern Jerusalem wood on February 7. The case has sparked outrage across the country. Irfayia, who reenacted the events for investigators, claimed he murdered Ansbacher for Palestinian nationalistic reasons however Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said that during interrogation he admitted also raping Ansbacher. Agencies contributed to this report. 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