Qatari pilgrims on Thursday began crossing into Saudi Arabia, Saudi media reported, after Riyadh reopened the border in a move that Doha welcomed, but saw as “politically motivated” as regional tensions simmer.
The Salwa border crossing, a key passage for Muslims on the annual hajj, has been closed since June in a major diplomatic crisis that saw Riyadh and its regional allies cut relations with Doha over allegations that the emirate supported extremists.
Qatar has denied the charge and in turn accused Riyadh of politicizing the hajj by restricting its citizens from making the pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest site in Islam that is located in western Saudi Arabia.
About 120 Qataris entered Saudi territory on Thursday through the Salwa border, also known as Abu Samrah, Saudi state television reported, after Saudi Arabia’s King Salman called for the border to be opened for pilgrims without electronic permits.
The Saudi government separately allocated seven flights of the Saudi national carrier to bring pilgrims from Doha at the monarch’s expense, state news agency SPA reported.
Qatar welcomed the decision, but also lashed out at what it called Riyadh’s politicization of religious freedoms.
“Regardless of the manner in which pilgrims from Qatar were banned from the pilgrimage, which was politically motivated ... the government of Qatar welcomes the decision and will respond positively,” Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told reporters on a visit to Stockholm.
“What matters to us is the bottom line, which is that our citizens now have a way to attend the hajj, and we uphold our demand that hajj be spared politicization,” he said.
The kingdom’s decision to reopen the border came shortly after its powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Qatari envoy Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling dynasty.
The meeting on Wednesday in Jeddah was the first public high-level encounter between the nations since the crisis erupted more than two months ago.
The decision also came after SPA reported that Prince Mohammed had received a telephone call from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has sought repeatedly to defuse the regional crisis.
Analysts on Thursday said that the dispute was far from over.
“This is a goodwill gesture towards the Qatari people and not a breakthrough with the Qatari” government, Ali Shihabi of Washington-based think tank the Arabia Foundation said on Twitter, referring to the border reopening.
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