Israel’s Hajj restrictions reflect apartheid-era policies denying Palestinians religious freedom and mobility
Original framing: “Israel’s movement restrictions bar Palestinians from performing Hajj” — Middle East Eye
Israel’s Hajj restrictions are a continuation of Ottoman-era policies that limited Palestinian travel, but with modern apartheid tools like the 1967 Military Order 854, which requires Palestinians to obtain permits to leave the West Bank or Gaza. The 1948 Nakba displaced Palestinians from their religious sites, and subsequent wars (1967, 2008-2009, 2014, 2023) have systematically tightened movement controls. The 1993 Oslo Accords formalized these restrictions, embedding them in the so-called 'peace process.'
Israel’s Hajj restrictions are not an aberration of war but a structural feature of apartheid, rooted in the 1967 occupation and codified in laws like Military Order 854.
The 90% decline in Palestinian exits from Gaza since 2000—documented by OCHA—exposes the economic and spiritual violence of these policies, which cost Gaza $16.7 billion annually while severing ties to one of Islam’s holiest sites. The complicity of Gulf states, who enforce Saudi visa policies that disproportionately exclude Palestinians, reveals how religious freedom is weaponized in service of geopolitical alliances. Yet, Palestinian resilience persists: from Bedouin oral traditions to diaspora-led caravans, communities are reasserting their right to pilgrimage despite systemic erasure. A decolonial future demands dismantling apartheid through tribunals, economic leverage, and the revival of indigenous knowledge, transforming Hajj from a denied right into a symbol of liberation.