[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="First group of non-Arab African pilgrims arrives from South Africa" ids="74730,74731,74732,74733,74734,74735"] Badea Abu Al-Naja MAKKAH — The first batch of pilgrims from non-Arab African countries arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on Saturday from South Africa. Tariq Alawi, second deputy chairman of the Tawafa Establishment for the Non-Arab African Countries, Walid Khaled Alawi, chairman of the field office No. 21, and other officials of the establishment received the pilgrims on arrival. The pilgrims were welcomed to holy land by the officials with flowers, Zamzam water and other token gifts. The establishment's staff assured the pilgrims that they would devote themselves to the service of the guests of God to help them perform their Haj rites in ease, peace and comfort. Rami Bin Saleh Labni, chairman of the Tawafa establishment's board of directors, said they have completed all arrangements and deployed all their human and technological resources to serve the pilgrims. "Through our field offices scattered all over Makkah and the holy sites we will provide excellent services to our pilgrims from the time of their arrival until they depart for their respective countries," he said. 1,000 guest pilgrims from Palestine As many as 1,000 Palestinian pilgrims will perform Haj this year as the guests of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. They represent the families of the martyrs in the occupied lands, said an official with the guest pilgrim program. The King invites thousands of Muslims from several countries every year to perform Haj and Umrah as his personal guests under two separate programs. Zaid Ali Al-Dukan, deputy head of the program, said the Palestinian pilgrims will be issued Haj visas from the Saudi Consulate in Cairo and will be flown to the Kingdom by Saudi Arabian Airlines. As many as 13,000 relatives of Palestinian martyrs performed Haj as the guests of the King in the past seven years.
