Abdullah Al-Thani calls Tamim to facilitate pilgrimage on Qataris

CAIRO – 20 August 2017: The Qatari royal family member, Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani, apologized on Sunday to the Qatari people and called on Tamim to facilitate the rituals of pilgrimage to the Qataris after banning Saudi aircraft into Qatar to transport Qatari pilgrims to perform holy rituals.

Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani twitted through his account on Twitter: "My brothers and sons: I am sorry to prevent you from traveling through Saudi aircrafts from Doha to perform pilgrimage, and I hope the brothers in Qatar cooperate to facilitate the rituals of pilgrimage for citizens."

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir denounced claims that the Kingdom banned Qatar pilgrims during a joint press conference on July 30 in Manama.

On June 5, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar, closing their airspaces and maritime navigation to the Qatari transportation, over accusations that the Gulf state was backing terrorism