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Israeli journalist sneaks into Muslim holy city of Mecca sparking fury online

Israeli journalist sneaks into Muslim holy city of Mecca sparking fury online
An Israeli journalist, Gil Tamari, secretly travelled to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, entering religious sites traditionally reserved only for Muslims.
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The Israeli journalist said breaching the holy city was a 'dream' come true for him [source: Getty]

An Israeli news reporter sneaked into Islam鈥檚 holiest city, , filming himself grinning as he passed religious sites reserved only for Muslims in

Gil Tamari, the world news editor at Channel 13, took a video of himself crossing into the holy city and pointing to the , as seen in footage shared by his network.听听

The footage sparked fury among social media users as non-Muslims are traditionally banned from entering Mecca and Medina as prescribed in verses from the .听

鈥淭hat鈥檚 me, and that鈥檚 the holy mosque鈥 was here in Mecca,鈥 said Tamari as he filmed himself in the car. The driver's face next to him is blurred.听

鈥淭he dream came true,鈥 he added.听听

The Israeli was also seen on Mount Arafat, where Muslims gather during the Hajj pilgrimage, a one-in-a-life journey for devoted religious believers in Islam.听

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The text accompanying Channel 13's video read: 鈥淕il Tamari was the first Israeli reporter who managed to get in and out on a journey in the city. And what happened when he was suspected? The full article - tonight in the main edition.鈥澨

The footage was slammed by social media users, who decried the opened disrespect of traditions and practices.听

鈥淸Mecca is] Islam鈥檚 holiest site which by Islamic jurisprudence is only allowed for Muslims. This is after repeated Israeli attacks on Islam鈥檚 third holiest site, in Jerusalem. Do they realise what they鈥檙e doing?鈥 said Iyad el-Baghdadi, president of the Kawakibi Foundation NGO.听

Tamari's stunt听follows successive Israeli attacks on the 听Mosque in Jerusalem, where Palestinian worshippers are routinely harassed and tear gassed by Israeli police and troops.

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Last week, several Israel journalists travelled to Saudi Arabia to cover 鈥檚 Middle East tour.听

Ahead of the president鈥檚 flight to the kingdom, announced it was opening its airspace to Israeli planes, a move that was widely perceived as step towards normalisation.听

Palestinians and their allies are highly critical of normalisation agreements - already brokered between the Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco- given the systematic persecution of听s by Israel.