On Wednesday, several countries issued statements condemning the attempt to target the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia with a drone, and Riyadh accused the Yemeni Ansar Allah group (Houthis) of trying to target “the land of the message and the qibla of Muslims,” which the Houthis denied.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday that it condemns and denounces "the launching of an enemy drone by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the Holy City of Mecca."
She added, "This cowardly terrorist attack against the Sacred Land, the land of the Message, the place of revelation, and the qibla of Muslims, is a repetition of the practices of the terrorist Houthi militia in targeting and violating the holy sites, and a provocation to the feelings of Muslims in various parts of the world."
She pointed out that "this is the second attempt to target Mecca after the first attempt on 7/27/2017."
The Saudi authorities said that their air defenses “responded to the attack and were able to intercept and destroy the drone before it entered the restricted airspace of the holy capital, Mecca.”
In the Foreign Ministry's statement, the Kingdom called on "the international community to condemn these grave attacks, and to take a firm stance regarding the terrorist Houthi militia's attacks on the holy sites and civilian and economic objects in the Kingdom, and the Houthi militia's threat to freedom of maritime navigation for commercial ships and international trade."
Saudi Arabia affirmed its “legitimate right to take all necessary measures to defend the security of the Two Holy Mosques, the guests of God, and all the Kingdom’s lands, citizens, and residents.”
For its part, Qatar condemned "in the strongest terms the Houthi group's targeting of Mecca with a drone," stressing in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that "the attempt to undermine the sanctity of Mecca and the Holy House of God, the Qibla of Muslims and the purest place on earth, represents a disgraceful act of aggression and an extremely dangerous transgression of all religious, moral and humanitarian red lines, and a blatant provocation to the feelings of more than a billion Muslims around the world."
Doha warned, “that undertaking actions that would endanger Mecca and the holy sites represents an extremely dangerous escalation and a disregard for their great religious and spiritual status in the conscience of all Muslims.”
Qatar affirmed its support for Saudi Arabia in “all necessary measures and procedures to protect its security, territorial integrity, and Islamic holy sites.”
Al-Azhar in Egypt also condemned the attempt, and said in a statement: “Exposing the Sacred Country to danger is a heinous crime and a sinful assault on a sanctity that God has glorified, and it is a provocation to the feelings of Muslims in the east and west of the earth,” warning of “the consequences of continuing to expand the scope of the conflict to affect Islamic sanctities.”
He also stressed, "It is inconceivable that the Holy City of Mecca will turn into an arena for conflict or threats, and that the sanctity of the Holy City of Mecca is one of the constants of the faith of Islam and Muslims, which must not be harmed or approached in any way."
Al-Azhar stressed that "the security of the Two Holy Mosques is not a political or regional matter, but rather an issue that affects the faith of the entire Islamic nation. Targeting the Sacred Country or exposing it to danger is antagonizing the feelings of two billion Muslims," stressing that "preserving the sanctity of the Sacred Land and preserving its security and the security of those who visit it is a responsibility that must be respected by Muslims and non-Muslims, far from the calculations of conflict and politics."
The Kingdom of Jordan also issued a statement of condemnation on Wednesday, saying that “the attempt to target Mecca with a drone launched by the Houthi militia is a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a threat to its security, stability and territorial integrity, a flagrant violation of international law, and an unacceptable attack that represents an underestimation of the status and sanctity of Mecca and an offense to the feelings of Muslims.”
For his part, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jassem Al-Budaiwi, condemned, "in the strongest and harshest terms, the treacherous terrorist attempt undertaken by the Houthi militia to target the holy capital, Mecca, with a drone."
Al-Badawi described the attack as a "sinful Houthi criminal act," considering that it "represents an extremely dangerous escalation, a transgression of all lines and borders, and a blatant violation of the sanctity of the holiest places on Earth and the qibla of Muslims... and requires a firm and deterrent international stance that puts an end to these violations and holds those responsible for them accountable."
He also affirmed in a statement that “the security of the Kingdom and the security of its sanctities is an integral part of the security of the GCC states, reiterating full support for all measures and measures taken by the Kingdom to preserve its sovereignty, protect its lands, sanctities, citizens and residents of its lands, and deter anyone who tries to undermine its security and stability.”
While the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, expressed his condemnation of “the attempt to target Mecca with a drone,” describing the attempt as “heinous and cowardly,” noting that protecting the Two Holy Mosques is “a duty that every Pakistani carries in his heart.”
Sharif previously wrote on his page on the “X” platform, Twitter: “I condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly and heinous attempted attack using a drone that targeted Mecca.”
The military spokesman for the Houthi group, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, denied earlier Wednesday that the city of Mecca had been targeted, stressing: “There is no threat from Yemen to the holy sites, as our operations target its oil installations and military bases, which are far from the holy sites,” in reference to Saudi Arabia.
