Arab states cut ties with Qatar over its support of terrorism - News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

by News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

In unprecedented breach between powerful Arab countries, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Yemen accuse Qatar of destabilizing the Gulf • U.S. officials say move unlikely to affect war on terror • Qatar calls measure "unjustified."

Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani | Photo credit: Reuters

In an unprecedented breach between the most powerful members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of destabilizing the Persian Gulf.

The coordinated move dramatically escalates the simmering tensions in the Gulf. Qatar has long faced criticism from its Arab neighbors over its support of Islamist groups, especially the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Qatar repeatedly and strongly denied it funds extremist groups. However, it remains a key financial patron of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and has been the home of exiled Hamas official Khaled Mashaal since 2012. 

Qatar said it regretted its neighbors' decision, according to Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV.

"The measures are unjustified and are based on claims and allegations that have no basis in fact," the network quoted the foreign ministry as saying.

Qatar said the decisions would "not affect the normal lives of citizens and residents."

The five nations also said they plan to cut air and sea traffic to the peninsular country. It was not immediately clear how this would affect Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers. 

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the move sought to protect its national security.

Qatar's policy "threatens Arab national security and sows the seeds of strife and division within Arab societies according to a deliberate plan aimed at the unity and interests of the Arab nation," the statement from Cairo said.

Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of spreading extremist groups' violent ideology.

"Qatar embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State and al-Qaida, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly," Riyadh's state news agency SPA said.

Citing an official source, SPA said Riyadh had decided to sever diplomatic and consular relations with Qatar "proceeding from the exercise of its sovereign right guaranteed by international law, and the protection of national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism."

The Gulf kingdom urged "all brotherly countries and companies to do the same" and sever ties with Doha. 

UAE state news agency WAM said the UAE had broken ties with its Gulf neighbor over Qatar's support of extremism and undermining of regional stability.

The UAE gave Qatari diplomats 48 hours to leave the country, citing their "support, funding and embrace of terrorist, extremist and sectarian organizations."

Bahrain, a close ally of Saudi Arabia, blamed Qatar's "media incitement, support for armed terrorist activities and funding linked to Iranian groups to carry out sabotage and spreading chaos in Bahrain" for its decision. 

A brief statement on the official Bahrain news agency quoted a Manama official as saying Bahrain was also cutting air and sea contact with Qatar and was giving Qatari citizens 14 days to leave. 

Yemen's internationally recognized government reasoned its decision by saying Qatar was working with its enemies in the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

"Qatar's practices of dealing with the [Houthi] coup militas and supporting extremist groups became clear," the government said in a statement carried by the Saba news agency.

It added that Yemen supported a decision by a Saudi-led coalition fighting for more than two years to oust the Houthis from the capital Sanaa to remove Qatar from its ranks.

Libya's eastern-based government joined the group and announced that it, too, is severing diplomatic ties with Qatar.

In response to the Arab states' announcements, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday that they did not expect the decision to affect the fight against terrorism, but urged the countries to address their differences.

"I do not expect that this will have any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified fight against terrorism in the region or globally," Tillerson told reporters in Sydney, after meetings between Australian and U.S. foreign and defense ministers.

The Gulf region plays an important role for the U.S. military in the fight against Islamic State. Bahrain houses the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, which patrols the seas of the Middle East and Central Asia, while Qatar is home to the Al Udeid Airbase, from where the United States carries out airstrikes against militants in the region.

The decision comes during a critical moment in the fight against Islamic State. The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Saturday that it was days away from a U.S.-backed operation by Syrian forces to capture Islamic State's Syrian "capital" of Raqqa.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias backed by the U.S.-led coalition, has been encircling Raqqa since November in a multi-phased campaign to drive Islamic State from the city where it has planned attacks on the West.

The assault on Raqqa will pile more pressure on Islamic State's self-declared "caliphate," with the group facing defeat in the Iraqi city of Mosul and being forced into retreat across much of Syria, where Deir al-Zor is its last major foothold.

Tillerson urged the Gulf Cooperation Council nations to sort out their differences and said the United States was willing to play a role in helping them to do so.

Russia commented on the developments in the Persian Gulf, saying it was in its interest to have a "stable and peaceful" situation in the region.

A statement by the Kremlin said Moscow hopes that the current diplomatic row in the Gulf will not affect "the common determination and resolve" in the joint fight against "international terrorism."

A senior Iranian official said Monday the decision by some Gulf states and Egypt to cut ties with Qatar would not help end the crisis in the Middle East.

"The era of cutting diplomatic ties and closing borders is over... it is not a way to resolve crisis. These countries have no other option but to start regional dialogue," Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said. 

News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=42881

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