https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... -terrorism"Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have broken off diplomatic relations and all land sea and air contacts with fellow Gulf Arab state Qatar, in the region’s most serious diplomatic crisis in years.
Saudi Arabia on Monday said the move was necessary to protect the kingdom from what it described as terrorism and extremism. The kingdom also pulled all Qatari troops from the coalition fighting the ongoing war in Yemen."
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The official state news agency, citing an official source, said Saudi Arabia 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”.
Saudi Arabia cut all land air and sea contacts with Qatar “and urges all brotherly countries and companies to do the same.” Despite the order for the border with Qatar to be closed, Saudi Arabia said that it will continue to provide all services and facilities needed by Qatari pilgrims currently in the Kingdom.
The decision comes after Qatar alleged in late May that it was the victim of a sophisticated propaganda assault including the publication of a series of articles hostile to Qatar in the US and the hacking of the Qatar government website in a bid to undermine its standing in the Gulf and in Washington.
The hacking of the website led to the publication of false remarks by the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, that purportedly had him criticising some leaders of fellow Gulf Arab states and calling for an easing of tensions with Iran. Qatar claimed there was “a hostile media campaign against the State of Qatar”.
In response to the alleged comments by the emir, Saudi Arabia and the UAE both blocked Qatari-based news outlets, including Al Jazeera, from broadcasting in their territory.
Qatar is home to the sprawling al-Udeid air base, which is home to the US military’s central command and some 10,000 American troops. It was not clear if the decision would affect American military operations. Central command officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Qatar has long faced criticism from its Arab neighbors over its support of Islamists. The chief worry among them is the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist political group outlawed by both Saudi Arabia and the UAE as it challenges the nations’ hereditary rule.
Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia fell out with Qatar over its backing of then-Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood member. In March 2014, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Qatar over the rift.
Eight months later, they returned their ambassadors as Qatar forced some Brotherhood members to leave the country and quieted others. However, the 2014 crisis did not see a land and sea blockade as threatened now.
In the time since, 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.
Western officials also have accused Qatar of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists like al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.
The row comes only two weeks after Donald Trump visited the Middle East to seal major defence contracts with Saudi worth $110bn, set up an anti-extremist institute in Riyadh and urge the Gulf States to build on an alliance against Iran.
Although it is unlikely Saudi Arabia would have instigated this action against Qatar without first informing the US, it is possible that Trump did not give the green light to such drastic steps.
The Saudis are in part countering the allegation of funding extremism, frequently made in Washington and in the past by Donald Trump himself, by pointing the finger at Qatar for funding terrorism...
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