Qatar’s crisis in relations

By Mohamed Ali Akman

BEIRUT (AA) - The crisis began on May 23 when Qatar’s official News Agency (QNA) website was reportedly hacked by an unknown group that allegedly posted false remarks -- attributed to Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani -- about U.S. foreign policy and Iran.

The same day, the Twitter account of Qatar’s foreign minister featured a statement urging the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to leave Qatar within 24 hours.

Although the minister quickly said the offensive tweet -- like the statements posted on the QNA’s website -- had been the work of hackers, tensions soon rose between Riyadh and Doha, with Saudi media questioning Qatar’s “hacker” story.

Quickly becoming a full-fledged diplomatic row, the crisis eventually led to the QNA website, Qatar State Television and Qatar-based news agency Al Jazeera to be banned in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Egypt and Bahrain have also blocked access to Al Jazeera, along with other Qatari media outlets.

Al Jazeera has so far refrained from commenting, merely saying: “We are reviewing the news about our channels and digital platforms being blocked in some countries of the region.”

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen all abruptly announced their decision to sever diplomatic relations with Doha, citing “national security” concerns.

Some political analysts place the burgeoning diplomatic crisis within the context of the U.S. administration's new vision for the Middle East. Others see it as part of a Saudi bid to make its regional presence felt following a recent $350-billion arms deal with the U.S.

Recent high-level summits in Saudi Arabia placed an emphasis on fighting terrorism. After the meetings, a media campaign was launched against Qatar, which supports both Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

According to Doha, "baseless" allegations that it supports terrorism are being used to tarnish the image and unity of the Gulf states.

Speaking in Washington, Ed Royce, chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, blamed Qatar for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, saying the U.S. could withdraw its military bases from Qatar if Doha failed to change its current policies.

The row has also had economic repercussions, with international credit rating agency Moody's announcing that it had lowered Qatar's credit rating.

In 2013, Saudi Arabia provided substantial support to Egypt’s post-coup military regime after Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt’s first freely elected president and a Muslim Brotherhood leader -- was ousted by the Egyptian army.

In 2014, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain temporarily withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, saying Qatar had failed to comply with the principles of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The three states also formally designated the Brotherhood as a “terrorist group”.

Following a subsequent GCC summit in Riyadh, however, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced that the quarreling states had resolved their differences.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara