Fall of Egypt’s Mohammad Mursi Blow to Qatar

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

The British Financial Times posted an article Thursday explaining the effect of President Mohammad Mursi's ouster on the country's foreign policy, considering that Mursi's offset of Egypt's presidency a blow to Qatar, which bet on the Muslim Brotherhood all over the last year.

"Few predicted that challenge would come within a week as Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood-led government fell, and the credibility of Qatar’s activist foreign policy took a major blow," it said.

The daily also revealed that Qatar has poured $8bn of financial support into Egypt in post-Mubarak era, and has been the main Gulf backer of Mursi’s government.

"Qatar's support for post-Mubarak Egypt has run to the heart of Doha’s backing of Islamist groups since the revolutions of the Arab uprising swept across north Africa," the FT article read.

"Its legacy will be associated with that of the leader whose presidency was doomed on Wednesday," it added.

The author stated in his article that the new emir of Qatar hinted at his tendency toward moderation in foreign policy, but analysts believe that any change in Qatar's foreign policy must be gradual.

"While Sheikh Tamim, the new emir, is hinting at a moderation of Qatar’s adventurist foreign policy, analysts say any change will be gradual as Doha’s position is so deeply set."

Unlike Qatar, the article said, the other Arab states in the Gulf such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, are uncomfortable with the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and are now ready to pump funds to help any interim administration keep the Egyptian economy afloat.

Citing an economist, the auther noted that Qatar got it wrong in Libya, then in Syria, and now billions of dollars could go down the pan in Egypt.

“That money was meant to buy political advantage, but they backed the wrong horse,” the expert said,

Syria presses for international probe into Qatari special services

Source : The Voice of Russia: News

Syria is pressing for an international inquiry into the role that the Qatari special services have played in abducting UN officials on the Golan Heights on May 7th, the Syrian Ambassador to the UN, Baashar Jafari, told a news briefing

An unidentified person instructed the abductors by telephone from Qatar in a move, confirmed by an official email message that a UN mission member in Damascus has sent to the UN Headquarters, the Syrian Ambassador said. Jaafari feels that Qatar seeks to destabilize the situation in Syria, undermine the UN personnel security and replace the UN force by the armed groups that are resisting the government in Damascus. According to the Financial Times Magazine, Qatar has spent three billion dollars on assistance for the enemies of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

Princess Hind Blasts Qatari Emir's Support for Terrorists in Syria

Source : Fars News

Support for Terrorists in Syria TEHRAN (FNA)- Qatari Emir's daughter, Shaikha Hind, rapped his father for supporting the Syrian armed rebels who are killing innocent citizens in mass numbers in the Muslim Arab country.

Writing on her Twitter page, Hind severely criticized her father's policies on Syria, calling Qatar's interference in Syria a "big scandal recorded in Qatar's history".

"My father supported the Syrian rebellion because he thought what was happening in Syria was decided by the Syrian people, but now we see that the situation has gone on the contrary," she wrote, and added that "a recent video showing a terrorist eating a Syrian citizen's heart reveals that this is not what was wanted, rather it is a crime against the Syrian people".

Hind also criticized the Saudi armed men who are fighting against the Syrian government and mass murdering the Syrian citizens.

"I saw a video where a Saudi fighter kills 12 Syrians allegedly to be Assad loyalist soldiers. I think such acts convert a purely public revolution to a revolution by terrorists," she added.

Earlier reports said that the US and Qatar are set to boost their support for the militants operating inside Syria, in an act of foreign interference in the internal affairs of the crisis-hit Middle Eastern country.

US President Barack Obama made the announcement at the White House following a meeting with the emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, in April.

This comes days after US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Washington would double its assistance to the militants in Syria.

The new plan by the US and Qatar is the latest instance of foreign meddling in the internal affairs of Syria.

Other regional countries have also been providing the militants in Syria with various forms of support. Qatar has been leading such efforts.

On April 22, during a meeting with Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Araby, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Qatar and some other Arab countries to stop supplying weapons to the militants in Syria.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

The US and its western and regional allies have long sought to topple Syrian President Bashar al- Assad and his ruling system. Media reports said that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling Assad's government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons - most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past - has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.

Israel Mulling Plot to Assassinate Assad

Source : Fars News Agency

Assad TEHRAN (FNA)- The Israeli regime's security bodies are working on a plot to assassinate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by the help of terrorist groups and armed rebels in the country after Damascus showed strength and months of resistance against the terrorist attacks orchestrated by US, Israel and their Arab partners, the Israeli media reported on Tuesday.

The Israeli Vala news website reported that the Israeli security and spy agencies were shocked at Assad's resistance against two years of terrorist and sabotage operations against the country and are mulling other ways to topple him.

Meantime, the report underlined high security measures adopted by the Syrian forces in safeguarding the roads to Damascus where government buildings are located and Assad himself resides, and said the only way to assassinate the Syrian president is designing a complicated operation and coaxing the people close to Assad into betraying him.

Earlier, a documentary movie posted on a Lebanese website unveiled details of a plot by the French and Turkish intelligence services to assassinate President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials of Syria.

The video posted by Lebanese Asianews website, which was produced in March by Khedar Awarake, a well-known Syrian media activist, included part of the confessions made by those involved in France- Turkey joint plot to kill Assad.

The report said that the Syrian security apparatus defused Turkey and France's attempted assassination plot on the lives of Assad and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mualem.

The report noted that the Turkish and French spy agencies embarked on the establishment of a joint operation room to direct a well-concerted operation to carry out the mission after they failed in their earlier plot to overthrow Assad's government, adding that their mission had overlaps with security services of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the US on many aspects.

The report further unveiled that the new mission to kill Assad started by Turkey and France's joint effort to recruit high-ranking officials in Syrian governmental offices, including the office of Mualem and offices related to the presidential palace in Damascus.

The report also said that Turks wished to bring along French in their operation since Paris has strong relations with Kurdish parties and could help recruit the Kurdish staffs in Assad's offices.

The report at the same time noted that Syrian security services were able to thwart the plot due to their intelligence supremacy and close watch on the plot.

In January, informed sources had said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered his army commanders to target Israel and the US interests in the Middle East region in case he is assassinated by the terrorists.

President Assad's remarks came after he attended several meetings with his senior commanders, and discussed the country's security situation with them, the Algerian Al-Shorouq Oline newspaper quoted informed sources close to the Syrian government as saying at the time.

In the meetings presided by President Assad, Syria's top army commanders told him that "the foreign hostile states will strive to assassinate him instead of launching a military attack on Syria".

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

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Palestinian leader denounces al-Qaradawi ‘betrayal’

Source : http://old.mehrnews.com

TEHRAN, May 9 (MNA) –The leader of the Islamic Movement in Palestine has rejected supports for an Israeli plan to exchange lands with Palestinians.

Sheikh Raed Salah denounced Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the head of International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), for his fatwas (religious decree), and Qatari Emir for their support for Israeli land swap plan. “Al- Qaradawi is not Palestine’s representative; he does not have the right to issue fatwas about Palestinians; he issues fatwa on sanctioning Quds, but travels to Gaza under the support of the Zionists. He is like one who seeks the help of the enemy to damage his brother,” Salah emphasized.

“Neither Qatari Emir nor anyone else in the world would impose the land swap plan on us. They had better go and swap their own lands, and do not interfere with Palestinian lands, since these lands are Islamic waqf,” he added.

“I call for any Arab Muslim to come to pilgrimage to al-Aqsa mosque. God bestowed the Prophet with the Miraj while the mosque was under Roman influence, now, how would al-Qaradawi sanctions pilgrimage on al-Aqsa, but himself travels to Gaza under support of the Zionists,” Salah explained.

“If I were in Gaza, I would reject al-Qaradawi,” he added.

Hamas to Qatar ‘leave us alone’

Source : islamicinvitationturkey.com

A high-ranking Hamas leader, Mahmoud al-Zahar, has denounced Qatari Emir’s plan for some changes in ‘Arabian peace.’ Hamad bin Jasim, whose country is the president of Arabian Peace Plan committee, said that “both sides should exchange the disputed lands based on 1967 borders, and go for a two state solution.”

Palestinian groups evaluated Jasim’s remarks as legitimizing Israeli settlements and as indifference on Israeli attempt to announce the Jerusalem as its capital. Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas senior leader, who was addressing the meeting of students in Gaza Islamic University, said that “Arab Ministers Council decisions in Washington are giving advantage to those who do not deserve it.”

Zahar addressed the Arab Ministers Council. “If this is your approach, then leave us and Palestinian issue alone, since we are better entitled to the right of defending it and would sacrifice our lives, and definitely we will be winner,” asserted he.

“We will not retreat from our lands, and would not exchange part of it with other part, and would not allow those who are not our representatives to bestow our rights to others,” he added. “1948 occupied territories are our right, and we would not exchange it with 1967 lands. Whole Palestine belongs to all Palestinians, and we reject the retreat, and state that no one other than the owners of these lands would live on them, and this is an everlasting principle,” Zahar said.

Analysts believe that Zahar’s remarks is crucial for a Hamas position, since he is an influential figure, and commander of Qassam Brigades, which no act would be done without his consent.

Zahar’s group is an effective Hamas faction. Zahar has opposed some Hamas members’ taking sides with Syrian opposition fighters.

An Al-Nusra leader rapes Al Jazeera reporter

Source : http://old.mehrnews.com

TEHRAN, Apr. 30 (MNA) – A female Al Jazeera reporter who was raped by an Al Nusra commander has been transferred to Qatar.

A female Al Jazeera correspondent, who is covering the terrorist activities from different cities in Syria for months, was quickly moved to Qatar, after one of the commanders of Al Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group, raped her in Aleppo. Egyptian daily Al-Nahar reported that Ghada Oweis, Al Jazeera correspondent, has long been working alongside terrorist groups opposed to Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo to send reports to Qatari network.

A few days ago on the invitation of one of the commanders of this Salafist group, she went to his office. Surprisingly however, the Al-Nusra militias did not allow her camera crews to enter the office.

And they took Ms. Oweis by force and told the crews to come back for interview tomorrow.

Al Jazeera correspondent was rushed out of Syria via Turkey, when it was discovered she was raped by the commander of Al-Nusra Front in Aleppo. She was transferred to Qatar later, she is emotionally in shock.

Returning to Qatar, Ghada Oweis demanded justice and asked the senior leaders of Al-Nusra group to punish this commander. Reportedly Al Jazeera is trying to prevent the reporter from affirming the news by ways of pressure and payments of huge amount of money to maintain the good image of the terrorists fighting in Syria.

The terrorist militias in Syria have been committing numerous acts of violence and shameless atrocities against the civilians, by using a Fatwa; issued by one of the Muftis of Salafists, that militias fighting in Syria can force women to ‘Jihad al Nikah’ (Girls must participate in "marriage" to fulfill their Jihad obligations in Syria).

MH/SH/EA MNA END

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Protests in Egypt Denounce Qatar Interference

Source :  http://www.almanar.com.lb

Demonstrators in Egypt have burned Qatari and Israeli flags in protest against what they described as the Gulf state’s interference in their country’s internal affairs.

Protesters gathered outside the Qatari Embassy in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and chanted anti-Doha slogans.

Demonstrators believe that Doha and Tel Aviv are meddling in Egypt’s domestic affairs after the 2011 revolution that toppled former dictator Hosni Mubarak.

On January 10, Doha said it had offered Egypt a lifeline of $.5-billion to help the North African country tackle its currency crisis.

“There was an initial package of $2.5 billion, of which $0.5 billion was a grant and two billion dollars a deposit,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said in reference to the financial aid Qatar has provided Egypt with since the revolution.

“We discussed transferring one of the deposits into an additional grant so that the grants became one billion dollars and the deposits doubled to around four billion dollars,” he added.

The Egyptians have also held several massive protests across the country since the revolution, calling on the government to sever all the existing ties with the Zionist entity

Russia raps Arab League over Syria seat

Source  :  http://old.mehrnews.com/

TEHRAN, March 28 (MNA) – Russia has condemned a move by the Arab League to hand Syria’s seat to opposition forces, and called it "illegal and indefensible."

The Russian Foreign Ministry made the announcement in a statement published on Wednesday.

"In terms of international law, the league's decision on Syria is illegal and indefensible because the government of the Syrian Arab Republic was and is the legitimate representative member state at the United Nations," the statement read.

Russia also slammed the Arab League member states’ attempts to provide Syria’s foreign-backed militants with all means of support, including arms.

On Tuesday, Syrian opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib took Syria's seat as Arab leaders gathered in Doha for their annual summit.

On March 6, the Arab League called on Syria's opposition National Coalition "to form an executive body to take up Syria's seat" at the summit.

In November 2011, the Arab League suspended Syria, which is a founding member of the organization.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of Syrian army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

Damascus says the West and its regional allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are supporting the militants.

NT/EA MNA END

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Arab League to the Syrians: Fight On

Source : Al Akhbar English

Arab League proceeded with measures on Wednesday to openly support the arming of the Syrian opposition, as well as providing future assurances of giving the opposition a seat in the body.

It is no longer a secret that most of the Arab countries – and particularly the oil-rich Gulf states – are knee deep in the bloodletting taking place in Syria. If there was ever any doubt, the Arab League has taken the step of openly encouraging sending arms to the opposition.

In a 6 March Arab League meeting held in Cairo, the Arab foreign ministers – with a few exceptions – talked openly about arming the Syrian opposition and discussed the possibility of giving Syria’s seat in the organization to the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC).

Perhaps it was US Secretary of State John Kerry’s tour of the region that prompted the Arab ministers to openly support and encourage the continued arming of the opposition in their struggle against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The meeting’s closing statement, which was opposed by Algeria and Iraq (with Lebanon abstaining), declared that “the Arab countries have the right to offer military assistance to the Syrian opposition who are fighting the Syrian armed forces, if they wish to do so.”

It further asked the opposition SNC “to form an executive body in order to assume Syria’s seat at the Arab League so that it can participate in the Arab Summit scheduled to take place in Doha on March 26-27.”

Diplomatic sources told Al-Akhbar that it was Qatar’s foreign minister Hamad Bin Jassim al-Thani who proposed giving Syria’s seat to the opposition alliance. This led to a legal debate in which the League’s general secretary, Nabil al-Arabi, argued that the seat can only be assumed by a representative of a sovereign nation.

“It is true that we have recognized the Coalition as representative of the Syrian people,” Arabi said, “and we know it controls parts of Syria. But sovereignty requires a framework to give expression to it.”

The Qatari foreign minister responded by saying that “you’re talking about the necessity of abiding by the law, while Bashar al-Assad breaks all the laws on a daily basis – why do we not break the law just this once and give the seat to the SNC now?”

In the end, the ministers agreed to postpone such a step until after the SNC has formed an executive body, which can be considered as equivalent to a government, thus giving them the right to take Syria’s seat at the Arab League.

For its part, Damascus responded by opposing any role for the Arab League in resolving the Syrian crisis, accusing the organization – which it said was controlled by the Gulf sheikhdoms – of being biased toward the opposition from the very beginning.

The Syrian government statement, nevertheless, added that it is still committed “to cooperating positively with constructive international efforts to find a solution.”

Qatar hands Syrian embassy to opposition, death toll nears 70,000

Source : Al Akhbar English

statement Wednesday said that Qatar has handed the Syrian embassy building in Doha to the National Coalition, Syria's main opposition group.

"Qatar has acted faster than the Friends of Syria coalition," the opposition statement said, in reference to a string of Western and Arab states, along with Turkey, which support the revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"The flag of the revolution will be raised above the building," the Syrian National Coalition added.

Speaking to AFP by phone, Haraki said the Qatari authorities had accepted his appointment.

"A formal decision has been made to accept my appointment as ambassador," he said.

"I will start work along with two other diplomats," said Haraki.

"Depending on whether they support the revolution, we will decide which former embassy staff members we will keep, and who we will lay off."

The National Coalition was formed in the Qatari capital on November 11.

A day later, Qatar and other Gulf countries recognized the group as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

And a week after that, the European Union followed suit and recognized the coalition.

The Coalition in November named ambassadors to Paris and London but neither France nor Britain have yet handed over embassy buildings to the opposition.

70,000 dead

The move came as Navi Pillay, human rights chief said 9,000 have died since the beginning of the year, bringing Syria's death toll to nearly 70,000.

Pillay said one immediate action the council can take is to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, which could investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"This would send a clear message to both the government and the opposition that there will be consequences for their actions, and could have a very significant preventive effect," she said.

Russia to keep sending arms

Russia will continue deliveries of arms to Syrian President Bashar al- Assad and his armed forces, the head of the state weapons exporter said on Wednesday, despite the Middle Eastern country's civil war.

Russia supplied nearly $1 billion's worth of arms to Syria in 2011 and has long been an ally of Assad.

"We are continuing to carry out our obligations on contracts for the delivery of military hardware," Rosoboronexport director Anatoly Isaikin told a news conference.

(AFP, AP, Reuters, Al-Akhbar)

Egypt resumes Qatar fuel shipments to Gaza

Source : Maan News Agency

EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egyptian authorities have resumed shipping Qatari fuel into the Gaza Strip via an Israeli- controlled crossing after unrest blocked the delivery route for over two months, a Palestinian official said Monday.

Amr Hadhoud, the Palestinian representative at the Al-Auja crossing, said all obstacles to the shipments have been overcome.

Violent clashes between Sinai armed groups and Egyptian forces in November led to a suspension in deliveries.

Hadhoud said that ten trucks carrying 450,000 liters of diesel arrived at al-Auja crossing on Sunday. Four trucks then crossed into the Gaza Strip, Sunday, and the other six are scheduled to cross Monday.

The Qatari fuel is part of 27 million liters donated by the Gulf state to ease Gaza's energy crisis. It was delivered to Egypt and is being transferred to Gaza with Israeli cooperation through the Sinai border region.

Palestinian officials said 10 million liters have already arrived in Gaza