Presstv Report: Saudi coalition should bomb Al Jazeera: UAE official

November 26, 2017 By administrator

Dubai security chief Dhahi Khalfan

A top security official in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has called on the Saudi-led coalition attacking Yemen since 2015 to bomb the Qatari media network Al Jazeera.

“The alliance must bomb the machine of terrorism … the channel of Daesh, al-Qaeda, and the al-Nusra front, Al Jazeera the terrorists,” Dubai security chief Dhahi Khalfan tweeted.

The UAE is a partner in the bombing campaign against Yemen. It is also part of a Saudi-led bloc that cut ties with Qatar and imposed a blockade over the country in June.

In his diatribe, Khalfan blamed Al Jazeera for the Friday terror attack in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula that killed 305 people and injured 128 others.

“For how long will they [Al Jazeera] continue to tamper with the security of Egypt and the Arab world?” he asked, blaming Al Jazeera for the assault.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Sinai attack but Egyptian officials have said the attackers were a group of 25-30 men who carried Daesh flags.

Khalfan is known for making controversial remarks in the past, including calling on Arabs to unite with Israel, supporting US President Donald Trump’s travel ban against Muslim countries, and urging Doha to decide against hosting World Cup 2022.

The Saudi-led bloc has presented Qatar with a 13-point list of steep demands, including its closure of Al Jazeera, before the countries restore ties.

Qatar has rejected the demands, denouncing them as interference in its internal affairs.

Source: http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/26/543541/UAE-Al-Jazeera-Qatar-Saudi-Arabia-Khalfan

Israel mulls closing Al Jazeera bureau in Jerusalem al-Quds: Report

June 13, 2017 By administrator

A report says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering shutting down the Jerusalem al-Quds bureau of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera broadcaster, as a diplomatic rift escalates between a Saudi-led bloc of countries with Qatar.

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday that Netanyahu had met with members of the foreign ministry, ministry of military affairs, and other institutions on Monday and discussed preliminary steps for closing the Al Jazeera office in Jerusalem al-Quds.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt have already blocked several Qatari media outlets, including Al Jazeera. The four countries cut their diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing Doha of destabilizing the region with its support for terrorism, an accusation rejected by the Qatari government.

In a relevant development on Monday, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s minister for military affairs, compared Al Jazeera to the Nazi- and Soviet-era propaganda apparatuses.

“Some [Arab countries’] interests overlap with Israeli interests, including the issue with Al Jazeera,” Liberman said. “Al-Jazeera is not media… It’s an incitement machine. It is pure propaganda, of the worst variety, in the style of Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia.”

Lieberman also accused Al Jazeera of supporting Iran, saying, “I’ve been tracking Al Jazeera for many years. You’ll never see a single article against Iran.”

The potential move to close the Al Jazeera office in Jerusalem al-Quds and the unprecedented remarks by Lieberman are indicative of how the Israeli and Saudi regimes may be increasingly tilting toward one another. There have already been signs that the ties between Israel and certain Arab regimes — traditionally putative adversaries — have been covertly expanding in recent years.

Netanyahu has on several occasions talked of the development of ties between Israel and certain Arab countries. So have other Israeli officials. Moshe Ya’alon, Israel’s former minister of military affairs, in February 2016 pointed to open channels between the regime and some Arab states.

Back in January 2016, Netanyahu said during an interview with CNN that Saudi Arabia now saw Tel Aviv “as an ally rather as an enemy.”

Websites of Al-Jazeera, Qatari dailies inaccessible in Saudi Arabia, UAE

May 24, 2017 By administrator

Saudi and Emirati authorities have blocked access to the website of Doha-based and state-funded al-Jazeera Arabic news channel after statements attributed to Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on sensitive regional topics sparked a dispute among Persian Gulf kingdoms.

On Wednesday, the website of the pan-Arab satellite broadcaster was not accessible in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The website and Twitter accounts of official Qatar News Agency, al-Jazeera Documentary channel, al-Jazeera English news channel, Arabic-language and political newspaper al-Watan, semi-official al-Raya newspaper, al-Arab daily as well as Arabic and pro-government al-Sharq daily were also inaccessible in both countries during the day.

At the same time, Al-Jazeera television network was unavailable for some time in the UAE, though it was unclear if it was blocked on purpose.

The developments came a day after Qatar’s state-run news agency ran a story, saying the small and gas-rich kingdom had ordered its ambassadors from Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates withdrawn over “tension” with the administration of US President Donald Trump.

The article, quoting the Qatari monarch, also called Iran an “Islamic power” and praised the Hamas resistance movement as “the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry later claimed that its state agency had been hacked and the emir’s statements had been forged.

Sheikh Saif Bin Ahmed Al Thani, the director of the Qatari government’s communications office, also issued a statement, saying authorities had launched an investigation.

Earlier, Doha had claimed it had been the victim of an orchestrated smear campaign by anti-Qatar organizations.

Qatar has long faced criticism from its Arab neighbors over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted in a military coup led by former army chief and current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in July 2013.

In March 2014, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Doha over the rift.

Eight months later, they returned their ambassadors as Qatar asked some Brotherhood members to leave the country and quieted others.

Qatar is also home to the former Hamas political bureau chief, Khaled Meshaal, who has lived there in exile for several years.