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Qatar Officially Closes Trade Offices With Israel As Saudi Rejoins OIC Conference
DOHA
(IslamOnline) -Qatari officials announced
Thursday afternoon that the Israeli trade office in Doha would be closed in
protest of the escalating Israeli repression in the Occupied Territories, and in
solidarity with the position of Islamic country members in the OIC towards the
ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
Some Arab sources stated they
anticipated the announcement closing the trade offices in Doha and Tel Aviv
Thursday morning, saying that the phrasing of an announcement caused a delay.
Qatari officials told the
Qatari News Agency that their government was keen to provide all necessary
elements of success to the ninth Islamic summit.
Several Arab and Islamic
countries earlier announced they would boycott the summit if the Qatari
government kept the trade offices operating.
Libya initiated the boycott
effort, which included key states such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Sources state that the
decision was made following intensive talks among Arab and Islamic diplomats
including Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and other high level officials
from Syria, the Sultanate of Oman, Morocco, Lebanon and Sudan.
Saudi officials had said they
would attend the OIC conference following a Qatari promise to close the offices.
Despite an announcement from the Qatari Foreign Minister that no promises or
pressures influenced the decision, the offices were ordered shut.
Qatari officials had been
weighing the option of waiting for results from the Clinton-Arafat talks being
held in Washington, DC, before announcing a decision, but went ahead and closed
the trade delegation offices on Thursday.
The announcement does not
include a time limit for the closures, but stated that the closure is dependent
upon the continuance of the aggression and killings in the Palestinian
Territories, and in solidarity with Islamic countries.
In a reply to a question
after the end of first session of the OIC foreign ministers’ conference,
al-Thani explained when Qatar was elected to host the OIC summit, the Israeli
trade office did exist. The office was opened during preparations for the
summit.
In respect to Saudi
Arabia’s participation in the Islamic summit, al-Thani said contacts between
us and our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are still on.
He added “we fully
understand the Saudi stand and this topic is under study” and paid tribute to
the greater responsibility vested on the shoulders of Saudi, stating that Qatar
values the stance of the Kingdom, and in particular respects the stand of Crown
Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier and head of the Saudi Arabian
National Guard (SANG), because “we have no misunderstanding with him.”
Al-Thani added that Qatar
values the stance of Saudi Arabia and it’s attending of events at the Islamic
foreign ministers’ meeting.
He described the works of the
first session of the Islamic foreign ministers’ conference as excellent. The
first session was devoted to the issue of al-Quds and events in the Occupied
Territories.
Al-Thani stated that the
Muslim world would not stand with hands tied towards what is happening in the
Palestinian territories.
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
Mohammad Khatami, announced he would take part in Islamic summit that opens
Sunday. The announcement was contained in a statement issued by the Presidential
office and carried by the Iranian news agency, IRNA.
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