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href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israel-backs-saudi-arabia-confrontation-qatar">https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israel-backs-saudi-arabia-confrontation-qatar</a></font>
<h1 id="reader-title">Israel backs Saudi Arabia in confrontation
with Qatar</h1>
<p class="node__submitted">
<span class="field field-author"><a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/people/ali-abunimah">Ali
Abunimah</a></span> <span class="field field-blog"></span>
<span class="field field-publication-date"><span
class="date-display-single"
content="2017-06-06T15:28:57+00:00">6 June 2017</span></span>
</p>
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<p>Israeli officials have gleefully endorsed the position
of <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/saudi-arabia">Saudi
Arabia</a> and the <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/united-arab-emirates">United
Arab Emirates</a> in a growing confrontation with
Qatar, the most public acknowledgment yet of the <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/saudi-israeli-relations">deepening
alliance</a> between certain Gulf states and Tel Aviv
over their common enmity towards Iran.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, evidence has emerged of close cooperation
between the United Arab Emirates and a key Israel lobby
group to pressure Qatar over its support for the
Palestinian resistance organization Hamas.</p>
<p>On Monday, Saudi Arabia and several of its satellite
states, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain,
<a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/05/world/middleeast/qatar-saudi-arabia-egypt-bahrain-united-arab-emirates.html">broke
off diplomatic relations</a> with Qatar and imposed a
blockade, cutting land, sea and air links to the
country.</p>
<p>Regional media reported that shelves in stores in
Qatar, whose only land border is with Saudi Arabia, were
quickly emptied as residents feared a prolonged closure
could lead to food shortages.</p>
<p>Justifying its decision, Saudi Arabia has <a
href="http://lobelog.com/whats-happening-in-the-persian-gulf/">accused</a>
Doha of “grave violations” such as “adopting various
terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing
the region,” including the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic
State, also known as ISIS, and al-Qaida.</p>
<h2>Israel’s “opportunity”</h2>
<p>Israeli officials were quick to offer their support to
Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>“New line drawn in the Middle Eastern sand,” Michael
Oren, Israel’s deputy minister for diplomacy, <a
href="https://twitter.com/DrMichaelOren/status/871646906753134592">proclaimed
on Twitter</a>. “No longer Israel against Arabs but
Israel and Arabs against Qatar-financed terror.”</p>
<p>Israeli defense minister Avigdor Lieberman <a
href="https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/147100-170605-qatar-crisis-offers-opportunity-for-israeli-arab-gulf-cooperation-lieberman">declared</a>
that the crisis was an “opportunity for cooperation”
between Israel and certain Gulf states.</p>
<p>“It is clear to everyone, even in the Arab countries,
that the real danger to the entire region is terrorism,”
Lieberman claimed. He added that the Saudi-led bloc had
cut ties with Qatar “not because of Israel, not because
of the Jews, not because of Zionism,” but “rather from
fears of terrorism.”</p>
<p>Chagai Tzuriel, a top official in Israel’s intelligence
ministry, <a
href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-official-qatar-a-pain-in-the-ass-for-other-arab-countries/">told
<em>The Times of Israel</em></a> that Qatar was a
“pain in the ass” to other “Sunni” Arab states allied
with Israel.</p>
<p>Israel’s former defense minister Moshe Yaalon also
expressed backing for the Saudi-led sectarian coalition.
“The Sunni Arab countries, apart from Qatar, are largely
in the same boat with us since we all see a nuclear Iran
as the number one threat against all of us,” he <a
href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/yaalon-no-more-arab-coalition-against-us-also-containment-is-victory/2017/06/05/">said</a>
at a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of
Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza
Strip and Syria’s Golan Heights.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia continued to <a
href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/qatar-diplomatic-crisis-latest-updates-170605105550769.html">escalate</a>
the situation, suspending the license of Qatar Airways
and ordering its banks to sell the Qatari currency.</p>
<h2>Who supports “terror”?</h2>
<p>While Saudi Arabia offered no evidence for its charges
against Qatar, the accusations are rich coming from a
regime that has been one of the <a
href="https://www.salon.com/2016/01/06/saudi_arabia_funds_and_exports_islamic_extremism_the_truth_behind_the_toxic_u_s_relationship_with_the_theocratic_nation/">biggest
sources of funding</a> to so-called jihadi groups <a
href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/saudi-arabia-terrorism-funding-214241">going
back decades</a>.</p>
<p>But like Saudi Arabia, Qatar too has been accused of <a
href="http://www.salon.com/2016/10/11/leaked-hillary-clinton-emails-show-u-s-allies-saudi-arabia-and-qatar-supported-isis/">financing</a>
or <a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/08/world/middleeast/qatars-support-of-extremists-alienates-allies-near-and-far.html">allowing
money to flow</a> to ISIS and al-Qaida-affiliated
groups in Syria.</p>
<p>Israel has also had no problem with al-Qaida linked
groups, and even ISIS, in Syria, offering them various
kinds of <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israel-quick-exploit-manchester-bombing">cooperation
and material support</a>.</p>
<p>So the source of Saudi ire must lie elsewhere. Qatar
has for years, along with Saudi Arabia, been <a
href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/05/201151885013738898.html">part
of the counterrevolution</a> to thwart or reverse the
so-called Arab Spring uprisings.</p>
<p>Qatar was <a
href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security-qatar-idUKKBN18U0RF?il=0">taking
part</a> in the Saudi-led war on Yemen, before being <a
href="http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/breakingnews/30317229">kicked
out</a> of the coalition this week.</p>
<p>The two-year bombing campaign in Yemen has <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/16/yemen-war-death-toll-has-reached-10000-un-says">killed
thousands of civilians</a> and brought the
impoverished country to the <a
href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/after-two-years-of-war-yemenis-face-cholera-famine-and-state-collapse-a7766896.html">brink
of famine</a>.</p>
<p>But Qatar has often found itself <a
href="http://lobelog.com/whats-happening-in-the-persian-gulf/">backing
different horses</a>: Doha supported the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt, while Riyadh has backed the regime
of Abdulfattah al-Sisi, the army chief who led the 2013
military coup that overthrew the elected Muslim
Brotherhood president in Cairo.</p>
<p>These differences had soured relations between Qatar
and Saudi Arabia for years.</p>
<p>But Saudi Arabia may have been emboldened to act now,
after US President Donald Trump <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/video-trump-talks-peace-while-selling-weapons">gave
full endorsement</a> to strengthening a Saudi-led
anti-Iran alliance during his visit to Riyadh last
month.</p>
<h2>Targeting Hamas and Iran</h2>
<p>Qatar has continued to host the leaders of the
Palestinian resistance group Hamas and has been <a
href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=777510">under
pressure</a> to expel the group’s officials – Israeli
media claims that Qatar did expel two officials are
unconfirmed.</p>
<p>But the biggest difference appears to be that Qatar has
not been willing to fully sign up to the Saudi-Israeli
alliance against Iran.</p>
<p>A deal in April in which Qatar allegedly paid about
$700 million in ransom to release members of its royal
family abducted by an Iran-affiliated group in Iraq
reportedly enraged officials in other Gulf states.</p>
<p>Qatar also reportedly paid about $300 million in ransom
to several al-Qaida linked groups in Syria, <a
href="https://www.ft.com/content/dd033082-49e9-11e7-a3f4-c742b9791d43">according</a>
to <em>The Financial Times.</em></p>
<p>Also in April, Qatar <a
href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-qatar-gas-idUSKBN175181">lifted
a self-imposed ban</a> on developing a major maritime
natural gas field it shares with Iran, which would <a
href="http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.793798">necessitate
cooperation</a> between the two countries, according
to the Tel Aviv newspaper <em>Haaretz</em>.</p>
<p>Things came to a head around the time of Trump’s visit
and his summit with regional leaders.</p>
<p>Qatar’s national news agency <a
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/qatar-says-state-news-website-hacked-fake-article-published/2017/05/23/f79c40d6-4026-11e7-b29f-f40ffced2ddb_story.html">published
comments</a> attributed to the country’s leader Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, calling Iran “a regional and
Islamic power that cannot be ignored” and asserting that
“it is unwise to face up against it.”</p>
<p>Tamim also purportedly said his country’s relations
with Israel were “good.” Qatar has flatly denied the
statements are real, claiming that the news agency’s
website and social media accounts were hacked.</p>
<p>Qatar has historically maintained relations with
Israel, even <a
href="http://www.haaretz.com/livni-to-tell-gulf-leaders-in-qatar-iran-the-threat-not-israel-1.243898">welcoming</a>
its then foreign minister Tzipi Livni to Doha in 2008.</p>
<p>But the Qatar-based network Al Jazeera has cited the
fake comments as a trigger for the crisis, accusing
Saudi Arabia and its allies of using them as a pretext
to move against Qatar.</p>
<h2>UAE embraces Israel</h2>
<p>Another factor is the close relationship between the
United Arab Emirates and Israel.</p>
<p>Hacked emails <a
href="https://theintercept.com/2017/06/03/hacked-emails-show-top-uae-diplomat-coordinating-with-pro-israel-neocon-think-tank-against-iran/">published
by <em>The Intercept</em></a> reveal coordination
between the Emirates ambassador in Washington, Yousef
Al-Otaiba, and the neoconservative pro-Israel think tank
<a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/foundation-defense-democracies">Foundation
for Defense of Democracies</a>.</p>
<p>The emails reveal “a remarkable level of backchannel
cooperation” between the Emirates and the think tank,
which is funded by billionaire <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/sheldon-adelson">Sheldon
Adelson</a>, a close ally of Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, according to <em>The Intercept.</em></p>
<p>The email exchanges included complaints from the Israel
lobby group about Qatar’s support for Hamas
“terrorists.”</p>
<p>An <a
href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3766679-FDD2.html">agenda</a>
for a meeting between leaders of the Israel lobby group
and Emirates ambassador al-Otaiba scheduled for this
month includes such items as “Qatar support for radical
Islamists” including Hamas, Qatar’s “destabilizing role
in Egypt, Syria, Libya and the Gulf” and the role of the
Qatar-backed Al Jazeera network.</p>
<p>It also includes ways to reduce the influence Qatar
gains from hosting a major US air base.</p>
<p>One of the items on the agenda is “Political, economic,
security sanctions.”</p>
<p>The agenda is evidence that the Foundation for Defense
of Democracies – a key player in Israel’s
anti-Palestinian propaganda – was gearing up to deliver
in Washington the anti-Qatar message coming from Riyadh
and the United Arab Emirates.</p>
<h2>US role</h2>
<p>The leaked documents reveal that the Saudi-led bloc is
troubled by the influence Qatar gains by hosting the
massive American al-Udeid air base.</p>
<p>But this is precisely why the US, the overall imperial
power, has no interest in a squabble among states that
it views as vassals.</p>
<p>Secretary of State Rex Tillerson <a
href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/05/qatar-dispute-saudi-arabia-egypt-bahrain-uae-239134">affirmed
the importance</a> of US ties with all the states
involved and offered to mediate, urging the feuding
rulers to “remain unified.”</p>
<p>The US military <a
href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/military-plans-change-posture-qatar-170605174247252.html">lauded</a>
Qatar for its “enduring commitment to regional security”
and affirmed it had “no plans to change our posture in
Qatar.”</p>
<p>Qatar has taken these messages as signs of strong US
support, but as ever Trump was quick to throw everything
into doubt.</p>
<p>“During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that
there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology.
Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!” Trump <a
href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/872062159789985792">tweeted</a>
on Tuesday, appearing to directly endorse the Saudi-led
campaign against Doha.</p>
<p>“So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King
and 50 countries already paying off,” he <a
href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/872084870620520448">added</a>.
“<a
href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/872086906804240384">They</a>
said they would take a hard line on funding extremism
and all reference was pointing to Qatar.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the
horror of terrorism,” the president asserted. More
likely, Trump is pouring gasoline on an already burning
region.</p>
<p>A long-term goal of Israel has long been to divide Arab
powers against each other, to “let them bleed,” as the <a
href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161217-the-let-them-bleed-doctrine-in-syria/">official
Israeli doctrine on Syria</a> goes.</p>
<p>Whatever happens next, Israel will continue to benefit
from the chaos and divisions that only strengthen its
hand.</p>
<br>
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