Qatari diplomats ejected and land, air and sea traffic routes cut off in row over terror and regional stability
What is Qatar's position in the Middle East?
Qatar occupies a tiny peninsula on the Arabian Gulf, with a single land border with Saudi Arabia and across the sea from Iran. The former British protectorate gained its independence in 1971 and has since been ruled by the al-Thani family. With the highest per capita income in the world, the tiny monarchy has grown fabulously wealthy on the back of massive oil and natural gas reserves. Tensions with its Gulf Arab neighbours have grown in recent years over support for Islamist movements that emerged from the Arab Spring. It now finds itself isolated and backed into a corner.
It's time for qatar to peruse its own independent foreign policy and diplomatic relations. Need to pour all their reserves abroad like China to buy influence.
its not all of a sudden. qatar has been rustling a few saudi and gulf feathers for a while on and off. out of the arab nations qatar is prob the best and most islamic. they have more freedoms than the others and govt is slightly less heavy handed. also with al jazeera they have alot of influence unlike saudis and other american puppets and lapdogs.
saudis are gana get bitten very hard soon. saddam hussein warned them thick arabs not to trust usa and 1 by 1 they will turn on them. i hope the fall of ale salool is soon.
also im not sure how true it is but i heard qatar was pro mursi and hate sisi in which case alone they have my support. only a scum will prefer sisi over mursi. down with ale salool
may Allah disgrace uae and saudi in both worlds. iv never actually believed it but there been reports for years of saudi princes flying to israel on the sly n how kaainul haramain salman funded netanyhu campaign
Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's defence minister, has praised the measures against Qatar, saying "there is no doubt that this opens very many possibilities of cooperation in the struggle against terror".
Turkey's Erdogan holds talks with leaders on lowering Qatar tension: sources

ANKARA Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has spoken by phone with the leaders of Qatar, Russia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on lowering tension, presidential sources said, after Arab powers cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants.
"The importance of regional peace and stability was underlined in the talks, as well as the importance of focusing on the path of diplomacy and dialogue to lower the current tension," the sources said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, opening up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world.
Turkey has good relations with Qatar as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbors and Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Monday that Ankara wanted to help resolve the dispute.
After the talks between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said late on Monday they called for dialogue and compromise.
Erdogan also spoke with Saudi Arabia's King Salman and the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait. The sources said Erdogan would continue his contacts on the issue.
The United Arab Emirates has threatened anyone publishing expressions of sympathy towards Qatar with up to 15 years in prison.
Five countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Yemen and Bahrain, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday over allegations that Doha is supporting Islamist groups and courting Iran.
The UAE has barred entry to Qataris and people who post sympathetic messages could also face a 500,000 dirham fine (£105,000).
UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said: "Strict and firm action will be taken against anyone who shows sympathy or any form of bias towards Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the United Arab Emirates, whether it be through the means of social media, or any type of written, visual or verbal form."
Qatar has vehemently denied the allegations.
The country has been forced to hold talks with Turkey and Iran to try and secure food and water supplies.
Ankara officials have said Turkey's parliament will fast-track a draft bill allowing its troops to be deployed to a military base in Qatar.
Iran, which was hit by an Islamic State attack on Wednesday, has called for talks to settle the dispute.
US President Donald Trump praised the action against Qatar, but stressed the need for Gulf unity.
Defense Secretary James Mattis also spoke to his counterpart in Qatar to express US commitment to security.
Qatar hosts 8,000 US military personnel at al Udeid, the largest US air base in the Middle East and a key site for airstrikes targeting IS militants.
Qatari Airways has been forced to divert flights, and its nationals face transit restrictions in the UEA even more strict than Israeli passport holders.
An outspoken member of Qatar's ruling family, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, said his citizens were "questioning if this is going to end up in seeing a change in leadership itself".
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister warned ties would only be restored if Qatar changed its "hostile media", "support of extremist groups" and "interference in affairs of other countries".
Adel al-Jubeir also addressed claims Qatar had drafted in the FBI to investigate how its state-run news agency was "hacked" in an incident that first rocked diplomatic relations.
"We have not asked for mediation, we believe this issue can be dealt with among the states of the Gulf Co-operation Council," Mr al-Jubeir said.
"With regard to measures undertaken by the FBI, I've read in the media but have not been informed of anything official and I can't express an official position."
The alleged hack saw Qatar News Agency report that its leader, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, condemned efforts by Saudi Arabia to isolate Iran, its arch-rival.
Egypt, the UEA and Saudi Arabia all responded by blocking Al Jazeera, a Qatari state-funded TV station, in their own countries.
Jordan also said it will close Al Jazeera's local office.
looking at the Saudi Gazette newspaper these so-called extremist groups that they accuse Qatar of supporting happen to be,
Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas.
This crisis is symptomatic of what ails Muslim Ummah.
We have a huge crisis and yet we do not know exactly what it is about.
End result of course is loss of Ummah.
We have Qatar, the only Muslim country that has a news outlet that competes with the western media, that is being isolated.
We have an Iranian angle and that means we have solid reason to expect internal tension amongst GCC Muslim countries.
And what will Turkey talk about for brokering peace?
We have no clear agenda of the conflict.
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
We apologise but you have been denied access to report posts in this thread. This could be due to excessively reporting posts and not understanding our forum rules. For assistance or information, please use the forum help thread to request more information. Jazakallah
Posted via the Muftisays Android App
