| SLUG: 2-269048 Qatar / Israel (L) DATE: NOTE NUMBER: | ||
DATE=11/09/00 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-269048 TITLE=QATAR / ISRAEL (L) BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB DATELINE=CAIRO CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: The Middle Eastern nation of Qatar says it is cutting relations with Israel after coming under pressure from Muslim countries as it prepares to host a summit of the Islamic Conference. V-O-A Middle East Correspondent Scott Bobb reports Qatar is the fourth Arab nation to break relations because of the violence between Palestinians and Israelis in the past six weeks. TEXT: Qatar announced it is closing the small Israeli trade office in Doha in the face of a growing threat of a boycott of the Islamic summit by several powerful members. Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday it would not attend the summit, due to begin Sunday. And Iran hinted its president, the outgoing chairman of the Islamic Conference, Mohammed Khatami, might not attend. Libya has also said it would not attend. Qatar earlier had refused to close the Israeli trade mission. Three other Arab nations - Oman, Morocco and Tunisia - closed their Israeli trade offices after a summit of Arab leaders two weeks ago called for the freezing of all normalization with Israel in retaliation for the violence. Arab leaders accuse Israel of reacting too harshly to Palestinian street protests. The Israeli government says the protests have been encouraged by Palestinian leaders. The Iranian government, which opposes the Oslo peace accords, criticized the Arab summit for not completely breaking all relations with Israel. Egypt, Jordan, and Mauritania are the only Arab nations with full diplomatic relations with Israel, but these have been severely strained by the recent violence. The Qatari foreign minister announced the break in trade ties with Israel to foreign ministers of the Islamic Conference as they began preliminary meetings Thursday in Doha. The Qatari minister criticized the repression of Palestinians and said there will be no peace without implementation of the U-N resolutions on the Middle East conflict. (Signed) NEB/SB/KL/JWH | ||
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