Qatar’s Min of State for Foreign Affairs to attend AL in Cairo

CAIRO – 27 July 2017: Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, arrived in Cairo via Kuwait on Thursday to participate in the Arab emergency meeting on the Israeli forces' recent violations against holy sites in Jerusalem at the Arab League, according to informed resources.

The visit of Qatar’s minister to Cairo comes after the decision taken by Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

This is not the first time for a Qatari official to come to Egypt after the crisis. On June 15, Qatar’s Ambassador to Egypt Saif Muqaddam Al-Buainein returned from Doha via Kuwait also to Cairo to carry out his duties as Qatar’s delegate to the Arab League.

Earlier in June 2017, several countries, including Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, severed diplomatic ties with Doha over accusations of Qatar backing and funding terrorist groups. The countries closed airspace and maritime ports to Doha transportation.

The Arab emergency meeting will be held in the coming few days at the Cairo-based Arab League to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian clashes that took place in Jerusalem and the West Bank, Arab diplomatic sources told Egypt Today on Saturday.

On Friday morning, three Palestinian people were killed and dozens were injured by Israeli soldiers in clashes between both sides in Jerusalem and the West Bank; meanwhile, three Israeli settlers were stabbed to death in the West Bank Friday afternoon.

The Israeli forces set up a series of checkpoints to restrict access to Jerusalem’s Old City and banned Muslim men under the age of 50 from entering Jerusalem ahead of Friday prayers.

The Israeli forces claimed that these measures were in preparation for feared mass Palestinian protests over the installation of metal detectors there. Palestinians called for mass protests in conjunction with Friday noon prayers in Jerusalem, West Bank and the Gaza Strip and urged worshippers not to submit to Israeli security procedures.