Qatar foreign minister: our relations with Israel are frozen
Qatar-Israel, Politics, 5/28/2001

The Qatari foreign minister sheikh Hamad Bin Jasem al-Thani sat calmly after the conclusion of the emergency conference of the Organization of the Islamic Conference which concluded its deliberations in Doha on Saturday and he once again justified the continued relations between his country government with Israel despite the fact that he described these relations as frozen.

It was evident from the meeting that Qatar did not take a clear cut decision to close off the Israeli office in its territories and that it did not respond to the call of the OIC which it hosted; especially as the Qatari foreign minister admitted his meeting with the Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres by the beginning of May. The Qatari minister said the "Israeli office is not working and therefore it is practically closed but I do not deny that there is a person at that office acting as a secretary."

However; the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Egypt did not attend the Doha OIC ministerial conference. They instead; delegated their deputies.

The Qatari minister refused the frequent calls to repeat the oil embargo experience made by the Arabs during the Tishreen (October war) of 1973. He explained that oil is a strategic commodity. He said that Qatar is a small country and that other Islamic states "greater and bigger than Qatar" are expected to take stronger decisions.

Previous Stories:
  Qatar, Israel foreign ministers meet in Washington   (5/4/2001)
  Israel thanks Qatar for mediation role   (2/27/2001)
  A meeting between the ruler of Qatar and Peres   (1/27/2001)

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