Saudi Arabia, Bahrain boycott world youth championship

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain announced on Sunday that they will not take part in the world youth handball championship which will be held this month in Qatar because of Israel's participation in the event.

In a statement to reporters in Doha on Sunday the executive director of the championship, Sheikh Khaled Bin All al-Thani, said that the Saudi ambassador in Qatar had given the Qatari Foreign Ministry a message stating that Saudi Arabia is not taking part in the championship.

Sheikh Khaled added that Saudi Arabia's boycott of the championship will cause other participants to withdraw.

The Bahraini Handball Federation also decided not to take part in the championship.

The Qatari mass media opposed Israeli participation in the championship and asked Qatari viewers to boycott it.