Saudi Arabia Closes Local Al Jazeera Office over Qatar’s Backing for the Muslim Brotherhood

Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Tamim al-Thani

THE INDEPENDENT: The Saudis, UAE and Bahrain are in confrontation with Qatar over it's support for jihadi rebels in Syria and its satellite television station’s willingness to provide a platform for critics of the Gulf monarchs and their allies

Saudi Arabia intends to close the local office of the Qatari-owned al Jazeera satellite television station in the latest episode in the escalating conflict in which the Saudis, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are in confrontation with Qatar, say local media.

At the heart of the dispute is Qatar’s backing for the Muslim Brotherhood, which Saudi Arabia banned last Friday, and Qatari opposition to the regime of Field Marshall Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt that came to power in a coup last summer.

Riyadh and Doha now differ on almost every aspect of foreign policy, notably Qatar’s support for jihadi rebels in Syria and al Jazeera’s willingness to provide a television platform for critics of the Gulf monarchs and their allies. » | Patrick Cockburn | Wednesday, March 12, 2014