DOHA: Qatar and Mauritania decided yesterday to suspend their relations with Israel.
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani, announced the Gulf state’s decision on the sidelines of a meeting called to discuss a response to the Israeli killings in Gaza. Qatar does not have diplomatic relations with Israel but has been maintaining low-level ties, allowing an Israeli trade mission to operate and hosting Israeli leaders at conferences.
Hamad, who is also Qatar’s foreign minister, said the Israeli trade mission in the country will have about a week to leave. “We will tell the Israeli (trade mission) office that their presence here is unwanted until the circumstances improve and there is a better chance for peace,” he told reporters.
Mauritania has had diplomatic ties with the Jewish state since 1999. Mauritania called back its ambassador in Israel in the wake of the attacks Israel launched on the Gaza Strip on Dec. 27.
At the meeting, the Iranian and Syrian presidents called on all countries to sever their ties with the Jewish state. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also appealed on nations to boycott all Israeli products.
