Doha reaffirms its position in the illegal occupation of Palestine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has denied reports by Saudi and Emirati news outlets which claimed Qatar has agreed to normalising its relations with Israel. In a statement by the ministry, Doha reaffirmed its position that it would not establish ties with Israel unless it ends its illegal occupation of Palestinian land, it also stressed Qatar’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

MOFA’s statement, which was released on Sunday, came following reports published and broadcast by UAE-based and Saudi owned news channel, Al-Arabiya, claiming that Qatar is allegedly “open” to normalise its relations with Israel.

The statement said: “It is regrettable to see some misleading media campaigns that try to mix up issues and distort the image of the State of Qatar at the expense of the brotherly Palestinian people and their legitimate rights at this defining moment in the history of the conflict.”

Read also: ‘Normalisation can’t be the answer’: Qatar says illegal occupation of Palestine must end

Following the two normalisation deals by the UAE and Bahrain, there has been rising speculations regarding which other Gulf or Arab countries would follow suit. 

However, Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister, Lolwah Al-khater, previously addressed such claims by stating that “normalisation can’t be the answer’ to the Palesinian cause as the problem as far as Qatar is concerned lies in the occupation of Arab land and the mistreatment of Palestinians.

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