I. Introduction

Committee: Arab League

Issue: Establishing measures to resolve the conflict of the Qatar diplomatic crisis

Student Officer: Hesham El Alamy (President of Arab League)

I. Introduction

June 2017 was marked as month that witnessed the ignition of the severe diplomatic crisis between Qatar and numerous Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, UAE, and Jordan. The air, sea, and land blockade on Qatar was initiated by Saudi Arabia on June 5, and all the blockade members took different approaches and methods of cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar . The blockading countries stated that Qatar’s assistance to terrorist groups and aiding in destabilizing the region is the main reason behind the blockade. 1 However, Qatar strongly denied these accusations. A list including 13 demands was sent by the blockading countries to Qatar, the demands in this list had to be executed and agreed on by Qatar in order to terminate the blockade. Qatar refused to execute any of the 13 demands2. From that point, the blockade started escalating and numerous conflicts started emerging in the following years. Until 2019, tension is still present in the Arab world despite numerous efforts put by the USA, other gulf nations, and non-Arab countries to find common grounds and resolve the issue between Qatar and the blockade members. The issue is of great importance since it is massively affecting all of the Middle East and not only the involved countries. As the Arab League, it is our goal to find solutions to any barriers that stand in front of the unity of this council, and this conflict is the main barrier that should be pushed aside in order to complete walking in the path of unity and peace.

1 “Qatar Hosts a U.S. Military Base. Saudi Arabia Says It Backs Terrorism.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/news/world/egypt-saudi-arabia-among-gulf-states-cutting-ties-qatar-n768161.

2 “Qatar Crisis: What You Need to Know.” BBC News, BBC, 19 July 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40173757.

II. Key Vocabulary

1) Blockade: an act or means of terminating relations with a place/country to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving. It is very important to understand the correct definition of the word Blockade while debating this topic since the resolution would have to tackle all the aspects of a blockade.

2) Extremist groups: terrorists groups who use unlawful violence especially against civilians in a specific region in the pursuit of political aims. 3The cause of this blockade was the accusation of the blockading countries to Qatar that they aid extremist groups.

3) Inflation rate: a measure for the rate of increase in the price of goods and services in a certain country over a specific period of time4. It is crucial to understand the definition of this word while researching the economic effects of the blockade on all the involved countries.

III. Focused Overview of the Issue

Causes of the Crisis There are several factors that led to Saudi Arabia and its allies to execute the blockade on Qatar.The main reason behind cutting diplomatic ties was “Qatar's embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region" including the Muslim Brotherhood, 1 al-Qaida, and ISIS”. Qatar’s response to this accusation was that they acknowledged the fact that they had given Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood various assistances such as giving them money, goods, and weapons. However, The Qatari government strongly denied any 5 accusation that is related to Qatar funding extremist groups in the region at all. However, Qatar supporting the Muslim Brotherhood was enough for some countries to join the blockade since the Muslim Brotherhood is classified as a terrorist group in their nations. Qatar’s strong diplomatic ties with Iran- Saudi Arabia’s main rival- played a huge role in escalating tensions

3 “Extremist: Definition of Extremist in English by Lexico Dictionaries.” Lexico Dictionaries | English, Lexico Dictionaries, www.lexico.com/en/definition/extremist. 4 Chen, James. “Inflation Definition.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 27 June 2019, www.investopedia.com/terms/i/inflation.asp. 5 “Qatar Crisis: What You Need to Know.” BBC News, BBC, 19 July 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40173757.

7 between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and eventually led to the blockade6. The 13 demands list sent by the blockading countries to Qatar is extremely helpful when it comes to understanding the reasons behind this blockade. In the next section Qatar’s response to these demands are discussed.

The Crisis Escalating The start of the crisis took place after the Qatar News Agency website was hacked and a fake statement attributed to Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Bin rd Hamad was published on May 23 . This fake statement quoted the Emir saying that “Iran [is] an "Islamic power" and saying Qatar's relations with Israel were "good" during a 8 military ceremony.” This event raged the blockading countries and is considered as the th spark of the crisis. On the 5 of June, 2017, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain issued official government announcements clearly stating the severing of diplomatic relations with Qatar9. Severing ties with Qatar included Canceling and suspending flights and airlines services to and from Qatar, withdrawal of the ambassadors of the main blockading countries from Qatar, and surely the termination of trading agreements10.

6 “Qatar Hosts a U.S. Military Base. Saudi Arabia Says It Backs Terrorism.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/news/world/egypt-saudi-arabia-among-gulf-states-cutting-ties-qatar-n768161.

7 Ap. “What Are the 13 Demands given to Qatar?” Gulf News – No.1 in UAE and Dubai for Breaking News, Opinion and Lifestyle, Gulf News, 31 Oct. 2018, gulfnews.com/world/gulf/qatar/what-are-the-13-demands-given-to-qatar-1.2048118.

8 Associated Press. “What Are the 13 Demands given to Qatar?” Qatar State News Agency 'Hacked with Fake Positive Story about Israel and Iran', 24 May 2017, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/24/qatar-state-news-agency-hacked-fake-positive-story-israel-iran/.

9 Wintour, Patrick. “Qatar given 10 Days to Meet 13 Sweeping Demands by Saudi Arabia.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 June 2017, www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/23/close-al-jazeera-saudi-arabia-issues-qatar-with-13-demands-to-end-bl ockade. 10 “Qatar Hosts a U.S. Military Base. Saudi Arabia Says It Backs Terrorism.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/news/world/egypt-saudi-arabia-among-gulf-states-cutting-ties-qatar-n768161.

The issue started to escalate on June 22 when the main 4 blockading countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt) sent a list of 13 demands that should be executed and nd 11 accepted by Qatar before the 2 of July which is the expiry date of such demands. As expected, Qatar fully rejected the demands list and called it unreasonable nor actionable, which took the th blockade to a whole new stage. On the 5 of July, Saudi Arabia and multiple allies meet in Cairo to discuss the situation, and a joint statement was released by the Saudi Arabian Embassy. The joint statement showed strong opposition to Qatar’s actions that violate the UN charters and the regulations of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and that the blockade will continue until the demands are met12. This blockade has caused political instability in the region since Qatar had multiple ties with the blockading countries. For example, “Qatar's stock market lost about 10%, or about $15bn (£12bn), in market value over the first four weeks of the 2 crisis.” Qatar was on the edge of facing a massive economic crisis because of the lack of imports and exports, but it received foreign assistance from USA and Turkey that helped it regain its stability after the blockade nearly damaged its economy. Until 2019, the ambassadors of the main blockading countries are still withdrawn and the political ties between these nations and Qatar are very tense. The conflict still exists till 2019 and no major steps were taken on the road of finding common grounds to end such crisis.

IV. Involved Countries and Organizations

1) Saudi Arabia As the initiator of the blockade, Saudi Arabia is one of the countries who have a massive influence on the region because of its oil abundance, economic power and multiple trade agreements. Saudi Arabia condemned Qatar’s relations with Iran because of the tension between

11 Wintour, Patrick. “Qatar given 10 Days to Meet 13 Sweeping Demands by Saudi Arabia.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 June 2017, www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/23/close-al-jazeera-saudi-arabia-issues-qatar-with-13-demands-to-end-bl ockade. 12 “Qatar Crisis: Saudi Arabia and Allies to Meet in Cairo.” BBC News, BBC, 5 July 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40502556. 4

Saudi Arabia and Iran regarding the petrol and Iran’s nuclear projects13. The Saudi Arabian government also accused Qatar of assisting terrorists groups and causing instability in the Arabian nations, and this was the main reason why several countries agreed to join the blockade. th On the 5 of June, 2017, the Saudi Press Agency released an official statement cutting off diplomatic and consular relations. The statement also prevents Saudi Arabian citizens to travel to Qatar, and prohibits the travel of Qatari citizens 14 to Saudi Arabia.

Throughout the years, the conflict is tensioning and despite the numerous efforts of Arabian and European countries to resolve the issue, Saudi Arabia refuses to cut off the blockade until Qatar agrees to Saudi Arabia’s demands. In March 2018, Saud Al Qahtani, an advisor at the Saudi Royal Court, said “. The US was deprived of Cuban cigars during the crisis, but we in Saudi Arabia are not deprived of anything. Qatar has on the other hand lost everything, starting with pastures, and including its transformation from a 15 peninsula into an isolated island. ” His words show how the Saudi Arabian government doesn’t classify the blockade as a conflict threatening any aspect inside the Saudi Arabian nation.

2) Qatar As expected, Qatar was massively affected both economically and politically after the blockade members terminated diplomatic ties with Qatar. A Few months after the blockade took place, Qatar had undergone a decline in the annual economic growth, the growth declined from 2.1 to 1.58 percent, and the inflation rate in Qatar increased too to make up for the temporary shortage.

13 “Qatar Hosts a U.S. Military Base. Saudi Arabia Says It Backs Terrorism.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/news/world/egypt-saudi-arabia-among-gulf-states-cutting-ties-qatar-n768161.

14 staff, The National. “Saudi Arabia Statement on Severing Qatar Ties.” The National, The National, 5 June 2017, www.thenational.ae/world/saudi-arabia-statement-on-severing-qatar-ties-1.77960.

15 Gulf News. “Mohammad Bin Salman Describes Qatar Crisis as Very Small.” Gulf News – No.1 in UAE and Dubai for Breaking News, Opinion and Lifestyle, Gulf News, 7 Nov. 2018, gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/mohammad-bin-salman-describes-qatar-crisis-as-very-small-1.2183533.

16 Regarding the political aspect, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman responded to the 13 demands list saying that the blockading countries are “demanding that we 17 have to surrender our sovereignty” , and he added that this is something Qatar would never do. Qatar had to increase its foreign imports since crucial resources trade agreements were signed with UAE and Saudi Arabia, and Qatar had to find an alternative option. Qatar was forced to import resources that exceeded 400 million US dollars to combat any minor economic issues that would have resulted in an economic crisis (graph). Iran and Turkey massively support Qatar with resources through ships and planes since the first months of the blockade, and the Qatar-Turkey trade exceeded 2 billion US dollars in 201818. Qatar’s only issue with this blockade was the economic conflicts it caused. However, Qatar’s numerous foreign allies alongside Turkey and Iran aided them throughout this issue and Qatar’s economy is now stable and on the right track. Since Qatar’s economic issue is solved, the blockade is not very effective and harmful on Qatar’s various internal and external relations and conditions.

3) GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) The GCC consists of 7 countries which are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. The Qatar diplomatic crisis created tension inside the council since all the countries inside the council are intensively involved in the crisis except Kuwait and Oman, who favored to keep neutral (figure 1). Hamad Al Amer, GCC affairs analyst, said that “there are no solutions in sight for the Qatar crisis, especially after Doha took steps that confirmed that it was out of tune

16 “Qatar's Blockade Enters Third Year: Who Are the Winners and Losers?” The Globe Post, 17 June 2019, theglobepost.com/2019/06/17/qatar-crisis-gcc/.

17 “Qatar Crisis: What You Need to Know.” BBC News, BBC, 19 July 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40173757. 18 Knecht, Eric. “Booming Qatar-Turkey Trade to Hit $2 Billion for 2018 as Gulf Rift...” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 17 Jan. 2019, www.reuters.com/article/us-qatar-turkey/booming-qatar-turkey-trade-to-hit-2-billion-for-2018-as-gulf-rift-drags-o n-idUSKCN1PB0G7.

19 with the other GCC states.” The council didn’t take any major steps in solving the crisis despite the huge instability that the blockade is creating inside the council. In December 2018, Qatari th Emir Sheikh Tamim refused to attend the 39 summit of the GCC council, and instead, the Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs joined the summit20. The summit failed to find any solutions regarding the Qatar crisis, and the relations between Qatar and the blockading countries remained tense. After the summit, speculations regarding Qatar’s exit from the GCC started appearing, but Qatar’s foreign minister ensured that exiting the GCC is not in Qatar’s plans and that they won’t do so21. However, Saudi foreign minister Adel Jubeir stated that “brothers in Qatar know what is required of them to return as an active member of the council”, and he added that the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council are 22 keen that the crisis with Qatar will have no impact on the Council.” From the words of the Saudi Arabian and Qatari foreign ministers, the GCC won’t be affected by the crisis in the near future. The question here is, does the GCC lack efforts in solving the issue on purpose in order to secure the future of the council, or is the crisis really heading to a closed path that can’t be solved by the GCC?

V. Important Events & Chronology

Date (Day/Month/Year) Event

A fake statement attributed to Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Bin Hamad was 23/5/2017 published and created tension in the region23.

19 Toumi, Habib. “Qatar's Exit Will Not Implode GCC.” Gulf News – No.1 in UAE and Dubai for Breaking News, Opinion and Lifestyle, gulfnews.com/world/gulf/qatar/qatars-exit-will-not-implode-gcc-1.60822085.

20 Wasmi, Naser Al. “Qatar's Emir Will Not Attend GCC Summit in Riyadh.” The National, The National, 9 Dec. 2018, www.thenational.ae/world/gcc/qatar-s-emir-will-not-attend-gcc-summit-in-riyadh-1.800715.

21 “Jubeir: Qatar Knows What's Required of Them to Return as Active GCC Member.” Al Arabiya English, english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2018/12/09/Jubeir-Qatar-knows-what-s-required-of-them-to-return-as-active- GCC-member.html.

22 IBID. 23 “ Timeline: Arab Rift with Qatar.” Middle East Monitor, 14 June 2017, www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170614-timeline-arab-rift-with-qatar/. 7

23 5/6/2017 UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt severed relations with Qatar . The blockading countries send Qatar a list of 13 demands that should 22/6/2017 be agreed on and executed by Qatar23 23 4/7/2017 Qatar refuses the 13 demands list and calls it unrealistic . 29/1/2018 Qatar’s non-oil exports declined 13% 23 Qatar allows turkey to set up a naval base on its lands, and Qatar 14/3/2018 signed a “security coordination” agreement with Iraq23 2 Qatari fighter jets flew next to a civilian UAE airplane in Bahrain’s 26/3/2018 airspace (caused tension between Bahrain and Qatar)23 Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa states that 4/4/2018 Bahrain is not planning to terminate the blockade in the near future23 Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al 13/5/2018 23 Thani states that Qatar is always open for dialogue . The International Court of Justice (ICJ) begins looking into the conflict 27/6/2018 between Qatar and its neighboring Gulf States after receiving a complaint from Doha23 ICJ rules that the UAE is violating the basic rights of Qatari nationals 23/7/2018 and remedy its treatment of them23 Qatar announces that is withdrawing from OPEC in January, ending a 3/12/2018 near-six decade long membership of the oil price cartel23 Qatar’s foreign minister on Monday voiced his country’s readiness to 14/1/2019 discuss possible means of resolving an ongoing crisis in inter-Arab 23 relations . The plane of the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani 27/5/2019 lands in Jeddah airport in Saudi Arabia for the first time since the 23 outbreak of the Gulf crisis two years ago .

VI. Past Resolutions and Treaties

The USA alongside Oman and many other gulf countries tried to find common ground between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but both countries strongly stand with their positions. Qatar requested the interference of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to find a solution for the

8 conflicts occurring because of the air blockade that prevents Qatar airways from entering the airspace of the blockading countries (refer to graph on page 3). As a result, the agency succeeded in finding agreements with the Saudi Arabian Aviation Authority, and Qatar airways airplanes were granted 3 new routes that would pass over international waters that would possibly resolve the airspace issue. The UN didn’t pass any formal resolutions regarding this issue, which is also a reason why the issue isn’t getting resolved. On the other hand, the ICJ was involved after receiving a complaint from Qatar. The ICJ ruled that the UAE is violating human rights of the Qatari civilians in the UAE and that such actions are unacceptable24. The situations are gradually calming down between both sides, but several countries especially countries located in the gulf don’t want to interfere because of the sensitivity of the issue.

VII. Failed Solution Attempts

th The 148 Session of the Arab League Council was supposed to build the path of peace talks and find solutions, but instead, the session ended in a heated argument between the foreign ministers of Qatar and Saudi Arabia25. Trump urged the GCC to be more proactive towards solving the issue, but as explained above, the GCC didn’t try to find any common grounds. A US-GCC summit was supposed to be scheduled by President Donald Trump, but it was postponed and it failed to find any solutions to the problem26. This conflict lacks any proactive solutions since every country is searching for its benefits and taking sides rather than searching for a solution that would benefit the Arab nation as a whole.

VIII. Guiding Questions

1. Is your country a member of the blockade? If not, does your country have any agreements with either side that makes it stand with a country against the other?

2. Did your country aid Qatar economically, politically, or even militarily at any time in the past 2 years?

“Qatar Takes Boycotting Countries to Court.” Middle East Monitor, 28 June 2018, 24 www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180628-gulf-crisis-before-international-court-of-justice/.

25 A l Jazeera. “GCC Summit Ends without Roadmap to Resolve Ongoing Crisis.” Qatar News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 10 Dec. 2018, www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/gcc-summit-ends-roadmap-resolve-ongoing-crisis-181210074639694.html.

Karam, Joyce. “Trump Postpones GCC Summit Again.” The National, The National, 7 Sept. 2018, 26 www.thenational.ae/world/the-americas/trump-postpones-gcc-summit-again-1.768017.

3. Is resolving the issue in your country’s benefit? If not, think about how the blockade is benefiting your country’s economy or relations.

4. How can your country positively contribute to this issue? (Think about your country’s capabilities, relations, allies, and internal policy before suggesting this solution)

IX. Possible Solutions

The only way a solution would be possible is when either the blockading countries or Qatar compensate some of their stances for the sake of Arabian Unity. For example, Saudi Arabia can send a demands list that doesn’t threat Qatar’s “sovereignty” as stated by Qatari representatives. Or on the other hand, Qatar could agree to some of the demands and surely the tensions would decrease and both sides could start retrieving economic and political ties . Other alternative solutions could be excluding the air blockade and the sea blockade, and keeping the diplomatic ties cut until further negotiations. This would be beneficial since the air and sea blockade is harming both economies and is not as effective anymore because of Qatar’s allies’ continuous economic support. After studying each country’s policy very well in order not to violate any country’s policy or ideology, think about how both countries can sit and negotiate.Find a common ally between both sides that would be ready to initiate peace talks and find solutions. Also keep in mind the failed solution attempts to avoid redundancy in the resolutions. Think about the 13 demands that were sent to Qatar, what could be changed or altered so Qatar could approve the list?

X. Useful Links 1) “Middle East Monitor.” Middle East Monitor, 14 June 2017, www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170614-timeline-arab-rift-with-qatar/. Extremely helpful in understanding the escalation of the conflict. This is a detailed timeline that is updated frequently and each date has a link next to it to an article that has more information on this specific event.

2) staff, The National. “Saudi Arabia Statement on Severing Qatar Ties.” The National, The National, 5 June 2017, www.thenational.ae/world/saudi-arabia-statement-on-severing-qatar-ties-1.77960. This is an official statement made by Saudi Arabia that initiated this crisis and accused Qatar of

10 supporting terrorist groups, it is very helpful to understand the roots of such crisis before writing your resolution in order to tackle the issue properly.

3) Associated Press. “What Are the 13 Demands given to Qatar?” Qatar State News Agency 'Hacked with Fake Positive Story about Israel and Iran', 24 May 2017, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/24/qatar-state-news-agency-hacked-fake-positive-story-isra el-iran/. This link has the list of the 13 demands that the blockading countries sent to Qatar. This will help you understand the causes of the blockade from the blockaders perspective.

4) “Understanding the Blockade against Qatar.” Qatar | Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2018/05/understanding-blockade-qatar-18053012220923 7.html. This link includes an explanation for the 13 demands and a detailed report of the first days of the blockade with the date and timing of every event.

XI. Works Cited

Al Jazeera. “GCC Summit Ends without Roadmap to Resolve Ongoing Crisis.” Qatar News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 10 Dec. 2018, www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/gcc-summit-ends-roadmap-resolve-ongoing-crisis-1812 10074639694.html.

Gulf News. “Mohammad Bin Salman Describes Qatar Crisis as Very Small.” Gulf News – No.1 in UAE and Dubai for Breaking News, Opinion and Lifestyle, Gulf News, 7 Nov. 2018, gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/mohammad-bin-salman-describes-qatar-crisis-as-very-sma ll-1.2183533.

“Jubeir: Qatar Knows What's Required of Them to Return as Active GCC Member.” Al Arabiya English, english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2018/12/09/Jubeir-Qatar-knows-what-s-required-of-th em-to-return-as-active-GCC-member.html.

Karam, Joyce. “Trump Postpones GCC Summit Again.” The National, The National, 7 Sept. 2018, www.thenational.ae/world/the-americas/trump-postpones-gcc-summit-again-1.768017. Knecht, Eric. “Booming Qatar-Turkey Trade to Hit $2 Billion for 2018 as Gulf Rift...” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 17 Jan. 2019, www.reuters.com/article/us-qatar-turkey/booming-qatar-turkey-trade-to-hit-2-billion-for-2 018-as-gulf-rift-drags-on-idUSKCN1PB0G7.

“Middle East Monitor.” Middle East Monitor, 14 June 2017, www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170614-timeline-arab-rift-with-qatar/. “Qatar Crisis: Saudi Arabia and Allies to Meet in Cairo.” BBC News, BBC, 5 July 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40502556.

“Qatar Crisis: What You Need to Know.” BBC News, BBC, 19 July 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40173757. “Qatar Hosts a U.S. Military Base. Saudi Arabia Says It Backs Terrorism.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/news/world/egypt-saudi-arabia-among-gulf-states-cutting-ties-qatar- n768161. “Qatar | General Assembly of the United Nations.” United Nations, United Nations, gadebate.un.org/en/73/qatar.

“Qatar's Blockade Enters Third Year: Who Are the Winners and Losers?” The Globe Post, 17 June 2019, theglobepost.com/2019/06/17/qatar-crisis-gcc/.

“Qatar Takes Boycotting Countries to Court.” Middle East Monitor, 28 June 2018, www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180628-gulf-crisis-before-international-court-of-justice/.

“SAUDI ARABIA.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/STATEFILES/SAU.htm.

“Timeline: Arab Rift with Qatar.” Middle East Monitor, 14 June 2017, www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170614-timeline-arab-rift-with-qatar/. Toumi, Habib. “Qatar's Exit Will Not Implode GCC.” Gulf News – No.1 in UAE and Dubai for Breaking News, Opinion and Lifestyle, gulfnews.com/world/gulf/qatar/qatars-exit-will-not-implode-gcc-1.60822085.

“Understanding the Blockade against Qatar.” Qatar | Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2018/05/understanding-blockade-qatar-180530122 209237.html. Wasmi, Naser Al. “Qatar's Emir Will Not Attend GCC Summit in Riyadh.” The National, The National, 9 Dec. 2018, www.thenational.ae/world/gcc/qatar-s-emir-will-not-attend-gcc-summit-in-riyadh-1.80071 5. Wasmi, Naser Al. “Qatar 'Isolating Itself' as GCC Countries Get Ready to Meet in Saudi Arabia for Summit.” The National, The National, 4 Dec. 2018, www.thenational.ae/world/gcc/qatar-isolating-itself-as-gcc-countries-get-ready-to-meet-in- saudi-arabia-for-summit-1.798789. Wintour, Patrick. “Qatar given 10 Days to Meet 13 Sweeping Demands by Saudi Arabia.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 June 2017, www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/23/close-al-jazeera-saudi-arabia-issues-qatar-with-1 3-demands-to-end-blockade.