Ex-Qatari premier alleges provocation despite Gulf deal

By Ibrahim Al-Khazen

DOHA, Qatar (AA) - A former Qatari premier accused other unnamed Gulf countries of continued provocations against Doha despite a reconciliation deal signed last month.

Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said on Twitter that he had expected a "new era" in relations between Qatar on one side and its fellow members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Egypt on the other.

"We still see and hear the continuation of some [countries] beating the drums of provocation and statements charged with negativity and incitement," Al-Thani said without specifying any country in particular.

He added: "We didn't pay any attention, praise be to God, to the drums of war in the past, despite our astonishment and sadness at what happened without justification."

Criticizing the use of what he called "electronic flies" recruited to "write whatever they are asked to whether it is good or bad," Al Thani added that their employers were "upset about the return of [Qatar's] relations with Saudi Arabia."

While warning that such efforts would reap "disappointment" as before, he did not cite any single event that prompted his series of tweets.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt signed a reconciliation deal with Qatar during a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit on Jan. 5 in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The agreement ended a Saudi-led blockade imposed on Qatar since mid-2017 amid accusations that Doha supported terrorist groups, a claim it vehemently denied.

The former blockading countries have resumed direct fights with Qatar. Some went further, re-establishing economic and diplomatic ties as well.

*Ibrahim Mukhtar from Ankara contributed to this report