28 Mar 2024
Tuesday 18 July 2017 - 17:30
Story Code : 268868

Qatar lashes out at UAE over QNA hacking

FNA- Qatar accused the United Arab Emirates of violating international law after reports suggested Abu Dhabi orchestrated the hacking of the Qatari official news agency and social media sites.

"The information published in the Washington Post... revealed the involvement of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and senior Emirati officials in the hacking of Qatar News Agency," Qatar's government communication office said in a statement, Al-Jazeera reported.

The report "unequivocally proves that this hacking crime took place", the statement quoted Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, director of the government communication office, as saying.

"This criminal act represents a clear violation and breach of international law and of the bilateral and collective agreements signed between the member states of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as collective agreements with the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the United Nations," it added.

The statement stressed that an investigation is ongoing and that government prosecutors plan to take "legal measures" locally and abroad.

The Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing US intelligence officials, the United Arab Emirates was behind an effort to hack Qatari government news and social media websites, sparking a diplomatic dispute among Arab states.

The hack sparked anger among some Persian Gulf states over comments attributed to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on sensitive issues, including Iran, Israel and the US.

The Post reported that US intelligence officials learned last week of newly analysed information that showed that senior UAE government officials discussed the planned hacks on May 23, the day before they occurred.

The newspaper reported that the officials disclosed that it was unclear if the UAE hacked the websites or paid for them to be carried out, while the Post did not identify the intelligence officials it spoke to for the report.

The Post added that UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef al-Otaiba denied the report in a statement, saying it was "false".

The UAE had no role whatsoever in the alleged hacking described in the article. What is true is Qatars behavior. Funding, supporting, and enabling extremists from the Taliban to Hamas and Qadafi. Inciting violence, encouraging radicalization, and undermining the stability of its neighbors, the statement read.

Otaibas private email account has also been hacked by an apparently pro-Qatari organization, called GlobalLeaks.

According to The Post, Many of the emails highlight the UAEs determination over the years to rally Washington thinkers and policymakers to its side on the issues at the center of its dispute with Qatar.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar early June, and suspended air and sea communication one week after the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East.

Qatar rejected claims by a Saudi-led bloc of countries that it finances terrorism and intervenes in their internal affairs.

After more than two weeks, on June 22, the Saudi-led bloc gave Qatar a 10 days to comply with 13 demands, which included shutting down the Al-Jazeera Media Network, closing a Turkish military base and scaling down ties with Iran.

Through Kuwait, which has been acting as intermediary, Qatar officially responded to the new deadline, as Doha stressed that the demands by Saudi Arabia and its allies were impossible to meet.

Foreign Ministers from the bloc of countries boycotting Qatar released a statement, saying Dohas rejection of the demands proved its link with terrorism.

The Foreign Ministers of the boycotting countries also added that the list of the collective demands was now void and they pledged further political, economic, and legal steps against Qatar.

Qatar had announced that Doha will not meet any of the 13 demands made by Saudi Arabia and its allies, offering instead "a proper condition for a dialogue" to resolve the [Persian] Gulf crisis, accused Saudi Arabia and its regional allies of "demanding that we must surrender our sovereignty as the price for ending the siege".

But Riyadh reiterated that its demands to Qatar to end the stand-off in the [Persian] Gulf were "non-negotiable".

Qatar is supported by Turkey and Iran while Russia stressed that Moscow would do "everything possible" to help resolve the crisis.

The split among the Arab states erupted last month after US President Donald Trump visited Riyadh where he accused Iran of "destabilizing interventions" in Arab lands.
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