CAIRO: Egypt criticized what it termed a Qatari campaign to distort its efforts to relaunch peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel. Cairo has been the leading intermediary between the Palestinians and Israelis in recent years, although no peace deal has yet been achieved. The Egyptian-Qatari crisis was sparked by what an Egyptian official described as a “Qatari media fuss” over comments made by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit's, when he said he had no idea that Qatar had demanded that the US offer guarantees for the revival of the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. “The reason for our astonishment is that the Qatari reaction towards statements attributed to the (Egyptian) foreign minister was not relayed as diplomatic norms dictate through diplomatic channels,” an official source at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said this week. “The Egyptian side would have been happy if the Qatari officials had asked for clarification on the issue without making up an unjustifiable media fuss, which contradicts the requirements of the Arab action,” added the source in a statement carried by semi-official newspapers. Qatar has said that Arab nations, including Egypt, were notified of a Qatari letter presented to the American administration for guarantees and that Doha had sent a copy of the letter to the Arab League. Egyptian-Qatari ties have been in trouble over recent years with Cairo accusing Doha of constantly casting doubts over its regional role. In March 2009, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak snubbed an annual Arab summit conference held in Qatar. Egypt's official media has openly criticized Al Jazeera for allegedly distorting Egypt's name. The Qatari-based news organization has come under much fire recently over its coverage of the North African nation. “It is regrettable that as part of the same campaign some Qatari writers have jumped on the bandwagon to distort Egypt's stance over the issue of (US) guarantees by unfairly implying that Egypt has renounced the idea or sought to put pressure on the Palestinians to stop demanding these guarantees,” said an Egyptian source quoted by GulfNews. “This is a sheer lie. The idea of demanding internationally supported US guarantees is a basic component of the Egyptian efforts exerted for the resumption of (Palestinian-Israeli) negotiations on a sound basis,” the source added. BM
