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November 28, 2024

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Barclays fined $50M for failing to disclose 2008 Qatari funding

The UK-headquartered bank will pay a fine of 40 million pounds to British regulators for failing to disclose information of its rescue by Qatar during the 2008 financial crisis.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) poses beside Khalid Mashaal (C), the Hamas chief in exile, and Gaza's prime minister Ismail Haniyeh prior to their meeting in Ankara on June 18, 2013. Senior leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas met today in Ankara with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to discuss Erdogan's planned visit to the Gaza Strip as well as the situation in Syria, the source said on condition of anonymity. AFP PHOTO/ PRIME MINISTER PRESS OFFICE/ YASIN BULBUL == RESTRICTED T

Analysis

Will Turkey host Hamas leaders after consequential Qatar departure?

Pro-Muslim Brotherhood groups and leaders in Turkey enjoyed few restrictions on their activities in the past but are now seeing their activities curtailed.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

After UAE visit, Qatari PM holds talks in Iran as Hamas officials depart Doha

A Gulf political official told Al-Monitor on Wednesday that the Qatari prime minister's visit to the UAE is designed to communicate Doha's new policy toward Hamas, where it seeks to be more in alignment with them regarding the group.

Hamas's chief representative in Lebanon Osama Hamdan (L), Hamas Arab relations chief Khalil al-Hayya (C) and Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command Talal Naji arrive for a press conference during a visit to Damascus, Syria, Oct. 19, 2022.

Reports Hamas' political bureau relocated to Turkey false, Turkish sources say

Turkish diplomatic sources refutes claims of Hamas political leaders relocating from Qatar to Turkey, following media reports.

Latest News

In reshuffle, Qatar emir replaces 6 ministers, intel chief: What we know

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani looks, in Lusail, Qatar, on Oct. 13, 2023.

Qatar tells Hamas leaders to leave as Gaza cease-fire talks deadlocked

Mourners offer their condolences to senior member of Hamas' political bureau Musa Abu Marzuk (C) during the funeral of the slain Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, in Doha on August 2, 2024.

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Analysis

Beyond congratulations, Trump faces changed, eastward-looking Gulf

US President Donald Trump (L) speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2nd R) and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May smile during a family photo session at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (Photo by KIM KYUNG-HOON / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read KIM KYUNG-HOON/AFP via Getty Images)

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

What's significance of UAE's Sheikh Tahnoon third visit to Qatar in a year?

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, and Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Adviser, in Doha on Sunday

United Arab Emirates

Jennifer Gnana

Gulf Correspondent

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Kate Dourian

In Dubai, reporting on energy

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) cuts the ribbon during the opening ceremony of the new building of the Turkish Embassy in Doha December 4, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous (QATAR - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX163FZ

Turkey, Qatar strengthen economic ties

Turkey is again stepping up relations with Qatar by adding cultural and commercial links to their political collaboration in the international arena.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and U.S. President Barack Obama are greeted upon their arrival on Marine One for a meeting with Saudi King Abdullah at Rawdat al-Khraim (Desert Camp) near Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, March 28, 2014.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3J176

US can help heal GCC rifts

The United States is leading efforts to resolve the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but uncertainty over the future of the Gulf Cooperation Council remains.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal (L) and Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) attend the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of Turkey-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Istanbul January 28, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2WZJV

The Saudi-Turkey cold war for Sunni hegemony

Saudi Arabia views Turkey's mix of democracy and Islam as a threat to its own regional role.

People walk past the site of Tuesday's car bomb attack on al-Muthna bridge at Taji, north of Baghdad March 26, 2014. At least nine people were killed and 25 others wounded when a suicide bomber drove a truck packed with explosives to an army checkpoint late Tuesday, police said. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3IMQG

Iraq-Saudi ties need strategic context

While Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused Saudi Arabia of supporting terrorist groups, Baghdad should instead work on establishing effective channels of communication to cooperate in anti-terror efforts.

Palestinians Hamas supporters take part in a protest in front of the Egyptian embassy in Gaza March 7, 2014, against a recent rule by Egyptian court which banned all the activities of Hamas movement in Egypt. An Egyptian court on March 4, 2014 banned all activities of Hamas in Egypt in a further sign that Cairo's military-backed government aims to squeeze the Palestinian Islamist group that rules neighbouring Gaza, regarding it as a security threat. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST

Hamas seeks to retain Saudi ties despite Brotherhood ban

Hamas is hoping to escape the anti-Brotherhood wave sweeping the Gulf and is trying to stay on good terms with Saudi Arabia.

A general view shows Dubai's cityscape September 24, 2013. Dubai's government is working on new rules to protect its real estate market and prevent any excessive rise of property prices that could end in a crash, a senior official said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: REAL ESTATE BUSINESS CITYSCAPE) - RTX13Y0C

Al-Monitor launches Gulf Pulse

With the launch of its Gulf Pulse, Al-Monitor is expanding its coverage of the region.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaks at the opening day of a counter-terrorism conference in Baghdad, March 12, 2014. REUTERS/Karim Kadim/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GRM5

Baghdad holds international anti-terrorism conference

According to the conference organizers, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were invited, but didn’t attend, despite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's accusing of them of supporting terrorism.

Egyptian expatriates living in Qatar wait for their turns to vote at a polling station at the Egyptian embassy in Doha May 12, 2012, during an early voting ahead of Egypt's presidential election. Egypt's presidential election, set to be the freest it has ever had, began for citizens abroad on Friday after a caustic televised debate between two candidates that produced no clear favourite to lead the most populous Arab nation. With no obvious winner for now, the fewer than 1 million expatriates registered to

Egypt fears backlash if it cuts ties with Qatar

Egypt is hesitating to join the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and cut ties with Qatar, because the government fears the repercussions such a step would have for the many Egyptians working in Qatar.

What next for Qatar and the GCC?

Following the decision by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to withdraw their ambassadors from Qatar, will Doha reassess its foreign policy to ensure it can continue playing the vital role of mediator in thorny regional issues?

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal (L) talks with Qatar Foreign Minister Khalid Al Attiya following their meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and members of the Arab Peace Initiative at the United States Embassy in Paris, September 8, 2013. REUTERS/Susan Walsh/Pool (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13CWG

Saudi-Qatar divide means reset for GCC

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have different ideas about what constitutes internal and external threats to the Gulf region, making their partnership within the Gulf Cooperation Council difficult.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) cuts the ribbon during the opening ceremony of the new building of the Turkish Embassy in Doha December 4, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous (QATAR - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX163G5

GCC rift another blow to Erdogan’s Mideast policies

Turkey is increasingly isolated in the region, more so as Qatar is on the outs with other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The Blue Nile flows into Ethiopia's Great Renaissance Dam in Guba Woreda, some 40 km (25 miles) from Ethiopia's border with Sudan, June 28, 2013. Egypt fears the $4.7 billion dam, that the Horn of Africa nation is building on the Nile, will reduce a water supply vital for its 84 million people, who mostly live in the Nile valley and delta. Picture taken June 28, 2013. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri (ETHIOPIA - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY ENERGY ENVIRONMENT) - RTX115K7

Egypt seeks Saudi help on Ethiopia water dispute

Egypt has turned to Saudi Arabia to help pressure Ethiopia into compromising on the Renaissance Dam, which Cairo fears will cut off vital water supplies from the Nile River.