Riyadh 11th March 2014: The Saudi Arabian authorities will close down Qatari network Al-Jazeera soon, London-based daily Al-Hayat reported yesterday.
According to earlier reports, Saudi writers and journalists have been prevented from contributing to Qatari media. UAE and Bahrain will also take similar actions to prevent Al-Jazeera from operating in their region, reports say.
The new report comes only days after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar in a move widely seen as showing their displeasure at Qatar’s support for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.
Qatar said it regretted the decision to recall the envoys, which it said was based on differences concerning regional issues.
“Our policy is based on openness towards all, and we do not want to exclude anyone,” Al Jazeera quoted Qatar Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiya as saying.
