Al-Jasser: work is underway to restructure and develop aviation infrastructure    Diriyah to host third IMFC Deputies meeting under Saudi chairmanship    15,135 decisions taken to penalize Saudis and expats for violations    Saudi-European Parliamentary Friendship Committee discusses cooperation during Strasbourg visit    Saudi stock market loses half a trillion riyals, with Aramco's losses amounting to SR340 billion Tariff turmoil rattles Gulf markets    KAU to host Digital Communication Conference in Jeddah from April 29 to May 1    TGA: Riyadh tops with 45% of 290 million orders delivered in 2024    Aja and Salma mountains draw nature lovers to Hail's rugged landscapes    US revokes all visas for South Sudanese nationals over deportation dispute    Death toll from Myanmar earthquake rises to 3,471    Macron to hold Gaza summit with Egypt and Jordan in Cairo    Benzema rescues Al Ittihad with stoppage-time equalizer in thrilling Jeddah Derby    Al Qadsiah and Al Ettifaq share spoils in tense Eastern Derby stalemate    Moussa Diaby praises Al Ittihad's resilience after Jeddah Derby draw "When you can't win, you take a point"    Saudi assistant referee Iman Al Madani joins AFC elite list for 2025    Riyadh Art Week launches with over 50 galleries showcasing global artistic dialogue    Turki Al-Sheikh announces five new Saudi film projects to be produced in Riyadh    Saudi Ministry of Education to showcase innovations at 2025 Geneva International Exhibition    Ed Sheeran weaves Persian music into new song, Azizam    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



After bizarre coup rumors, is Qatar's ex-PM plotting against the emir?
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 07 - 05 - 2020

Amid swirling rumors and reports of a coup, signs of what could be a serious rift within Qatar's ruling establishment are emerging.
On Monday, reports of military aircraft active in Qatari airspace and gunfire on the ground prompted a flurry of rumors about a military coup in the country — with speculation that it had been organized by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani.
Although Qatar's Ambassador to Russia dismissed the reports, the next day Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim added to the speculation with a cryptic tweet that analysts interpreted as rejecting Sheikh Tamim's authority in favor of his father, under whom Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim was prime minister.
On Tuesday, the former prime minister tweeted: "As I mentioned before I will not answer any polemics, and I want to confirm that I am continuing this policy." He did not specify to which policy he was referring.
"I am not one of those people that go to others to defend them or attack or to fabricate lies about them from the money of their people. And if anyone wants to complain about me there is no need to complain to others, my higher authority is known," he added.
According to analysts, this is a veiled reference to Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim's loyalties to Sheikh Tamim's father Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa.
Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim was deposed from his position as prime minister and removed as head of the Qatar Investment Authority in 2013, when Sheikh Tamim took control of the throne after his father abdicated.
"Hamad Bin Jassim is telling the Emir of Qatar you are not my higher authority, my higher authority is your father (Hamad Bin Khalifa)," said Independent Arabia Editor-in-Chief Adhwan Al-Ahmari in a tweet.
The rift between the emir and the former prime minister has reportedly deepened in recent years, and on Twitter, analysts and Qatari dissident royals speculated that Hamad Bin Jassim had been behind a coup attempt.
One Qatari royal said that troops had been on the ground in the country, and called on the emir to stand down.
"Iran and Turkey are controlling Qatar. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Turkish officers are present in the streets and neighborhoods of Qatar to suppress and torture everyone they dislike," said Sheikh Mubarak bin Khalifa Al-Thani in an interview with Okaz.
Another activist living in Egypt, Mona Al-Sulaiti, said that many social media users in Qatar had been too afraid to post anything about the incident online, but the reports of the coup had merit.
Al-Sulaiti pointed out that Sheikh Tamim's brother, Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad, had tweeted a poem in Arabic with a picture of the emir on May 3 that translates to, "They wanted you to fall and they fell at your feet."
The Qatari government has yet to issue an official statement despite speculation continuing throughout the week.
Feud between Emir and former PM
The alleged feud between Emir Sheikh Tamim and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim is close to the center of the speculation around the coup.
"The considerable wealth that Hamad Bin Jassim has amassed over the years and the allegations of corruption have resurfaced with the allegation that the coronavirus field hospital that collapsed in Qatar injuring 23 people was built by a company linked to Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim," said a GCC analyst who wanted to remain anonymous.
"This allegation is the latest of many allegations of corruption, including those linking Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim to bribing FIFA officials to allow the country to host the World Cup," the source added.
In 2010, The United States Department of Justice and FIFA began investigating the bid that granted Qatar the hosting rights to the world's largest sporting event when Sheikh Hamad was still at the head of Qatar's government.
On April 6, 2020, the justice department said that Qatari representatives bribed FIFA officials to allow the country to host the World Cup, causing public embarrassment to Qatar's ruler.
The GCC analyst suggested that Hamad Bin Jassim had also since fallen out with "the influential brothers of Moza Al-Misnad, mother of the current emir and wife of the former emir."
According to one Qatari who requested not to be named, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim is under surveillance by one of Moza Al-Misnad's brothers, who is often seen accompanying him.
"While some people say that he is a business partner of Hamad Bin Jassim, others in Qatar seem to think that he is being asked to keep tabs on him for his sister Moza," he said.
An audio recording attributed to late Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak can be heard as saying that Sheikh Tamim's father Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa nicknamed Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim "the thief of Doha."
In the recording, Mubarak is heard saying that Moza does not like Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim either.
In response, another person is heard asking why Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim has remained in power under Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa, to which Mubarak is heard to answer: "Well, you know everyone makes mistakes."
Was there a coup?
Rumors of a coup attempt continue to circulate and it remains unclear what happened in the country.
On Monday, reports surfaced on Twitter of planes circling above Qatar and gunshots fired in the city of Al-Wakrah.
"News of gun fire and explosions in Qatar, and of coups and fighter jets circling," one Twitter user shared alongside a video on the morning of May 4 that later turned out to be inaccurate.
Qatari authorities have not made any comment regarding the incident. Ambassador to Russia Fahad Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah told a Russian News Agency (TASS) denied the authenticity of the footage.
However, Qatari dissidents and analysts familiar with the country say the reports have merit.
Speaking to Okaz, Sheikh Mubarak Bin Khalifa Al-Thani directly accused the government of using foreign soldiers to suppress dissent on the streets.
One Twitter user, Sharon Collins, user showed pictures of smoke coming from a building close to a landmark in the Qatari capital of Doha. "Well, what's going on in Qatar, will anyone say a word now?" she tweeted.
Sheikh Saud Bin Jassim Al-Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, said that as a Qatari living abroad he is worried about the situation in Qatar.
Regardless of exactly what happened on Monday, with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim not disowning reports he was behind the coup and Sheikh Mubarak Bin Khalifa al-Thani actively calling on Sheikh Tamim to step down as emir, speculation that something is up in the Qatari elite is likely to continue. — Al Arabiya English


Clic here to read the story from its source.