Excerpts: Turkish P.M.Erdogan re Obama.Qatar, UAE dispute.Hizbullah support
to Hamas July 23, 2014

+++SOURCE: The Saudi Gazette 23 July ’14:”I no longer talk to Obama:Erdogan”,
Agence France Press
SUBJECT: TurkishP.M.Erdogan re Obama
QUOTE:”The last phone conversation betwee the two leaders took place on
February 20 after which the White House released a statement accusing
Ergodan of misrepresenting the content of the conversation”
FULL TEXT:ISTANBUL – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he has
stopped talking to US President Barack Obama on the phone, amid growing
strains between Ankara and Washington over Syria and the Gaza conflict.

Turkey, a fierce opponent of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and an open
supporter of armed rebel fighters, felt betrayed when the United States
backed away from military action against Damascus in September.

“In the past, I was calling him (Obama) directly. Because I can’t get the
expected results on Syria, our foreign ministers are now talking to each
other,” Erdogan said in a live interview on pro-government ATV channel late
Monday [21 July].

“And I have talked to (US Vice President Joe) Biden. He calls me and I call
him.

“I expect justice in this process. I couldn’t imagine something like this
from those who are championing justice,” Erdogan added without elaborating,
in an apparent jibe at Washington. The last phone conversation between the
two leaders took place on February 20 after which the White House released a
statement accusing Erdogan of misrepresenting the content of the
conversation.

A staunch advocate of the Palestinian cause, Erdogan has recently been at
loggerheads with Washington over Israel’s offensive in the besieged Gaza
Strip that has killed more than 580 Palestinians in two weeks.

Erdogan accused the Jewish state of carrying out “state terrorism” and a
“genocide” of Palestinians and criticized the United States for defending
Israel’s “disproportionate” tactics.

The US State Department branded his comments on Israel “offensive and wrong”
but the prime minister hit back by saying the United States needed to engage
in “self-criticism.” Erdogan is standing in August 10 presidential elections
that he is expected to win, with analysts awaiting a more assertive foreign
policy from Ankara if he becomes head of state. – AFP


+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 21July ’14:”Gaza Unrest Fuels Qatar, UAE
Dispute”, Agence France Presse

Abu Dhabi has accused the Al-Jazeera TV channel and websites close to Qatar
of "fabricating" information suggesting UAE supported Israel's operation in
Gaza, in the latest tensions between both countries.

Relations between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours Saudi Arabia, the UAE and
Bahrain sank to a new low in March when the three governments withdrew their
ambassadors from Doha, accusing it of meddling in their affairs and
supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

Islamist movement Hamas, the main power in Gaza -- where two weeks of deadly
violence has left more than 500 Palestinians, many of them civilians, and 18
Israeli soldiers killed -- is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash demanded an "official
apology" from Doha-based Al-Jazeera for publishing news stating that a
meeting had taken place between foreign ministers of the UAE and Israel,
local media said Monday.

The website of Al-Jazeera Mubashar Misr, reported on Saturday that UAE
Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan had met with his
Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman and proposed "financing" the Israeli
"agression" against Gaza "on the condition that Hamas would be completely
eliminated."

Al-Jazeera was quoting a website named "Arabi21", which in turn said it was
quoting Israel's Channel 2.

Local Emirati media reported that Channel 2 has denied it had published such
information.

On his Twitter account, Sheikh Abdullah wrote that "I have chosen not to
respond" to such claims.

Local media has also slammed a campaign by Qatari Tweeters accusing members
of the Emirati Red Crescent mission in Gaza of being "spies" for Israel.

Columnist Mohammed al-Hammadi criticised Qatar's "incitement against the
United Arab Emirates" in an article on Abu Dhabi daily, Al-Ittihad.

"Qatar will be held responsible for endangering the lives of the Emirati Red
Crescent team due to its direct incitement against them," he wrote.

Qatar is a staunch supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, viewed by most
conservative monarchies of the Gulf as a threat to their grip on power
because of its grass-roots political advocacy and calls for Islamic
governance.

Saudi Arabia has designated the Muslim Brotherhood a "terrorist"
organisation, and the UAE has cracked down on Islamist activists on its
soil.

Relations between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours have been strained since
Doha backed Egypt's former Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, ousted by the
military last year in a move swiftly applauded by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

On June 27, the United Arab Emirates arrested two Qatari citizens described
as "spies" by Emirati media.

SourceAgence France Presse


+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 21 July ’14:”(Hizbullah’s) Nasrallah Contacts
Meshaal: The Resistance stands by Palestinians”.
SUBJECT: Hizbullah support to Hamas
EXCERPTS:Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah expressed
solidarity on Monday[21 July] with the Palestinian people, voicing support
to Hamas.

In a phone call between [Hizbullah leader]Nasrallah and Hamas leader Khaled
Meshaal, the Hizbullah chief stressed that the Lebanese resistance stands by
the intifada of the Palestinians.

“We stand by the the intifada and the resistance of the Palestinian people
and we share the same will, hopes and fate,” Nasrallah told Meshaal,
according to a statement issued by Hizbullah's press office.

Hizbullah is currently engaged in battles in neighboring Syria to back
President Bashar Assad's army as he battles insurgents who have been trying
to overthrow him since 2011.

Hizbullah's involvement in Syria has prompted bomb attacks by extremist
groups against areas in Lebanon sympathetic to the group, killing mostly
civilians. . . .
=====
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA