It’s not the first time… why Qatar targets the UAE on espionage charges?
The development model of the United Arab Emirates also enjoys its constant humanitarian role despite the difference in issues and timing, which is admired and praised by various countries, with the exception of Qatar, which is always critical of the role of the Emirates. Its official and private media channels are on opposite sides in every role the Emirates plays in supporting the Arab people in the region’s issues, with clear and direct intensity.
Doha is the sharpest and the most strident attack on the UAE in the media, promoting rumors against the UAE in every issue the region goes through that gets the clearest and most direct criticism.
And the latest chapters of this sharp attack dragged the name of the UAE into media reports accusing it of spying on political and media figures in the Gulf and cooperating with the NSO company.
Propagating spying rumors against the UAE is an agenda that Qatar’s media channels and arms have been trying to implement over the past years.
In 2018, Abdullah al-Athbah, editor-in-chief of the Al-Arab newspaper, claimed to have received information that his phone was hacked by an Israeli spy company, in an attempt to accuse the UAE of using the Israeli spy program “Pegasus” against him without providing any evidence to condemn the UAE.
The newspaper’s representative revealed the lies and allegations of torture after he demanded the disclosure of information and evidence proving his speech, but the Qatari man refused, indicating that he only had the allegation without proof.
The Associated Press, which quoted his statements, said that the editor of the Qatari newspaper Al-Arab “refused to reveal his source” and that the agency itself was not able to “verify the authenticity of these materials.”
Persistent allegations
Al-Jazeera’s recent reports include direct attacks against the UAE, the most prominent of which is promoting a political dispute between the UAE and Saudi Arabia and exploiting the UAE’s position on OPEC.
It attempted to spread the fears of tourists traveling to the Emirates as a result of the coronavirus crisis, despite the Emirates ranking in the world in terms of vaccination and efforts to confront the coronavirus and limit its spread. Al Jazeera reported these fears.
Last year, Al Jazeera reported that it was trying to question safety standards at the Barakah reactor, despite widespread international and Arab celebration of the UAE’s launch of the Arab world’s first peaceful nuclear power reactor, in accordance with the highest international safety and quality standards.
The Washington Free Beacon, an American newspaper, had earlier described Al Jazeera as a mouthpiece for terrorism in the world, following Qatar’s agenda.
She confirmed that these unprofessional practices prompted members of Congress to request the Ministry of Justice to investigate the work of Al Jazeera English and consider it a foreign agent in accordance with the FARA Act.
Jay Pratt, head of counter-espionage and export control at the Justice Department, wrote in a letter to Al Jazeera: “Despite assertions of editorial independence and freedom of expression, al-Jazeera media network and its affiliates are controlled and funded by the government of Qatar,” according to the US magazine Mather Jones.
