- Abu Dhabi鈥檚 representatives said it cut relations with Qatar 鈥渂ecause of its support for terrorism and its interference with the affairs of its neighbors鈥�
- UAE representatives said Qatar has put forward no credible evidence to substantiate any of Doha's claims against the UAE
THE HAGUE: Qatar supports terrorism, spreads hate speech and interferes in the affairs of its neighbors, judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague heard on Thursday.
鈥淥ur government has asked Qatar time and again to cease this conduct,鈥� the UAE鈥檚 ambassador to the Netherlands, Saeed Al-Nowais, told the court. 鈥淎lthough Qatar repeatedly committed to do so, it has failed to live up to its commitments.鈥�
The UAE is defending a lawsuit brought by Doha over the boycott imposed last June by the Anti-Terror Quartet (抖阴短视频, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt), severing diplomatic ties and transport links. Qatar claims the UAE has forcibly separated families, in violation of an international treaty signed by both countries.
Al-Nowais said his country 鈥渃ompletely rejects the allegations, all of which are without any merit or basis.鈥�
鈥淨atar has put forward no credible evidence to substantiate any of these claims,鈥� he said, and they consisted 鈥渙nly of anecdotal and unverified statements.鈥�
鈥淭he UAE鈥檚 measures against the Qatari government are carefully measured to have the least possible impact on ordinary people,鈥� Al-Nowais said.
Relations with Qatar were cut 鈥渂ecause of its support for terrorism, its interference with the affairs of its neighbors and its dissemination of hate speech.鈥�
The court is expected to take several months to deliver a judgment.
鈥淭his is a conflict based on disagreements over policy, not national origin,鈥� Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and a former terror-finance analyst at the US Department of Treasury, told Arab News.
鈥淚t is ridiculous to see Doha claiming that it is suffering significantly while at the same time it is boasting that its standard of living has not changed after a year of the boycott.鈥�
Fahad Nazer, a Saudi political analyst and an International Fellow at the National Council on US-Arab Relations, said Qatar should address its neighbors鈥� legitimate grievances rather than seek to 鈥渋nternationalize鈥� the dispute.
鈥淭he Anti-Terror Quartet has made a compelling case that Qatar鈥檚 actions and policies have violated some of the most fundamental laws, conventions and norms of international relations,鈥� he said.