Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will not be attending the Arab League summit in Qatar due to strained relations between the two countries.

According to a Lebanese media report, quoting French sources, one of the reasons for the boycott is Mubarak’s anger over Qatar’s involvement in the Shalit negotiations, having offered Hamas an astronomical sum of money to agree to have Shalit delivered to Qatar instead of Egypt.

While Egypt is perceived as the leader of the moderate Arab camp, which includes Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Qatar of late seems to be aligning with the more radical elements, headed by Iran and Syria. Egypt is also angered over Qatar extending an invitation to Iran to attend the summit, another reason for the boycott.

Adding additional fuel to the fire are the reports by Qatar’s al-Jazeera network, which continues its strong criticism of Egypt’s policies vis-à-vis regional affairs, primarily Israel in the shadow of the Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)