Palestinian farmer donates house to Qatar's Al-Jazeera amid closure demand from Saudi-led bloc

A Palestinian farmer has donated a house to Al-Jazeera in show of solidarity for the Qatari broadcaster, which Saudi Arabia and its allies have demanded be shut down.
2 min read
03 Jul, 2017
The Saud-led bloc has demanded the closure of Al-Jazeera [Getty]

A Palestinian farmer has donated a house to Al-Jazeera in show of solidarity for the Qatari broadcaster, which Saudi Arabia and its allies have demanded be shut down.

Ayid Burnat said on Sunday that he was giving away a modest house in the Belin district of the West Bank city of Belin to the channel because of Doha's support for the Palestinian cause.

"When my brother and I were young, Qatari charities helped us financially and covered our expenses," Burnat told the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency.

He explained that after his father was killed in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war, Qatari aid agencies help his family survive.

"The Qatari people and us are one people. Qataris are true Arabs and all Arabs are good people,"

The 40-year-old said that Al-Jazeera's coverage of Palestinian affairs had led him to gift his house as a symbolic gesture and that him and his wife had also donated their kidneys for sick people in Qatar.

He added that he wanted to change his son's name to Tamim in honour of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

Qatar appeared defiant as Saudi Arabia and its allies on Monday extended a deadline for Doha to accept a series of demands to lift a de facto blockade.

Their demands include Doha ending support for the Muslim Brotherhood, the closure of Al-Jazeera along with the London-based The New Arab, a downgrade of diplomatic ties with Iran and the shutdown of a Turkish military base in the emirate.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt gave Doha 10 days to comply with their 13 demands, with the ultimatum due to expire at the end of Sunday.

The 48-hour extension was in response to a request by the Kuwaiti emir who is acting as mediator in the Gulf crisis.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani arrived in Kuwait on Monday to in hand over the letter to the Saudi-led bloc.

Saudi Arabia and its allies announced on June 5 they were severing ties with their Gulf neighbour, sparking the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the region in decades.

They accused Doha of supporting extremism and of being too close to regional rival Iran, which Qatar has strongly denied.