Qatar refuses to take over Arab League helm

Cairo: Qatar has refused to preside over the current session of the Arab League (AL) after Palestine has cut short its rotating presidency of the pan-Arab organisation weeks after holding it, Qatari newspaper Al Sharq has reported.

On Tuesday, the Palestinian Authority announced stepping down from the presidency, which it was supposed to hold for six months, after the Arab foreign ministers had refused at a recent meeting a Palestinian request to condemn Arabs’ peace treaty with Israel.

The Qatari delegate to the Arab League said in a letter to the organisation’s administration that Doha does not want to complete the current session in place of Palestine, the paper said.

Qatar, however, said it reserves its right to chair the next session due to begin in March. There was no immediate comment from the Cairo-based League.

The organisation’s presidency is conducted alphabetically among its member states.