Al Jazeera unearths new particulars on 1996 coup try in opposition to Qatar

An weird and wonderful Al Jazeera documentary has uncovered proof of the involvement of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain in supporting a foiled coup try and overthrow the Qatari authorities in 1996. 

Airing for the principle time on Sunday, the principle episode of the investigative documentary contains interviews with leaders of the coup try who testify of the characteristic of these countries conducted in plotting the overthrow. It moreover brings to mild paperwork belonging to Saudi intelligence and the Saudi monarch referring to the realm. 

The failed coup, dubbed « Operation Abu Ali », took blueprint in the future of the month of Ramadan on February 14, 1996, one three hundred and sixty five days after the former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani assumed the throne. 

It used to be planned together with the then-police chief and cousin of the former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani. 

The documentary unearths that a committee used to be formed to organise the coup led by:

• Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed, then chief of employees of the UAE militia and up-to-the-minute crown prince of Abu Dhabi 
• Sheikh Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa, then crown prince of Bahrain 
• Sheikh Sultan bin AbdulAziz, then Saudi minister of defence 
• Omar Suleiman, the late Egyptian intelligence chief and former vice president of Egypt

« A neighborhood of males had been ordered to raid the dwelling of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa and blueprint him below siege at his dwelling, which used to be on the Al Rayyan Boulevard [in Doha], » one among the coup plotters instructed Al Jazeera. 

Whereas the operation used to be planned at 5am on February Sixteen, 1996, those undertaking the operation had been ordered by the sizzling Emirati Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed to fabricate the opinion two days prior to discontinuance the operation from being uncovered. 

After taking relief an eye on over militia and security installations, the coup plotters had been to give the inexperienced mild for militias to enter Qatar from in the future of the Saudi border. 

However the planned coup d’etat used to be stumbled on and thwarted. 

« In the occasion they had seized relief an eye on, and if the forces had can be found in in – whether or now not from the UAE or the Emirates or Bahrain – they’d favor had no concern killing whoever they watch in the avenue. They haven’t got the leisure to lose, » retired Brigadier-Long-established Shaheen al-Sulaiti instructed Al Jazeera. 

The airing of the documentary comes eight months into a blockade placed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, which like accused Doha of supporting « terrorism » – claims Qatar vehemently denies. 

The documentary garnered many reactions on social media on the hashtag #ماخفي_اعظم – the name of the Al Jazeera Arabic programme on which the documentary aired.

Issues we learnt from #ماخفي_اعظم:
1- Blockading countries had been salty for TWELVE entire years
2- MBZ has for all time been and must for all time be the human version of a devil
3- Ramadan (holiest month of the three hundred and sixty five days) is when these americans specialise in of doing the unholiest acts

— Maha Al-Ansari (@MahaAlAnsari) March four, 2018

#WhatIsHiddenIsGreatest
Jaber Al-Marri: We verbalize the zero-hour vacation for the coup d’état on Wednesday Sixteen February sooner than Eid al-Fitr and then we introduced the date two days to raise the factor of surprise#ماخفي_اعظم

— عبدالله آل إسحاق (@aBodizeRQatar) March four, 2018

the truth has been published #ماخفي_اعظم

— َ (@amaal8_) March four, 2018