Demonstrators in Egypt condemn Qatar interference

Demonstrators in Egypt have burned Qatari and Israeli flags in protest against what they described as the Persian Gulf state’s interference in their country’s internal affairs.

Protesters gathered outside the Qatari Embassy in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and chanted anti-Doha slogans.

Demonstrators believe that Doha and Tel Aviv are meddling in Egypt’s domestic affairs after the 2011 revolution that toppled former dictator Hosni Mubarak.

On January 10, Doha said it had offered Egypt a lifeline of $.5-billion to help the North African country tackle its currency crisis.

“There was an initial package of $2.5 billion, of which $0.5 billion was a grant and two billion dollars a deposit,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said in reference to the financial aid Qatar has provided Egypt with since the revolution.

“We discussed transferring one of the deposits into an additional grant so that the grants became one billion dollars and the deposits doubled to around four billion dollars,” he added.

The Egyptians have also held several massive protests across the country since the revolution, calling on the government to sever all the existing ties with Israel.

In September 2011, Egyptian protesters stormed the Israeli embassy in Cairo, forcing its staff to evacuate the building.