Qatar and Mauritania have decided to suspend their political and economic ties with Israel in protest against the Israeli attack on Gaza.
The decision was announced during an emergency meeting of Arab and Muslim politicians in Qatari capital, Doha, which discussed the Gaza conflict.
Mauritania has full diplomatic relations with Israel, while Qatar, having a trade office in Israel, maintains only lower-level political ties.
Speaking in the meeting, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called on Arab countries to sever all "direct and indirect ties with Israel" and close their embassies.
Qatar had proposed hosting a special Arab summit on Gaza, but it was vetoed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who said they preferred to discuss the situation during an economic summit scheduled for Monday in Kuwait.
Also on Friday, an Arab foreign ministers' gathering in Kuwait adopted a proposal that called for ending the "Israeli aggression" in Gaza.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.