A number of countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, that have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar while boycotting it in every field, are accusing the country of abetting terrorism. They point to Qatar's support of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, who was toppled in a coup led by current President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Palestine as evidence for their claims.
If boycotting and breaking off relations with a country on the grounds of such claims were valid in international relations, numerous countries, including Turkey, would be targeted. More importantly, neither the Muslim Brotherhood nor Hamas is a terrorist group. So Qatar is not alone. As of late, Morocco has also sent aid to Qatar while offering to mediate the dispute between the countries.
However, some countries do really abet and fund certain terrorist groups. For instance, some 19 of the hijackers who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks were Saudi citizens. Saudi Arabia's support for the Taliban is also still being discussed. With a law enacted last year, U.S. citizens who were aggrieved by the deadly 9/11 attacks were granted the right to sue Saudi Arabia.
But U.S. President Donald Trump does not seem to care about any of these factors. As Saudi Arabia has recently made a $110 billion weapons deal with the U.S. and plans to invest $200 billion in the country, the rest is regarded only as trivia. It would not be a surprise if Trump issues an executive order setting forth that only Wahhabi Muslims will be allowed to enter the U.S.
Meanwhile, as the U.S overtly supports terrorism by arming the PKK terrorist group's Syrian affiliate Democratic Union Party's (PYD) People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, can the U.S. be boycotted just like Qatar? Or, how can the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) leader, who poses a serious threat to Turkey and lives in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, be assessed? Also, given that some EU countries, including Germany, gave asylum to PKK militants and some of the putschists who organized the July 15 coup attempt, does it not prove their support of terrorism?
In other words, international law is like a cobweb. Big flies can fly through it.
