Israeli coordinator meets Qatari officials in London

Security sources in the Qatari government disclosed that Israel has sent its Coordinator on Syrian Affairs Afif Shavit to a meeting with Qatari officials in London late in May to discuss supply of more arms to the rebel groups fighting the Syrian government. "The 4-hour meeting was held in a house in Braum House in London belonging to Khalid a-Abeed, a Qatari citizen residing in Britain, on May 20," the source, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of his information and for fear of his life, told FNA. "During the meeting, It was decided that Israel prepare and supply the weapons needed by the terrorists in Syria and enter negotiations with European arms manufacturing companies on arms purchases and money transfer methods, and the Qatari side cover the funds and needed budget for purchases," added the source. The meeting was held at a time when the EU decided to lift the arms embargo on foreign-backed militants in Syria. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on May 28 that European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels have reached an agreement to lift the arms embargo on militants in Syria, while maintaining other sanctions on the country. The EU also decided to allow the European banks to open branches and accounts in Syria for use by the opposition. It also coincided with US Republican Senator John McCain's surprise visit to Syria in late May during which he urged the administration of President Barack Obama to send heavy arms and logistic aid to Syrian rebels. On the other side, the Qatari government plays the role of a facilitator and the financial supporter of the rebel and terrorist groups in Syria. The British newspaper Financial Times published an investigation in May which revealed that Qatar spent billions of dollars in the past two years to fund the Syrian terrorist and rebel groups. "Qatar has spent about three billion dollars in the past two years to support the opposition in Syria, which far exceeds what provided by any other government. However, Saudi Arabia competes now in leading the bodies providing Syrian opposition with weapons," the paper said. "The cost of the Qatari intervention in Syria only represents a very small part of the international investment of Qatar," it added. FT claimed that Qatari support for the Syrian opposition overwhelms the western support. The UK daily also noted that during scores of interviews it made with militant opposition leaders at home and abroad, along with senior western and regional officials, everyone stressed the growing role of Qatar in the Syrian crisis, and this has become a controversial issue. The paper pointed out that "the small state with huge appetite" is the largest donor of aid to the Syrian opposition, offering generous grants for dissidents, amounting fifty thousand dollars per year for the dissident and his family, according to some estimates. Sources close to the Qatari government said that the total spending on the Syrian crisis reached $3bln. "According to the Institute for Peace Research in Stockholm which tracks the arms supply to the Syrian opposition," the paper added, "Qatar is the largest arms exporter to Syria, where it funded more than 70 cargo flights of weapons to neighboring Turkey between April 2012 and March 2013." Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country. Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad. In October 2011, calm was almost restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US, its Arab allies and Turkey sought hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots to topple President Bashar al-Assad, who is well known in the world for his anti-Israeli stances.