Saudi, allies blacklist more terrorists linked to Qatar

Passengers of cancelled flights wait at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar.

Saudi Arabia and its allies unveiled a  blacklist on Tuesday of 18 organisations and individuals suspected of links with extremism that they said had ties with Qatar.
Tuesday's list blacklisted nine charity and media organisations and nine individuals "directly or indirectly linked to Qatari authorities" as "terrorist", read a joint statement released by the four states.
"We expect Qatari authorities to take the next step and prosecute the terrorist groups and people," the statement said.
The four countries and their international partners will ensure that Qatar has ceased its support and funding of terrorism, has stopped welcoming terrorists and has stopped spreading extremist and hate speech," it added.
The Saudi-led bloc also dismissed an amendment last week to Doha's counter-terrorism law as "insufficient".
Saudi Arabia and its allies have been boycotting Qatar since June 5 in the region's worst diplomatic crisis in years.
They sealed the emirate's only land border, ordered its citizens to leave and closed their airspace and waters to Qatari flights and shipping.
They demanded that Qatar break its longstanding ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, blacklisted as a "terror group" by the four governments.
The three Qatari individuals on the list, along with a Kuwaiti individual, have engaged in fund-raising campaigns to support Al Nusra Front and other terrorist militias in Syria, the statement said.
The three Yemeni individuals and the three organisations in Yemen, have provided support to Al Qaeda, and have conducted actions on its behalf, mainly by using significant funding from Qatari charities, which are designated by the four states as terrorist entities, it added. 
The two Libyans and the six terrorist entities, affiliated with terrorist groups in Libya, have received substantial financial support from the Qatari authorities and played an active role in spreading chaos and devastation in Libya, despite serious international concern over the destructive impact of such practices, the statement said.
While noting that the Qatari authorities had previously signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States to stop terror financing and then announced that it was amending its terror combating laws, the four states consider this step, even if it is a submission to the tough demands to combat terrorism and one of many awaited steps to achieve the Qatari authorities' return to the right track, not enough, the statement said.
Qatar's 2004 law neither led to combating extremism, terrorism, hate speech, nor did it end its financing and harbouring of extremist individuals and groups. On the contrary, these individuals and groups have expanded their presence and activity in and through Doh, the statement added.
The Qatari authorities have a long history in breaking all signed and binding agreements and legal obligations, the latest of which was the 2013 Riyadh agreement and the 2014 supplemental agreement.
Moreover, it continued harboring terrorists, financing attacks and promoting hate speech and extremism, it said.
The next long awaited practical step is taking an urgent action by the Qatari authorities to take legal and practical actions to prosecute terrorist and extremist individuals and entities, especially those on this current list and the previous one, which was announced on June 8 so as to confirm the credibility of its seriousness in renouncing extremism, and its engagement in the international community fighting terrorism. - Wam, AFP
To that end, the four states, along with their international partners, will monitor the Qatari authorities' commitment in not harbouring terrorist, supporting and financing terrorism, ending promoting of extremist and hate speech, and financing of extremists inside and outside Qatar.
The four countries also affirm the continuation of their current measures, and possible future measures that might be taken, until the Qatari authorities are committed to fulfilling all the just demands, which ensure countering terrorism and maintaining security and stability in the region.

 List of entities and individuals