Riyadh: A former Al Jazeera anchor yesterday said the Qatari channel was involved in the dramatic incidents that unfolded in Bahrain.
Bassam Al Qadiri told Saudi newspaper Okaz that inciting against Arab rulers was among the priorities of the Qatari channel.
He stressed that it was involved in the events in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.
The satellite TV channel also made desperate attempts in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan and Kuwait, Okaz reported.
Al Jazeera, since its launch 20 years ago, has been targeting Bahrain and supporting terrorists and sectarian groups, he said.
It has interfered in the domestic affairs of the kingdom through distorting facts and disseminating sectarian-tainted reports.
An analysis of the reports posted by Al Jazeera online from 2011 until mid-2017 shows there were 985 on Bahrain that included 889 (90.2 per cent of the total number) supporting sectarian groups and terrorists or highlighting their activities.
“In 2011 when the deplorable events unfolded in Bahrain, Al Jazeera posted 399 reports that included 361 reports covering activities and news of the sectarian groups and terrorists. The rate of negative reports was 90.4pc,” said a Bahrain News Agency report.
The US State Department, meanwhile, said that getting the parties in the Qatar dispute to talk directly to one another would be an important next step in resolving the crisis.
A spokeswoman said after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ended three days of talks in Gulf countries: “We hope the parties will agree to do so and we will continue to support the Amir of Kuwait in his mediation efforts.”