Last update - 00:00 29/01/2007
Vice Premier Peres arrives in Qatar for first visit since 1996
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
Vice Premier Shimon Peres arrived Monday in the Qatari capital Doha, for his first visit to Qatar since opening the Israeli mission in the country while serving as prime minister in 1996.
Peres will speak Tuesday before Qatari Foreign Ministry cadets, of whom at least 10 are members of Qatar's royal family. As of yet no diplomatic meetings have been scheduled for the vice premier.
Peres will also participate in an event being sponsored by Sheikha Muza, the wife of Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Peretz is being accompanied by a group of Israeli journalists, marking the first time Qatar has permitted Israeli journalists to accompany an official visit to the country.
The Israeli mission in Qatar, which is not considered an official embassy, has continued to operate in Doha in recent years. The relations between Israel and Qatar are ongoing, despite the tensions between the countries over Doha's close relationship with Tehran, Hamas, and Hezbollah. In December, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas visited the country, and Qatar promised to grant him millions of dollars in aid in order to allow him to pay teachers' salaries. The money was ultimately transferred through the Arab League.