Special to WorldTribune.com

ABU DHABI — Qatar could face Gulf Cooperation Council sanctions amid its support of Hizbullah and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Officials and analysts said Qatar could be penalized by the GCC for Doha’s support of groups deemed threats to the region.

[See also: Breaking bad: Qatar splits with Gulf neighbors over Iran in blow to U.S. strategy]

The officials said the sanctions could include the closure of borders by Qatar’s neighbors.

“Qatar could face sanctions imposed by the Gulf countries, including the closing of borders with Qatar, and air space to it if Doha doesn’t stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood,” Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, a leading United Arab Emirates analyst, said.

On March 4, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar. In an unprecedented statement, the three GCC states said Doha,
in violation of a regional security accord signed in November 2013, refused to end support of the Brotherhood and Hizbullah.

Abdullah said the GCC could freeze its relationship with Qatar, deemed the most pro-Iranian member of the council. He told the UAE newspaper Gulf News that Saudi Arabia, which accused the Qatari royal family of supporting Shi’ite rebels in Yemen, would lead any sanctions regime against Doha.

Other analysts agreed. They said Kuwait was expected to join any
sanctions regime against Qatar while Oman could eventually mediate a
settlement.

“This [withdrawal of the ambassadors] is an overdue but prudent move by
far-sighted leaders,” another analyst, Mohammed Al Hadla, said. “It’s an
effective action against the Qatari leadership which chose to push the GCC
into the abyss.”

The analysts said Qatar would face increasing pressure from its GCC
neighbors. They said Doha would not be able to rely on its Western allies,
including the United States, to resolve the crisis.

“Only sisterly Gulf countries are the real supporters of Qatar at good
and bad times,” Ebtisam Al Kitbi, chairman of the state-linked Emirates
Policy Center, said. “Even the United States would not prefer Qatar to Saudi
Arabia and other GCC countries.”

  Doha, Gulf Arab states weigh sanctions on ‘sisterly’ Qatar for its drift into Iran orbit, Gulf Cooperation Council, Muslim Brotherhood, Shi’ite rebels