UAE offers its defense in Qatar lawsuit at UN high court

AP: The United Arab Emirates on Thursday disputed Qatar's discrimination lawsuit before the United Nations' highest court, alleging there was evidence of Doha's "support of terrorism, its interference in the affairs of its neighbors and its distribution of hate speech."

" Qatar filed the lawsuit earlier this month, accusing the UAE of violating its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. My country was falsely accused," said Saeed Ali al-Nuwais, the UAE's ambassador to the Netherlands. "The UAE completely rejects these allegations, all of which are without any merit."

Since the crisis began, there have been "8,000 occasions" of Qataris entering or leaving the UAE, al-Nuwais said, saying Qataris could get inpidual permission from the Emirati Interior Ministry.

Boycotting nations say the crisis stems from Qatar's support for extremist groups in the region, charges denied by Doha. Their demands include Qatar limiting diplomatic ties to Iran, shutting down the state-funded Al-Jazeera satellite news network and other media outlets, and severing ties to all "terrorist organizations," including the Muslim Brotherhood and Lebanon's Hezbollah.