CAIRO — After four years of Egyptian-Qatari skirmishes since the ousting of former President Mohammed Morsi for his affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, Cairo has now decided to respond to Qatar’s harassment by following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain and sever diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Qatar, which supports the Muslim Brotherhood, had mobilized its media outlets to attack the Egyptian regime and hosted a number of Muslim Brotherhood leaders who had fled Egypt.

A statement issued June 5 by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained why Egypt has decided to break its ties with Qatar, citing the Qatari regime’s insistence to adopt an approach hostile to Egypt, support terrorist organizations — especially the Muslim Brotherhood by harboring its leadership — promote the Islamic State (IS) ideology in the Sinai Peninsula and interfere in Egypt’s internal affairs.

Although Cairo's announcement of shunning Qatar came after Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir’s visit to Cairo June 4, the Egyptian position had appeared clear in the speech of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the US-Arab Islamic Summit in Riyadh May 21.