Palestinian President Abbas arrives in Qatar for FIFA Arab Cup launch

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in the Qatari capital Doha on Monday to participate in the opening day of the FIFA Arab Cup, a pan-Arab football tournament that kicks off on Tuesday.

Abbas' participation came after he was invited by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, according to the Palestinian official news agency Wafa.

The Palestinian delegation includes the head of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), Jibril Rjoub, Chairman of the General Authority for Civil Affairs and member of Fatah Central Committee, Hussein Al-Sheikh, head of intelligence, as well as Majed Faraj and Majdi Al-Khaldi, advisors to the president.

Palestine's ambassador to Qatar, Moneer Ghannam, accompanied the group, Wafa reported.

During his visit, Abbas is scheduled to meet with the emir of Qatar and several heads of delegations participating in the opening day, Wafa said.

The 2021 FIFA Arab Cup is scheduled to take place between 30 November and 18 December in Qatar, as a prelude to the 2022 FIFA World Cup which will also be held in Qatar.

The Palestinian leader last visited Doha in late 2020, following a string of controversial normalisation agreements between Israel and Arab states including the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco.

Qatar has said it will not normalise ties with Israel before a Palestinian state is created.