Qatar's Al Jazeera broadcasts from Egypt after 8-year hiatus

Qatar-based Al Jazeera television broadcasted live on Saturday from Egypt for the first time, after being banned by Cairo eight years ago.

Al Jazeera's offices have been closed since July 3, 2013, when they were raided by security forces hours after former President Mohamed Morsi was toppled.

There was no statement from the channel as to whether the live reporting by prominent Palestinian reporter Shireen Abu Aqla was a first step towards reopening the office.  

The broadcaster was also among the targets of a boycott of Qatar launched by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt in June 2017.

Relations between Egypt and Qatar started improving following a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit held in January, with the two countries mutually appointing ambassadors.

Qatari media personality Abdullah Al Watheen, said on Twitter that "the quartet's most important requirement during [the blockade] in June 2017 was the closure of Al Jazeera, and now in July 2021 Al Jazeera is broadcasting from the heart Cairo."

أهم مطلب لرباعي #حصار_قطر في يونيو 2017 كان إغلاق قناة #الجزيرة، والآن في يوليو 2021 الجزيرة تبث من قلب #القاهرة👌 pic.twitter.com/CeFXxdkEhQ

— عبدالله الوذين (@abqatar) July 31, 2021

The live broadcast comes days after Qatar appointed Salem bin Mubarak Al-Shafi as its first ambassador to Egypt.

Egypt ranks as one of the world's biggest jailers of journalists under the Sisi regime. Al Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein was released in February after spending more than four years in detention without formal charges or trial, sparking a worldwide media campaign calling for his release.

Al Jazeera's Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were arrested in 2013 and charged with "broadcasting fake news" and "aiding or belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood".

Greste was released in 2015 and the remaining journalists were released in 2020 under presidential pardon.

The Muslim Brotherhood has established itself as the main opposition movement in Egypt and has inspired spinoff movements and political parties across the Muslim world.