Qatar's emir flew to Saudi Arabia late Tuesday in a surprise visit and met with King Abdullah to discuss cease-fire efforts for the first time since an unprecedented diplomatic rift among Gulf powerhouses, that have yet to bring an end to 15 days of war in the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters.
Saudi Crown Prince Salman and Deputy Crown Prince Muqrin also attended the meetings with Qatar's Sheik Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in the coastal city of Jiddah, Reuters reported.
King Abdullah's security adviser Prince Bandar bin Sultan and the king's son who heads the National Guard, Prince Miteb, also sat in on the discussion, according to Reuters.
"Qatar is committed to the Palestinian people and wants to do everything to stop the killing," a source told Reuters on conditions of anonymity. "The emir's visit to Saudi comes as part of that."
The meeting brought together two influential Arab brokers backing different cease-fire initiatives, Reuters reported. Saudi Arabia is supporting an Egyptian cease-fire initiative that Israel accepted but Hamas rejected.
Qatar, on the other hand, is the main conduit of Hamas conditions for a cease-fire that include guarantees for the lifting of a seven-year blockade of Gaza, enforced by Israel and Egypt, according to Reuters.
The visit to Saudi Arabia marks the first high-level contact between Qatar's emir and Saudi King Abdullah since the kingdom, along with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, withdrew their ambassadors in March to protest Doha's support for the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group in the region, Reuters reported.
Regional divisions run deep with Hamas being an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Reuters. Both Saudi Arabia and Egypt have branded the Brotherhood a terrorist organization after Cairo's military ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi from power last year.
Turkey and Qatar were close allies of the Brotherhood and have backed Hamas' cease-fire demands on the international stage, Reuters reported.
