Washington 4 Jun (ANA) - Hackers have released the first series of emails taken from the inbox of the UAE's ambassador to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba. The Intercept reported on Saturday that the emails, released by a group called "Global Leaks", show a close relationship between al-Otaiba and a pro-Israel, neoconservative think-tank - the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). The hacked emails, some of which date back to 2014, reveal a high level of backchannel cooperation between the FDD, which is funded by pro-Israel billionaire Sheldon Anderson, and the UAE.  They also appear to show clear collaboration between the FDD and the UAE on a campaign to downgrade the image and importance of Qatar as a regional and global power, including collusion with journalists who have published articles accusing Qatar and Kuwait of supporting "terrorism". Ziad Jilani, one of the authors of The Intercept report, told Al Jazeera the emails support previous allegations "that there is a growing axis between some of the Gulf countries, like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and Israel".(ANA)

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