Saudi Arabia plans to turn Qatar into an ISLAND by digging canal to cut off peninsula as feud escalates

SAUDI Arabia appears to be plotting to dig a canal which will in effect cut off its arch enemy Qatar from the mainland.

An official hinted last night that the kingdom was moving forward with a plan that turn the neighbouring Qatari peninsula into an island amid a bitter diplomatic feud between the Gulf nations.

Saud al-Qahtani, a senior adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said on Twitter: "As a citizen, I am impatiently waiting for the details of the implementation of the East Salwa island project... that will change the region's geography.”

Qatari authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr Qahtani has mentioned the project on Twitter over the past few months, but the tweet was the clearest reference yet to the radical initiative.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic, trade and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

The tiny state of 2.6million people denies that charge and says the boycott is an attempt to curb its sovereignty.

Reports about the canal first emerged on Sabq, a news website close to the government in April.

Unnamed sources described Saudi plans to build a military base and a nuclear waste dump beside a 37 mile channel measuring 200 metres wide and 20 metres deep and stretching across the entire border with Qatar.

The cost was estimated at $747 million (£576m).

Further reports in the newspaper Makkah in June said Riyadh was moving ahead with the plans.

Five unnamed companies are said to have been invited to bid on the project and a winner will be announced in September.

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