DOHA Qatar and Mauritania decided on Friday to suspend their relations with Israel, at an Arab summit in the Doha discussing the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, a Mauritanian diplomat told AFP.

Mauritania and Qatar have decided during a meeting behind closed doors to suspend their ties with Israel, the Mauritanian diplomat, who requested anonymity told AFP.

Qatar has hosted an Israeli trade bureau since 1996, while Mauritania has had diplomatic ties with the Jewish state since 1999.

Mauritania called back its ambassador in Israel in the wake of the attacks Israel launched on the Gaza Strip on December 27.