Al Jazeera Egypt channel suspended by network

Al Jazeera, the Qatari owned broadcasting network, has suspended its designated Egypt channel.

The international television service has said a product restructuring was the reason behind the decision and the Egypt channel would be incorporated into a general Middle East channel.

A special envoy of the emir of Qatar reportedly met with President Sisi on Saturday 20 December in a bid to repair relations.

The news comes as the Saudi Arabia government has been trying to improve relations between Qatar and Egypt.

Since Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Mohamed Morsi in the July coup of 2013, Al Jazeera and the Sisi government have had a strained relationship.

Peter Greste, a British journalist, and two Egyptian journalists made the headlines after being arrested and jailed for trying to conduct interviews with Muslim Brotherhood members.

The network had previously come under fire from Sisi over its coverage of daily Muslim Brotherhood protests back in the summer of 2013.

The three journalists were later jailed for a minimum of seven years for aiding the Muslim Brotherhood, something denied both by the journalists and the network.

It is believed Sisi might consider pardoning the three Al Jazeera journalists in an attempt to restore relations with the wealthy Gulf nation.

The Muslim Brotherhood is a designated terror organisation, according to the Egyptian government. Qatar and several other Gulf countries have previously helped exiled Brotherhood supporters.

Al Jazeera released a statement, claiming the decision was not wholly focused on Egypt. It said: "AJMM (Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr – the Egyptian channel of Al Jazeera) has meanwhile temporarily ceased broadcasting until such time as necessary permits are issued for its return to Cairo in coordination with the Egyptian authorities."