News / Palestine / Persian Gulf

New Kuwaiti ruler says no change in Israel policy, vows support for Palestinian cause

Thursday, 01 October 2020 2:10 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 01 October 2020 5:57 PM ]

Kuwait's new Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al Sabah takes the oath of office at the parliament, in Kuwait city, Kuwait, on September 30, 2020. (Photo via Reuters)

Kuwait’s new Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al Sabah says the kingdom will not alter its policies toward Palestinians and will remain committed to the Palestinian cause.

Speaking in a telephone conversation with the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, Ismail Haniyeh, Sheikh Nawaf stressed that he “will continue the legacy of late Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al Sabah and follow in his footsteps to support the Palestinian cause.”

Haniyeh, for his part, extended his condolences over Sheikh Sabah’s death, praising the unwavering positions of Kuwait and its late monarch in supporting the Palestinian cause and nation.

'Kuwait to distance itself from GCC as Israel expand ties with Arab states'

Kuwait is apparently not going to follow in GCC footsteps in normalizing relations with the Israeli regime.

Last month, a number of Kuwaiti political parties roundly condemned US President Donald Trump’s claim that the Persian Gulf kingdom may soon normalize relations with Israel after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed normalization agreements with the Tel Aviv regime at the White House.

The factions, in a joint statement released on September 20, called upon the Kuwaiti government to issue an official statement in rejection of Trump’s allegation.

“Kuwait will not forget the blood of the martyrs, the sufferings of mothers, children, prisoners and the wounded, and the sacrifices of generations throughout the decades of Zionist oppression and aggression against Palestine and al-Quds al-Sharif,” the statement added..

Forcibly silent majority in Persian Gulf region strongly condemns any normalization with Israel

A powerfully silent majority in Persian Gulf region firmly denounces any normalization with Israel.

They also urged the parliament to expedite the passing of a law, which would criminalize any normalization with the Israeli regime and demanded that the lawmakers protect the Arab country against any potential bullying and pressure by Washington.

Trump said at a White House press briefing on September 18 that Kuwait will likely normalize relations with Israel in the near future.

Kuwait calls for decisive Arab, intl. stance against Israel's annexation plan

Kuwait calls for decisive Arab and international stance against “Israel’s aggressive unilateral steps” over annexation of West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed agreements with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani in a US-brokered event hosted by Trump at the White House on September 15.

Palestinians, who seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital view the deals as a betrayal of their cause.

Anti-Israel sentiment runs high in Kuwait.

A poll conducted last year by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, an American think tank, showed that 85 percent of Kuwaitis oppose normalizing ties with Israel.

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