National Assembly Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim said yesterday that Kuwait would not surrender to “defeatist proposals” regarding the rights of Palestinians, and urged Islamic nations to come to the aid of Palestinians through diplomatic means.
Kuwait’s chief lawmaker made the comments at the urgent Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union talks on Israel’s recent failed attempts to place metal detectors and surveillance cameras at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Israel removed the security measures after Palestinian worshippers in the hundreds declined to enter the holy site in protest over the move.
Al-Ghanim urged Arab lawmakers and politicians to bring up the topic at upcoming international meetings, calling Israel’s actions a “bold and shocking assault” on one of Islam’s holiest sites.
He also expressed regret at what he deemed were attempts, amongst certain Arab and Muslim countries, to encourage a sense of resignation to the issue of Palestine.
“Here I ask the languid and the detractors: Do we give up on all other forms of support for the Palestinian people, merely because we are unable to come to their aid with weapons?” he said.
Israel believes that the “unprecedented situation,” which is preoccupying the Islamic region, gives it the right to “encroach upon the Holy Al-Aqsa (Mosque) and do as it pleases.” These actions have united Muslims, whose pride has been hurt, around the world, he said.
Kuwait, led by the Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, as part of the Arab and Islamic regions, and as a productive nation in the free world, “will not bow down, will not surrender and will not be rendered restless,” he explained. — KUNA, Rabat