More than 10,000 Kuwaitis and Arabs took to the streets Monday in support of Palestinians, urging Arab leaders to stop normalization of ties with Israel.
The enthusiastic crowds, shouting "Jerusalem is Islamic", marched on parliament in a noisy demonstration reminiscent of the bustling celebrations that followed the emirate's 1991 liberation from Iraqi occupation.
They handed a letter to speaker Jassem al-Khorafi urging him to work towards forming parliamentary panels in Gulf countries to oppose any normalization with Israel.
Khorafi told the crowd that "we consider the Palestinian cause as Kuwait's cause" and said he was proud of the heroic struggle of the Palestinian people.
A large number of officials, MPs, former ministers and women took part in the protest organized by the Popular Congress for Struggle against Normalization with Israel in the Gulf and several political groups.
"Israel is an evil and we can never live with evil," said former MP Ismail al-Shatti in a speech to the crowds. He called on parliament to issue a bill banning ties with Israel.
Kuwait does not have any form of relation with the Jewish state.
Kuwaitis, who feel they were betrayed by the Palestinian leadership during the Iraqi invasion, organized two huge protests on Friday and Saturday in a dramatic change in the emirate's public opinion toward the Palestinians.
On Friday, thousands of Kuwaitis, chanting "death to America, death to Israel" burned US and Israeli flags in the strongest show of support for Palestinians in a decade.
No anti-American slogans were raised during Monday's protest.
"This is a message to those who want to normalize ties with the Zionist enemy," said leader of the influential Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait Abdullah al-Muttawa.
Chairman of the parliament's external affairs committee MP Mohammed al-Saqer said the Arab summit, scheduled for October 21-22, must be completely devoted to the Palestinian issue, and nothing else, a reference to Iraq.
Islamist MP Waleed al-Tabtabai said "this is a protest for Al-Aqsa (mosque) and the Palestinian people, and not for (Palestinian leader Yasser) Arafat."
Kuwait and the Palestinians last week made their first official contact in a decade, after the emirate rushed medical aid for Palestinians wounded in clashes with Israeli forces.
The emirate on Sunday accepted an invitation to attend an emergency Arab summit on the crisis.
Information Minister Saad bin Tafla al-Ajmi said Saturday Kuwait has opened up its hospitals to Palestinian wounded in the confrontations with Israeli army troops – KUWAIT CITY (AFP)
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