Kuwait: A Kuwaiti academic delegation withdrew from a conference hosted by the University of Bahrain, following the participation of an Israeli delegation in its activities, local media reported.
According to a tweet by the Youth League for Al-Quds in Kuwait, the delegation decided to withdraw from the conference, which was announced to be held in Bahrain on March 2 to 3 in the presence of a number of business schools in the Gulf countries.
The head of the Youth for Al-Quds team in Kuwait, Musab Al-Mutawa, said, “The withdrawal of the Kuwaiti academic delegation confirms Kuwait’s clear official position towards rejecting normalization with the occupation in all its forms,” according to the Quds Press news agency.
Hamas appreciates the Kuwaiti position
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem on Friday took to Twitter and expressed his appreciation for the Kuwaiti position by refusing the participation of an academic delegation in a conference that hosted an Israeli delegation.
Qassem said, “Kuwait is recording once again an authentic Arab nationalist position with the withdrawal of a Kuwaiti academic delegation from a conference hosted by the State University of Bahrain, following the participation of a Israeli delegation in its activities.”
He further said that “the situation reflects Kuwait’s continued standing by our people and its continued support for their right to struggle to recover their land and sanctities.”
Ths is not the first time that Kuwaitis have refused to participate in events that include Israelis, as in February 2021 witnessed the withdrawal of Kuwaiti inventor Jenan Al-Shehab from the Expo 2020 Dubai, due to the exhibition’s invitation to celebrate the occupation state, and the visit of the Israeli president to Abu Dhabi.
Tennis player Mohammed Al-Awadi also withdrew from the semi-final match of the International Under 14 Championship, in Dubai, after learning that he had to face the Israeli player in the fourth round match.
In January 2022, a Kuwaiti cultural delegation boycotted the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature due to the participation of an Israeli writer.
It is noteworthy that the Kuwaiti law approved for the year 1964, prohibits the normalization of relations with Israel, calls for a boycott of it, and warns against contracting with its various types of commercial deals or financial transactions, or any other transaction, as whoever violates this is punished with imprisonment with temporary hard labor for a period of no less than three years and not exceeding ten years.
