VZCZCXRO7537
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKU #0217 0451242
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141242Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8289
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000217 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPAL IS KU
SUBJECT: KUWAITIS WELCOME MECCA AGREEMENT, CONDEMN AL-AQSA 
EXCAVATION 
 
REF: 06 KUWAIT 661 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified; not for Internet distribution. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Kuwaitis welcomed news of the agreement 
between Fatah and Hamas in Mecca and praised Saudi Arabia for 
hosting the reconciliation meeting.  In a February 11 
statement, the Council of Ministers hailed the agreement as 
"a step in the right direction" and praised Saudi King 
Abdullah for mediating between the two parties.  In a related 
development, Kuwaitis strongly protested the Israeli 
excavation near the Al-Aqsa mosque.  Six political 
associations co-hosted a rally February 12 during which 
attendees chanted "Death to America, Death to Israel" and 
carried placards reading "America is a State Sponsor of 
Terror, Boycott American Goods."  Conservative Shi'a MP Adnan 
Abdul Samad spoke at the rally and called on "Palestinian 
political parties to stop fighting each other and direct 
their weapons against our enemies, America and Israel," 
according to local press.  The Deputy Head of the Ummah 
Party, a hard-line Salafi political association, told the 
protesters "armed resistance is the only way to get our right 
from Israel and America."  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Kuwaitis from across the political spectrum 
welcomed the Fatah-Hamas agreement reached in Mecca and 
praised Saudi Arabia for mediating between the two parties. 
Seven political associations - the Salafi Islamic Grouping 
(SIG), the Islamic National Consensus Movement (INCM - 
moderate Shi'a), the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM - 
Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood), the Ummah Party (hard-line 
Salafi), the Kuwait Democratic Forum (KDF - liberal), the 
National Islamic Alliance (NIA - hard-line Shi'a), and the 
Salafi Movement - issued a joint statement February 11 urging 
Palestinian factions, particularly Fatah and Hamas, to "give 
precedence to the public interest over short-term political 
gains...and seriously seek to ensure the success of the Mecca 
Agreement, which would help support the national unity." 
Several local Islamic charities, including the Social Reform 
Society (SRS) and the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society 
(RIHS), similarly praised the agreement and urged unity 
between Fatah and "the Hamas mujahideen." 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Council of Ministers issued a statement after 
its February 11 session welcoming the Mecca Agreement as "a 
positive step in the right direction."  The Council also 
praised Saudi King Abdullah for his "pioneering role and 
honest efforts" in brokering the agreement. 
 
Strong Condemnation of Al-Aqsa Excavation 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Six political associations - the ICM, NIA, the 
Ummah Party, the Salafi Movement, the Peace and Justice 
Gathering (moderate Shi'a), and the National Charter Grouping 
(moderate Shi'a) - co-sponsored a rally February 12 to 
protest an Israeli excavation near the Al-Aqsa mosque in 
Jerusalem.  According to local media reports, around 200 
people attended the rally.  Protesters carried placards 
reading, "The Martyrs of Jerusalem are Evidence of American 
and Zionist Terror" and "America is a State Sponsor of 
Terror, Boycott American Goods," and shouted slogans such as 
"Death to Israel, Death to America" and "No Sunni, No Shiite, 
Islamic Unity." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Representatives from several of the political 
associations spoke at the event, including ICM MP Dr. Nasser 
Al-Sane, NIA MP Adnan Abdul Samad, and Dr. Awad Al-Zafiri, 
the Deputy Head of the Ummah Party.  Samad called on 
"Palestinian political parties to stop fighting each other 
and direct their weapons against our enemies, America and 
Israel," local press reported.  Al-Zafiri delivered a similar 
message, saying "armed resistance is the only way to get our 
right from Israel and America."  Al-Sane was less 
provocative, urging Arabs and Muslims to support the 
Palestinians, but stopping short of calling for armed 
resistance against the Israelis.  Several speakers condemned 
Egypt and Jordan for maintaining diplomatic relations with 
Israel, and criticized several Gulf countries for hosting 
Israeli commercial interest sections. 
 
********************************************* * 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s 
 
Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
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