Kuwaiti lawmakers justify trade ties with Israel

MP cites security reasons, saying he would buy equipment from Israel to help protect country from Arab, Muslim neighbors.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON
Iraq kuwait (photo credit: Reuters)
Iraq kuwait
(photo credit: Reuters)
Kuwaiti MPs Nabil Al-Fadhl and Hammad Al-Dosari justified opening trade ties with Israel on Kuwait TV in June, according to a Memri report.
Fadhl said during the interview that, if Kuwaiti security requires Israeli equipment, then the country should invest in it, stating: “I will love the Israelis for it.”
The astounded interviewer asked, “even with Israelis?” and Fadhl reiterated his support for importing Israeli products.
Fadhl justified such trade based on security reasons, though he also added that other Arab states failed to come to the country’s rescue when Iraq invaded in 1990.
“How exactly did the Muslims benefit us, when our Arab neighbor [Iraq] invaded our country? I am willing to buy equipment from Israel to protect my country from its Arab and Muslim neighbor,” he stated.
Dosari said that the Shari’a permits dealings with Israelis since the prophet Muhammad “died while his shield was mortgaged with a Jew.” He went on to reject any criticism saying that those who attack him are unaware of Islamic law.
“I tell you that the prophet Muhammad had dealings [with the Jews]. You criticize me?!” he declared.
The Arab Peace Initiative, first offered by the Arab League in 2002 with the strong backing of Saudi Arabia, was an Arab proposal to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Talk of the plan has been in and out of the news since, but has not been seriously negotiated between the parties. Israel rejected the proposal which called for withdrawing from the occupied territories and east Jerusalem, and accepting the return of refugees from 1948.