Speaker back home after attending AIPU meeting

KUWAIT: Speaker of the National Assembly Marzouq AlGhanem returned to Kuwait yesterday after concluding his participation at an extraordinary meeting for the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU). The AIPU meeting focused on the recent Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The meeting called for the United Nations and the global community to stand firm against Israel, saying it was important to protect Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

Ghanem had stated on Thursday 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 during the urgent AIPU 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 inspection measures after Palestinian worshippers in the hundreds declined to enter the holy site in protest of the move. Ghanem 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 of sites.

Meanwhile, he 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.—KUNA