KUWAIT CITY, May 31, (Agencies): Kuwait on Monday urged the permanent members of the UN Security Council to press Israel to ensure the safety of 16 Kuwaitis who were on board a Gaza-bound aid flotilla targeted by a deadly Israeli raid.
The call was made by acting foreign minister Roudhan al-Roudhan as he summoned the ambassadors of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States to an urgent meeting, the official KUNA news agency reported.
Up to 19 people were killed in the dawn raid by Israeli naval forces on the flottila in international waters as it attempted to carry humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The 16 Kuwaitis include Islamist MP Waleed al-Tabtabai, academics, representatives of charity organisations and lawyers, including five women.
Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah called the meeting to discuss the latest developments related to the aid convoy, communications minister and government spokesman Mohammad al-Baseeri said.
Parliament speaker Jassem al-Khorafi condemned what he called the “heinous Israeli crime against the freedom convoy which was on a peaceful and humanitarian mission of solidarity with the population of Gaza.”
He later sent out invitations to MPs to attend an emergency parliamentary session on Tuesday to discuss the Israeli attack.
A large number of Kuwaiti lawmakers strongly condemned the Israeli action against “unarmed civilians” and called on the international community to penalise the Jewish state.
Meanwhile veteran MP Ahmad al-Saadun urged the Kuwaiti government to
withdraw support for the Arab peace initiative which offers normalisation of ties with Israel if the Jewish state pulls out from land occupied in 1967.
Deputy parliament speaker Abdullah al-Rumi described the Israeli attack on “unarmed civilians as a terrorist attack” and called on the Security Council to act.
Kuwaiti activists plan to stage rallies and gatherings to condemn the raid and press for the return of the 16 Kuwaitis.
The Islamist Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip urged Arabs and Muslims to “rise up” in front of Israeli embassies across the globe in protest against the deadly raid.
Meeting
Kuwaiti cabinet held here Monday an emergency meeting at the Seif Palace presided over by H.H. the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to discuss implications of the Israeli attack on the humanitarian flotilla of Freedom Convoy to Gaza.
Following the meeting, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Foreign Minister Roudhan Abdulaziz Al-Roudhan, made a statement in which he said that the cabinet expresses its utmost resentment over the serious developments arising from the military aggression of the Israeli troops against the humanitarian flotilla, aka Freedom Convoy, heading toward Gaza.
This attack resulted in the death and injury of many unarmed and peaceful people who are on a purely humanitarian mission to transfer humanitarian assistance to Gaza, besides exposing some of them to arrest at the Israeli ports, he added.
Al-Roudhan said that the cabinet asserted that this new Israeli crime points out the aggressive nature and the arrogant mindset of Israel and that it is a crime in a spate of other crimes perpetrated against the Palestinians in what reasserts Israel’s disregard of all international resolutions and laws.
The cabinet said that these acts heighten tensions in the Middle East and undermine the chances of peaceful settlement.
Further, Al-Roudhan briefed the cabinet on the latest contacts made by H.H. the Amir and the current president of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with other leaders of GCC states as well as the contacts made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the face of this heinous humanitarian crime.
Additionally, Al-Roudhan summoned the ambassadors of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that include the US, the Russian Federation, the People’s Rupblic of China, the United Kingdom and the Republic of France and held a meeting with them to discuss the details of this criminal act and call on them to take a deterrent measure against it.
He also called on them to shoulder their responsibilities in protecting unarmed civilians and lifting the unjust blockade of Gaza and taking moves toward imposing a just, comprehensive and permanent peace in the Middle East.
Moreover, contacts have been made with the GCC states, other Arab countries and friendly states, secretariat general of the GCC and the Arab League and Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs entrusted its permanent delegate to the UN in New York with contacting the permanent states in the Security Council and asked its permanent delegate to the UN in Geneva to take moves to counter the implications of such a crime.
Out of the interest of H.H. the Amir and in implementation of his instructions on taking all necessary measures that ensure the safety of Kuwaiti citizens, the cabinet decided to remain in a state of permanent meeting along with forming a team led by Acting Foreign Minister and representatives of the Ministries of Interior and Information to follow up developments of the situation.
At the time when the cabinet denounces such savage Israeli acts, the ministers also express concern that it might refuel the feelings of frustration and terrorism that will boomerang on all parties concerned, and so they call on the international community and the UNSC to put an end to such tragic situations and take decisive steps to halt such criminal acts.
The cabinet also called on the UNSC permanent members to hold an immediate investigation into this humanitarian crime with all its legal and humanitarian dimensions and implications in order to hold Israel responsible for such a terrorist and criminal act.
Finally, the cabinet welcomed in this respect the call made by the National Assembly for holding a special session to discuss the latest implications and developments of the current situation.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah made phone calls Monday with King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, Bahraini King Hamad bin Essa Al-Khalifa, Qatari Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nuhayyan and Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed of Oman.
Sheikh Sabah and the Gulf leaders discussed the latest political developments at the Arab and international arenas, impacts of the Israeli “barbaric” attack against the “Freedom Flotilla” which killed and injured innocent people.
They called on importance of Arab and international act to guarantee safety of unarmed civilian volunteers and their safe return to their countries, lift the unjust siege on Gaza, allow entry of food supplies to Gazans and end the Israeli criminal practices.
Condemned
Advisor of Kuwait’s diplomatic mission to the UN agencies here Sadeq Maarefi condemned in strong terms the Israeli barbaric aggression of the Israeli navy on the international aid flotilla bound to Gaza in the small hours of Monday morning.
Delivering Kuwait’s statement to the 14th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UN-HRC), Maarefi urged adoption of a firm stance against “the repeated Israeli violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people.” He voiced support for the statement of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), read by Pakistan on behalf of the OIC to the session, against the Israeli military attack on the Freedom Flotilla off Gaza.
“The State of Kuwait will pursue the course of sincere commitment to the international human rights conventions she signed and the voluntary commitment to launch a national human rights commission,” Maarefi said.
“Kuwait will also develop national legislations to combat human trafficking and promote child rights,” he affirmed.
Maarefi commended the results of the tour of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in April when she verified the remarkable progress made by the six GCC countries in the protection of human rights.
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdulrahman Al-Atiyyah condemned the Israeli naval attack on the international aid flotilla bound to Gaza Strip in the small hours of Monday morning.
“The attack on the Freedom Flotilla which aimed to break the four year long siege on Gaza is a horrible crime tantamount to piracy and state terrorism,” Al-Atiyyah said in a press release here.
“Israel put itself in a crisis vis-‡-vis the international law when it killed innocent civilians aboard the flotilla including women, children and elderly people from various nationalities,” he noted.
“The Israel action adds to the long list of war crimes the Jewish state is perpetrating almost on a daily basis particularly against the defenseless people of Palestine,” he added.
The GCC chief urged the international community, notably the UN Security Council and the Diplomatic Quartet, to track down the perpetrators of the crime against the aid flotilla and bring them to justice.