Kuwait has denied it will sever its ties with the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas, and welcomed the stand of its founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin to suspend attacks against Israel. The Cabinet welcomed, in its weekly session Sunday, "ongoing efforts to reach a truce between a number of Palestinian groups and Israel." The Council of Ministers lauded positive efforts by these groups to stop bloodshed of innocent people from all sides. State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Acting Minister of Finance Sheikh Mohammed Al-Sabah welcomed, in a statement to Al-Rai Al-Aam, the declaration of Hamas and other Palestinian factions to cease fire. He stressed Kuwait's keenness to ensure the success of the internationally backed "Road Map," and Kuwait's support for Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen)'s government, "which is a unanimous stand of Gulf and Arab states." Foreign Ministry's Undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah said, meanwhile, Kuwait's stand on Hamas "had not changed, but Hamas' stand had changed in a positive way." He stressed, however, Kuwait does not officially support Hamas, saying it is important to differentiate between ties and support "because they are two different concepts."
| A fine distinction, indeed, so fine it can't be seen with the naked eye... |
In response to a question on the government stand if some Kuwaiti charity societies and Islamic movements provided support to Hamas, Al-Jarallah said, "Funding and other forms of financial aid have been rationalised for Hamas and other movements similar to it." He added charity societies are under government control in the interest of the country and its reputation abroad.
| I think that means they're continuing to give them money, 'cuz one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter... |
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