Kuwait: Islamic parliamentarians seek to open al-Ghabra file
Kuwait-Israel, Politics, 2/20/2002

Kuwaiti Islamic parliamentarians called on the Kuwaiti minister of information Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd to provide them with information about the Kuwaiti media office in Washington since it was run by Shafiq al-Ghabra whose participation in a seminar with Israelis raised great controversy in Kuwait.

Al-Ghabra, however, who returned back to Kuwait on Sunday stressed he is still convinced about his participation in the seminar with the Israeli academics on the sideline of the World Economic Forum, but he refused to answer any question pertinent to his resignation. Al-Ghabra only confined to saying that the resignation is to be decided by the minister of information.

The Kuwaiti dailies said on Monday that one of those parliamentarians at the Kuwaiti Ummah council Nasser al-Sane asked the minister of information to provide him with a copy about what is published by the American media of lectures and statements stated to be made by al-Ghabra since his appointment in this post. Al-Sane also asked for getting "any information available at the ministry on meetings al-Ghabra held with Israeli figures or figures that belong directly to the Zionist Lobby and what was taking place in these meetings fully."

Among the points the Islamic parliamentarian asked to know were whether these meetings and al-Ghabra's participation at the Forum was made under the acknowledgment of the ministry of information, either before or after the incident.

The Kuwaiti dailies said that al-Sane also asked to get a list in the meetings held between high ranking Kuwaiti figures and Israeli sides.

Al-Ghabra had participated with the former Israeli foreign minister Shlomou Bin Ame and the president of Tel Aviv university Etamar Rabinovich in a seminar held in January in the framework of the World Economic Forum which was held in New York.

Like most of the Gulf Arab states, Kuwait opposes any contact with Israel before reaching a permanent and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

Previous Stories:
  Al-Ghabra summoned back to Kuwait over contacts with Israelis   (2/9/2002)
  A campaign in Kuwait to ban Israeli products leaked to the markets   (10/11/2000)
  A draft bill at the Kuwaiti parliament, preventing normalization with Israel   (6/1/2000)

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