KUWAITIS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST GAZA ATTACKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000006 SIPDIS NEA/ARP, NEA/IPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV SEC KU SUBJECT: KUWAITIS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST GAZA ATTACKS REF: A. KUWAIT 1250 ¶B. KUWAIT 1255 Classified By: Political Counselor Pete O'Donohue for reasons 1.4 b and d ¶1. (LOU) Summary: Some 2,000 to 5,000 Kuwaitis demonstrated in front of the National Assembly building on January 3 to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza. A Member of Parliament burned an Israeli flag, while some demonstrators chanted "death to Israel" and "death to America." Speakers called on Egypt to open its border crossing in Gaza to facilitate the delivery of assistance. The Embassy issued a warden notice in advance to Amcits urging them to avoid the area of the planned demonstration; there were no incidents involving U.S. citizens. End Summary. ¶2. (LOU) A crowd of demonstrators numbering, according to various estimates, at between 2,000 to 5,000 marched a short distance through downtown Kuwait during the afternoon of January 3 before gathering in front of Kuwait's National Assembly building to express their anger and frustration over continuing Israeli air attacks on Gaza. The protest, organized by the Kuwaiti Student Union, drew support predominantly from younger Kuwaitis, although demonstrators included elements from across Kuwait's demographic spectrum, including expatriates and many women. Newspapers carried photographs of prominent Islamist MP (and gadfly) Walid Tabtabaei burning an Israeli flag. According to press accounts, some of the marchers carried banners supporting Hamas or Palestinian flags and chanted "death to Israel" and "death to America." Kuwaitis security forces kept a close watch on the demonstrators and there was no violence. ¶3. (LOU) When the demonstrators reached the National Assembly building, they were met by a number of Members of Parliament and Muslim clerics, several of whom delivered speeches condemning the attacks and expressing support for Palestinians in Gaza. Many of the speakers reportedly focused their anger on the deaths of Palestinian civilians, particularly women and children; others criticized what they viewed as a heavy-handed and disproportionate Israeli response to the firing of Hamas rockets into Israel. A number of speakers called on Egypt to open its border crossing point with Gaza to facilitate the provision of assistance to trapped civilians. (Note: Kuwaiti security forces closed off streets to bar a group of Kuwaiti students from marching on the Egyptian Embassy on December 31; security around the Embassy has since been tightened. End Note.) ¶4. (LOU) In addition to statements by GOK officials on the Gaza situation reported reftels, the head of MFA's International Organizations Department, Mansour Al-Oteibi, delivered a speech at an emergency meeting of the OIC held in Jeddah on January 3 in which he underscored the GOK's opposition to Israeli "aggression" on Gaza and urged other Arab states to increase humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. ¶5. (C) Comment: The Embassy issued a warden notice on January 2 advising U.S. citizens to avoid areas where protesters were expected to gather on January 3. There were no incidents involving U.S. citizens. Post will continue to monitor all developments closely. With the beginning of Israeli ground operations, the likelihood of further demonstrations appears likely. The reported U.S. blockage of UNSC language may also lead to more pointed criticism than we have heretofore seen. End Comment. ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * JONES