KUWAIT: Kuwait has protested to Lebanon over the alleged training by Hezbollah of 21 Shiites convicted last month on charges of forming a “terror cell” in the Sunni-majority emirate.
It demanded that pressure be put on the Shiite militant group, which has ministers in the Lebanese government, to ensure there was no repetition.
The protest follows Kuwait’s expulsion of 15 Iranian diplomats on Thursday over Tehran’s alleged links to those convicted.
The letter delivered by Kuwait’s ambassador in Beirut late on Friday said the emirate’s supreme court had found that “Hezbollah took part in contacts, coordinating meetings, paid funds and provided arms and military training in Lebanon” for the defendants.
It called on Lebanon to take “the necessary measures to curb these disgraceful practices” by Hezbollah as it is a partner in the government, ambassador Abdulaal Al-Quenai told the official KUNA news agency.
Unlike neighboring Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, Kuwait maintains diplomatic relations with Shiite Iran.
But sectarian issues remain sensitive. Shiites make up around one third of the emirate’s population.
Kuwait protests to Lebanon over Hezbollah
Kuwait protests to Lebanon over Hezbollah
Trump asks Netanyahu to change West Bank policy
- US President, his team raise settler violence, financial instability of PA, Israeli settlements’ expansion
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his top advisers asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change Israel’s policies in the occupied West Bank during their meeting according to a US official and another source, both with direct knowledge, Axios said.
Home to 2.7 million Palestinians, the West Bank has long been at the heart of plans for a future Palestinian state alongside Israel.
According to the US official, the White House thinks a violent escalation in the West Bank would undermine efforts to implement the Gaza peace agreement and prevent the expansion of the Abraham Accords before the end of Trump’s term.
Trump and his team expressed concern about the situation in the West Bank and asked Netanyahu to avoid provocative steps and “calm things down,” the sources said.
The president and his team raised settler violence against Palestinian civilians, the financial instability of the Palestinian Authority, and Israeli settlements expansion, the sources said.
The US message was that changing course in the West Bank is critical to repair Israel’s relations with European countries and, hopefully, expand the Abraham Accords. “Netanyahu spoke very strongly against settler violence and said he is going to take more action,” the source with knowledge said.
