Kuwait bans entry of ships carrying goods to and from ‘Israel’ into territorial waters

Kuwait (QNN)- The Kuwaiti Public Works Minister, Rana Abdullah Al-Fares, issued an order on Saturday banning the entry of commercial vessels carrying goods to and from ‘Israel’ into Kuwaiti territorial waters.

According to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Anba, the issued order prohibits entry permits of being requested for ships carrying goods to or from ‘Israel’.

The order applies even if goods being carried from ‘Israel’ are being brought to another country outside of Kuwait.

Kuwait has long upheld a strict pro-Palestine stance, and has refused to normalise ties with the occupation state.

On May 31, 1964, the Kuwaiti National Assembly approved the “unified law to boycott Israel,” following the decree issued on May 26, 1957 by the late Emir of Kuwait Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, which imposes penalties on those who “deal financially with Israel.”

In a bid to harden the Gulf state’s anti-normalisation stance and its continue support for Palestinian rights, Kuwait’s parliament passed a bill last May prohibiting dealing with ‘Israel’ or any of kind of normalization with the occupation state, and stricter penalties for violators and collaborators with it.

The bill stipulates that anyone who violates the provisions of the law be punished with imprisonment for a period of not less than a year and not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding five thousand dinars.

Also, any expressions of sympathy with ‘Israel’ are to be outlawed.