Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Tuesday.
The visit comes after Kuwait’s National Assembly (Parliament) announced last week that it had agreed in principle to “toughen the penalties for normalization with Israel, and to make amendments to tighten penalties and close loopholes, on the law prohibiting dealing or normalization.”
The meeting that brought together the crown princes of the two countries has raised concerns about Kuwait's traditional position rejecting normalization with Israel and its reflection on the Saudi-Israeli relations as well as the normalization agreements with the UAE and Bahrain.
According to Israeli analysts, Kuwait is vulnerable to Iranian threats and wants to work more closely with Riyadh. However, Kuwait’s strong stance against Israel, which includes rhetoric and laws, means that the meeting with Riyadh and discussion of regional affairs could impact the rumors of warming links between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Analysts believe that Kuwaiti policies are often affected by Islamists and the degree to which they hold control over state institutions.
By sticking to traditional position, Kuwaiti authorities have been able to appease strong political currents, mainly Islamists and nationalists who root their political propaganda in issues of popular conscience and frequently provoke religious and nationalist feelings by exploiting the Palestinian cause.
This was quite evident in the Kuwaiti trade ministry’s decision on Israeli products last year and in the drafting of a press release announcing the move, which reported that “inspection teams have seized products imported from the ‘Zionist entity’ and banned in local markets in accordance with law.
Retired Saudi Major General Muhammad Al-Harbi said that the Saudi position on the Palestinian issue is firmly established, which is the two-state solution and it is not possible to participate in any talks with the Israeli side, if there is no Gulf and Arab consensus on that.
Riyadh may in fact change its position according to its interests, especially as it has not expressed any objection to the Emirati and Bahraini decisions and even seemed understanding of them by opening up its airspace to direct flights between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi and Manama.
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