Following the historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and amid reports that other Gulf State countries such as Oman and Bahrain will soon follow in the UAE’s footsteps, Kuwait firmly announced that it will not be normalizing relations with the Jewish state, Yisrael Hayom reported.

“Our position toward Israel hasn’t changed as a result of the agreement to normalize ties with the UAE,” senior Kuwaiti officials stated in an official announcement on Sunday, according to the Al-Qabas newspaper. “We will be the last to normalize ties.”

According to what Dr. Michael Barak, a Middle East researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC), told Yisrael Hayom, Kuwait’s stance is at least partially due to the Muslim Brotherhood’s foothold in Kuwait. “The Muslim Brotherhood is very strong in Kuwait and the state maintains very strong ties with the Palestinians.”

“The Muslim Brotherhood is a strong influence in the Kuwaiti parliament. They’re very close to the royal family, which tries to present itself as the Palestinians’ defender.

Barak added that Kuwait not only maintains close ties with the Palestinians but also actively supports Hamas.

“There are Salafi associations in Kuwait that transfer donations to Hamas, which shows us that their ties aren’t only with the PA leadership in Ramallah,” Barak elaborated.

“These issues influence the royal family, which want to avoid a direct conflict with the many members of parliament from the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafi parties, or the parties that maintain a pan-Arab worldview.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)