Kuwait: We will never let Israeli planes fly in our airspace
Israeli flights bound for the UAE will not fly over Kuwait, a government source was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Citing an anonymous official source, Arabic Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas reported that Kuwait had no plans to allow Israeli flights to use its airspace in the near future.
“What is rumoured about the possibility of allowing Israeli planes to cross Kuwaiti airspace to reach the UAE is totally false,” the government source told Al-Qabas.
The comments were made in response to speculation that other Gulf countries would follow Saudi Arabia and allow overflights to “all countries” from the UAE.
The announcement has been viewed as official permission from Riyadh for Israel-UAE flights to use the kingdom’s airspace.
On Monday, the first ever commercial flight from Israel to Abu Dhabi passed through Saudi airspace, carrying an Israeli-American delegation headed to the UAE capital to discuss the recent normalisation deal.
Kuwait also reiterated its stance rejecting normalisation with Israel.
The UAE is the first Gulf country and third Arab country – after Egypt and Jordan – to normalise ties with Israel. The news has angered Arabs and the Palestinian Authority who said the move constitutes a “betrayal” of the Palestinian cause.
Source: The New Arab
