US embassy cable - 04KUWAIT947

S E C R E T KUWAIT 000947 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, KPAL, IS, KU 
SUBJECT: (U) KUWAITIS CONDEMN ASSASSINATION OF AHMED YASSIN 
 
Classified By: CDA FRANK URBANCIC; REASON:  1.4 (B, D) 
 
1.  (U) The Amir and Crown Prince issued condolences to the 
family of HAMAS founder Shaykh Ahmed Yassin, whom the Amir 
described as "a symbol of the Palestinian legitimate struggle 
against tyranny."  Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah al-Ahmed 
expressed sorrow at the news of the Israeli assassination of 
Yassin, saying that "violence begets violence" and calling on 
the international community to react.  The National Assembly 
also condemned the killing of the "martyr."  Speaker Jassem 
al-Khorafi said "Israeli terrorism does not at all help a 
peaceful settlement.  The struggle of the Palestinian people 
will continue."  Chairman of the parliamentary foreign 
relations committee Mohammed Jassem al-Saqer branded Israel 
"a terrorist state" and said "the United States must make a 
declaration on this crime."  The Islamic Constitutional 
Movement took out a quarter-page ad in Al-Ra'i Al-Aam 
praising Yassin as a hero and martyr, denouncing "the 
terrorist Sharon and the Zionist entity."  The head of the 
Kuwait University Student Union was typical of Kuwaiti 
societies and political figures in expressing outrage at the 
assassination of an old man in a wheelchair.  A protest rally 
was scheduled at the College of Administrative Sciences March 
23. 
 
2.  (U) The local press did report National Security Advisor 
Condoleezza Rice's statement that the US had no advance 
knowledge of the Israeli strike on Yassin, and her appeal for 
calm in the region.  One leading editorialist, Ahmed 
al-Jarallah of Arab Times, wrote a nuanced column bemoaning 
Arab weakness but also condemning "the atrocities committed 
by Bin Laden in the name of Islam" and lamenting "the absence 
of a unified Arab policy towards peace."  We have observed no 
acknowledgment by local media of HAMAS's violent opposition 
to the existence of the State of Israel, nor of the 
contradiction between HAMAS's stance and the Arab states' 
professed acceptance in principle of a two-state solution to 
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 
 
3.  (S) While verbal condemnations of the killing of Yassin 
abound, the Director General of Kuwait State Security 
expressed confidence that it would not lead to unrest in 
Kuwait. 
URBANCIC