Lieberman's 'lies' draw sharp rebuke

Manama: The Palestinian leadership has closed ranks in its condemnation of Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, for his broadside against Kuwait.

"We strongly denounce the claims made by Lieberman and reiterate that we do value the position of Kuwait on the Goldstone Report and its call for the implementation of its recommendations to avoid a repeat of the massacres perpetrated against the Palestinians," Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator, said.

"People like Lieberman are ignorant of the positions and role of Kuwait and the people of Kuwait in supporting the Palestinian cause in the United Nations and in various international conferences. Kuwait's history is outstandingly rich with support and sacrifices for the sake of Palestine. The current support from the ruler, government, parliament and people of Kuwait to the Palestinians is far too great for Lieberman's blatant lies and despicable racism," he said.

Earlier, Kuwaiti daily Al Raie had quoted a foreign affairs ministry spokesperson as saying: "The Israeli allegations against Kuwait are an attempt to redirect the international community's attention away from the Goldstone report which details Israel's crimes against humanity during the war on Gaza."

Last month, top Israeli officials moved forward with an aggressive campaign to prevent the Goldstone Report from being considered either within the UN Security Council or by the General Assembly.

Lieberman had accused Arab and Muslim countries of hypocrisy for supporting the report. On Kuwait, he said: "What they did to the Palestinians there, is really something that can be called a war crime, a crime against humanity. Let those Kuwaitis examine their behaviour, how they treated the Palestinians."