Madrid – Kuwaiti chess player, Bader Al-Hajri, withdrew on Tuesday from the competitions of the Sunway International Chess Championship held in Spain as he refused to face an Israeli opponent.
One of Kuwait’s chess champions who had won the first place in 2015’s “San Sebastian” championship in Spain, Al-Hajri rejected on Tuesday to face an Israeli settler opponent in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Taking to social media, Arab activists praised Al-Hajri for “refusing to face an Israeli zionist settler” and for “opposing Arab countries’ normalization with the Israeli occupation.”
Calling him “a hero,” the activists said his action was “complementary to Kuwait’s supporting stance for the Palestinian cause” and that they are “proud of him.”
This is not the first time that a Kuwaiti player rejects to face an Israeli opponent. In April, Kuwaiti fencing player Mohammad Al-Fadli also refused to face an Israeli player in the group stage of the World Fencing Championships held in Dubai. In January, 14-year-old Kuwaiti tennis player, Muhammad Al-Awadi, pulled out from the international tennis tournament held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to avoid facing an Israeli opponent.
Kuwait has long upheld a strict pro-Palestine stance, and has refused to normalise ties with the occupation state.
In a bid to harden the Gulf state’s anti-normalisation stance and its continue support for Palestinian rights, Kuwait’s parliament passed a bill last May prohibiting dealing with ‘Israel’ or any of kind of normalization with the occupation state, and stricter penalties for violators and collaborators with it.
The bill stipulates that anyone who violates the provisions of the law be punished with imprisonment for a period of not less than a year and not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding five thousand dinars.
Also, any expressions of sympathy with ‘Israel’ are to be outlawed.
The Kuwaiti Public Works Minister, Rana Abdullah Al-Fares, also issued an order in December banning the entry of commercial vessels carrying goods to and from ‘Israel’ into Kuwaiti territorial waters.
According to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Anba, the issued order prohibits entry permits being requested for ships carrying goods to or from ‘Israel’.
The order applies even if goods being carried from ‘Israel’ are being brought to another country outside of Kuwait.
