University of Kufa / College of ArtsPrepared by: Dr. Ghufran Muhammad Sayhood Al-ShibliKuwait's Economic Role in the Palestinian CauseAn Analytical Historical Study (1967–1990)

Abstract

           The Palestinian cause witnessed radical economic and political transformations after the June 1967 setback, as the Arab countries, especially the Arab Gulf states, including Kuwait, formed a fundamental support to confront the challenges that the Palestinians faced after the setback, Kuwait was at the forefront of the countries supporting economically, officially and popularly through funding Palestinian institutions and organizations However, this role has undergone changes, coinciding with political, economic, and regional crises.

       This research aims to conduct a historical and analytical study of Kuwait's economic role in providing financial support to the Palestinian people after the 1967 - 1990, by posing several questions that clarify the research problem Among them, was Kuwait’s role in supporting the Palestinian cause economically between 1967 - 1990? What were the mechanisms and methods of support? The reason for choosing 1967 as the starting point for the research was due to the political, demographic and economic changes in the positions of Arab countries including Kuwait, As for the reason for stopping the research in 1990, This was due to changes in Kuwait's policies and the cessation of economic support for Palestinian refugees, and the resulting political stances taken in response to the Palestinian resistance movement.

        The study was structured in the form of an introduction, three sections, a conclusion, and a list of the most important sources and references, The first section was titled "The Historical Roots of Kuwaiti-Palestinian Economic-Political Relations 1936-1967," while the second section was titled "Kuwaiti-Palestinian Economic Relations 1967-1990,"The third section deals with the mechanisms of Kuwaiti economic support for the Palestinian cause from 1967 to 1990, and concludes with the most important results and conclusions.

       The research relied on the analytical and descriptive historical methodology by highlighting Kuwait’s economic policy and the most prominent political events, documenting them with a number of political and economic documents, reports, sources, articles and university theses, and the quantitative method by stating the figures of economic aid, financial amounts and the number of resident Palestinians Residents, their remittances, and evaluation of annual support budgets.

        By studying the Kuwaiti economic role in the Palestinian cause 1967–1990, it appears clear that Kuwaiti-Palestinian relations began before the partition decision in 1948 for historical, national, and religious reasons, A number of committees were formed for a group of young people who supported the Palestinian people, and they had an important multifaceted economic role in supporting the Palestinian cause politically and economicallyowever, after the June 1967 setback, it witnessed radical economic and political transformations. Changes also occurred in this role, coinciding with political, economic, and regional crises, up until 1990, as part of Arab and Islamic solidarity Official and institutional Kuwaiti aid was channeled through its institutions, including the Kuwait Fund for Development Formal and unofficial charities to help refugees.