The initiative of Habib Bourguiba towards the Arab-Israeli conflict in 1965 and the Kuwaiti reactions to it

Abstract

This study aims to identify the initiative of the Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba, calling to find a solution to the Palestinian issue. The speech was delivered by the president to the Palestinian people in Jericho on March 3, 1965, during his official visit to Jordan, the Levant, Turkey and Iran. In his speech, Bourguiba called for the adoption of the principle of the "Take and Demand" policy, and the adoption of the "policy of stages" approach, given the imbalance of power between the Arab countries and Israel at both, the military and political levels, calling for acceptance of the UN resolution issued on November 29, 1947which stated the division of Palestine into two states: Arab and Jewish.

Bourguiba had reacted to most of the political events related to the Palestinian issue, and did not hesitate to take bold positions, contrary to the constants of the Arab nation. Hence, his speech was considered contrary to the official Arab speech, outside of the Arab consensus, and a tool that promotes colonialism and Zionism at the expense of Arab and Palestinian constants.

The state of Kuwait was the most Arab country that condemned the speech of the Tunisian president at the official and popular levels, and took a decision to suspend loans provided to Tunisia from the Kuwaiti fund.