Those who burned the flag don't belong to us

Nabil Abu Rdainah

Many Palestinians blame Kuwait, which has been a significant donor of aid to the Palestinians, for his death and the incident highlighted the already tense relations between the two sides.

'Regrettable'

Kuwaiti Foreign Undersecretary Khalid Jarallah called the incident "very regrettable", and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah described the culprits as "riff-raff".

He said no message had come from the Palestinian National Authority apologising for burning the flag, but one of the late Mr Husseini's aides had apologised.

Mr Husseini spoke a language Israelis could understand

But Yasser Arafat's adviser, Nabil Abu Rdainah, cast doubt on the incident.

"We have heard about the flag burning only from Kuwaiti media. It is dubious."

He said, however, that "those who burned the flag offended the Palestinian people before the Kuwaitis. They don't belong to us."

Cheap and childish act

And Khalid Mishal, a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas condemned the incident. Those who torched the flag, he said, "do not represent the Palestinian people, who do not accept this sort of behaviour".

Why do the Palestinians burn the flags of those who support them? Why do they cut off the breast that feeds them?

Al-Qabas newspaper

Palestinian cabinet Secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman agreed. He said the Palestinian people and their leaders dissociated themselves from the flag burners.

The Palestinian community in Kuwait were also quick to mend fences.

They issued a statement calling the incident "a cheap and childish act carried out by suspicious infiltrators bent on causing a rift".

Husseini waves the Palestinian flag and an olive branch in East Jerusalem

Kuwait's Al-Qabas asked: "Why do the Palestinians burn the flags of those who support them and send humanitarian and financial aid to them? Why do they cut off the breast that feeds them?"

Al-Watan was equally scathing: "This bunch of losers burn our flag and we are sending money to support the intifada."

But, it said: "We are sending fresh aid to the Palestinians and continue to support their cause."

Palestinian Minister of International Cooperation and Planning Nabil Shaath suggested a reason for the Palestinian anger.

Statements by some Kuwaiti MPs against Mr Husseini's visit, he said, "raised feelings of rage among Palestinian mourners and that was why they burned the Kuwaiti flag."