by thearabweekly.com — KUWAIT CITY–Kuwait continues to up its punitive measures against Lebanese nationals on its soil in a way that shows that this escalation is directly backed by Saudi Arabia. The kingdom, informed sources told The Arab Weekly, wants the Lebanese political class to realise that their coordination with the Shia Hezbollah movement will carry a heavy cost. Saudi Arabia, the sources added, will increase pressure and is ready to deal painful blows in its diplomatic crisis with Lebanon, starting with punitive measures taken by Kuwait, which hosts a Lebanese community of more than 50,000. Kuwaiti newspapers Al-Qabas and Al-Rai reported on Thursday that prosecutors in the country have detained 18 people suspected of financing Lebanon’s Hezbollah group. Al-Qabas said the prosecutor ordered the detainees to be held at the central prison for 21 days while investigations continue into alleged “membership in a prohibited party, money-laundering and spying.”

Local media reports also said that Kuwait had asked 100 residents and their families to leave the country because of their links with Hezbollah. Most of these asked to leave, the reports noted, are of Lebanese nationality, with some of them hailing from Iran and Iraq. Informed Kuwaiti sources also said that the targeted group is limited, with all individuals known to the Kuwaiti security apparatus. The next move, however, will include another list of those linked to Hezbollah’s support networks, based on discoveries by Kuwaiti security probes carried out in full coordination with the Gulf security services, particularly those of Saudi Arabia. A Kuwaiti source told The Arab Weekly that the next phase will be marked by stiffer restrictions on the activities of Hezbollah sympathisers. The source added that Kuwait is serious about dismantling the support networks of the Lebanese Shia group, whether in the form of direct donations or funds transferred by charities that succeeded in deceiving Kuwaitis, especially from the Shia sect, using religious and humanitarian campaigning to cover up Hezbollah’s secret agenda.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that Kuwait is not acting unilaterally but is coordinating the next steps directly with Saudi Arabia. The recent Kuwaiti moves show that Saudi Arabia is not alone in its efforts to counter Hezbollah’s influence, with informed sources saying that most Gulf countries are ready to respond positively to Riyadh’s action proposals. Kuwait is viewed as a centre of gravity for funds that are transferred to Hezbollah from the Gulf countries, as there are about 50,000 Lebanese workers in Kuwait alone. They send huge sums to their families in Lebanon, which is currently mired in economic hardship. Some of these funds, sources said, go to financing Hezbollah, its activities and its foreign military operations.

Local reports indicated that Kuwait will resort to additional moves in a series of measures, including setting fees on remittances to Lebanon, as well as stopping the movement of supplies and exports to the country. The reports noted that the moves made by Kuwait are part of a broader Gulf campaign to pressure Lebanon into considering the difficult equation at hand: to be on the side of Hezbollah and Iran, or to fight for its own interests and preserve the privileges obtained by its workers in the Gulf region.

The Kuwaiti punitive measures come after the recent dismantling of a cell in Kuwait working for the Lebanese Hezbollah group to collect funds and donations, in addition to recruiting young people to fight in Iran’s proxy wars. The preliminary investigation of a number of defendants revealed that they had transferred large sums of money to Hezbollah over the course of 30 years, claiming to support and sponsor orphans in Lebanon.