By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Five MPs yesterday submitted a new draft law stipulating a jail sentence of between one and three years for people and authorities dealing with or traveling to the Zionist entity. The bill, submitted by MPs Adnan Abdulsamad, Hisham Al-Saleh, Ali Al-Qattan, Ahmad Al-Hamad and Khalil Al-Saleh, bans any dealing or normalization with the Zionist entity.

It also bans any direct or indirect contacts with the Zionist entity and also bans any Kuwaiti or expat residing in the country from visiting the Zionist entity with or without a travel document. The bill also bans any expression of sympathy with the Zionist entity. It proposes a jail sentence of between one year and three years and a fine of up to KD 5,000 for violators.

The bill must be first cleared by the legal and legislative committee before the National Assembly can debate and pass it. The committee is currently studying another bill banning deals with the Zionist entity. The Assembly is scheduled to hold a special session next week on developments in Palestine.

Meanwhile, five lawmakers yesterday submitted a draft law calling to grant stateless people known as bedoons basic civil rights including free education and medical care, allowing them to work and travel abroad. The bill calls to grant all bedoons, estimated at more than 100,000, a civil ID for five years, which can be renewed. On the basis of the ID, bedoons are entitled to obtain permanent residency, free public services, take up jobs and travel abroad.

The court of cassation set June 16 to issue its verdict on three petitions filed by former opposition MP Bader Al-Dahoum over the cancellation of his membership. Dahoum was granted a final verdict from the cassation court in December allowing him to run in the Assembly election on Dec 5. He won a seat in the fifth constituency.

Later, his win was challenged before the constitutional court, which nullified his election and stripped him of his Assembly seat. In his petitions to the cassation court, Dahoum argued that there is a contradiction in the two verdicts and asked the court to settle the dispute.