Abbas Apologizes To Kuwaitis

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas apologized to Kuwaitis on Sunday for the Palestinians' support of Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait:

Asked by reporters about Palestinian support for Saddam's invasion, Abbas responded: "Yes, we apologize for what we have done."

The Kuwaiti government, in a reconciliation gesture to the new Palestinian leadership, had said Abbas was welcome and apologies were not important.

According to the Associated Press, Abbas' visit remained controversial in Kuwait:

A group of lawmakers said in a statement Saturday that they "absolutely reject the visit ... before the PLO offers an official apology to the Kuwaiti people for the sin it committed against Kuwait."

The wasn't the first time Abbas has tried to make amends to the Kuwaitis. Last year, Abbas condemned the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in an interview with the state-owned Kuwait News Agency, stating that the Palestinian leadership's position was "incorrect." Abbas didn't apologize then.

Arafat supported Iraq in its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Some 450,000 Palestinians lived in Kuwait before the invasion. Most of the 450,000 Palestinians living in Kuwait were expelled or pressured to leave Kuwait after it was liberated.