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German court rejects Israel citizen lawsuit against Kuwait Airways

June 26, 2020 at 11:27 am

A Kuwait Airways Boeing B777 aircraft prepares to land at Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait City on 13 March 2019 [Yasser Al-Zayyat/AFP/ Getty]

A German court ruled in favour of Kuwait Airways, after an Israeli citizen filed a lawsuit against the company for cancelling his reservation as he was not allowed to enter the Gulf state.

Kuwait’s Al-Jarida reported yesterday that a Munich court ruled that the airline’s decision to cancel the reservation made by the Israeli national is legal, in support of a previous verdict issued by the Landshut court in Germany.

The court noted in its ruling that “the plaintiff is not allowed to travel to Kuwait as a holder of an Israeli passport, even if he only wants to take another plane from there.”

The case dates back to 2018, when Kuwait Airways cancelled the reservation of Israeli citizen and Frankfurt-based Israeli businessman, identified as Shmuel M. who planned to travel from Munich to Sri Lanka, via Kuwait.

Kuwait has no formal relations with Israel and those travelling on an Israeli passport are not allowed admittance to the country.

The Shmuel M.’s lawyer, Nathan Gelbart, said that there should be “no discrimination against Jews on German soil.”

“As long as we [Germany] permit an airline to advertise flights for everyone except Israelis, it is a stain on the moral fabric of our country,” Gelbart added.

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