Kuwaiti writer Abdullah Al-Hadlaq said that Israel was an independent and legitimate sovereign state and that there was no occupation, but instead, "a people returning to its promised land."
Abdullah Al-Hadlaq: "From the religious perspective, Quranic verse 5:21 proves that the Israelites have the right to the Holy Land.
Allah says: 'When Moses said to his people... Oh my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you.'
So Allah assigned that land to them, and they did not plunder it. The plundering entity is whoever was there before the arrival of the Israelites. Therefore, I do not go for obsolete slogans and terms like 'Zionist plundering entity,' and so on. The fact that I am an Arab should by no means prevent me from recognizing Israel.
I recognize Israel as a state and as a fact of reality, without denying my Arab identity and affiliation."
Guest: "I don't know... Let's determine the frame of discussion. Is Palestine and its occupation an Arab cause or a religious one?"
Abdullah Al-Hadlaq: "There is no occupation. There is a people returning to its promised land.