Hassan Salim: “Approving the law is not only a victory for the Iraqi people but to the heroes in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
Iraq’s parliament approved a law on Thursday that criminalizes normalizing relations with Israel, at a time when Israel is pushing to expand its ties in the Arab world under the rubric of the Abraham Accords.
The Iraqi parliament has been unable to convene on any other issue including electing a new president and forming its own government, prolonging a political standoff.
Iraq has never recognized the state of Israel since its establishment in 1948 and Iraqi citizens and companies cannot visit Israel, but the new law goes further, specifically criminalizing any attempts to normalize relations with Israel.
The law was proposed by influential Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr whose party, which opposes close ties with the United States and Israel, won more seats in parliament in elections last October.
“Approving the law is not only a victory for the Iraqi people but to the heroes in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
Hassan Salim
“Approving the law is not only a victory for the Iraqi people but to the heroes in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon,” said Iraqi shi’ite lawmaker Hassan Salim who represents Iranian-backed militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq.
A poster of Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq June 21, 2021. (credit: REUTERS/AHMED SAAD/FILE PHOTO)Lawmakers from Sadr’s party said they proposed the law to curb any claims by Iranian-backed rival parties that Sadr is making coalitions with Sunni and Kurds who may have secret ties with Israel.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said he was “disturbed” by the move stating that jeopardized “freedom of expression” and promoted “an environment of antisemitism.”
“This legislation stands in stark contrast to progress Iraq’s neighbors have made by building bridges and normalizing relations with Israel, creating new opportunities for people throughout the region,” Price said.
“This legislation stands in stark contrast to progress Iraq’s neighbors have made by building bridges and normalizing relations with Israel, creating new opportunities for people throughout the region.”
Ned Price
“The United States will continue to be a strong and unwavering partner in supporting Israel, including as it expands ties with its neighbors in the pursuit of greater peace and prosperity for all,” he said.
Israel’s ties with the Arab world
Under the US-brokered Abraham Accords, Israel normalized ties in 2020 with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, although relations with the latter have not advanced as much as with the other three nations. The economic boon those relations offer, plus the joint security concerns about Iran, has helped strengthen those newly formed bonds.
Israel has also full-fledged relations with Egypt and Jordan.
Saudi Arabia, a close US ally, has made it a condition of any eventual normalization with Israel that Palestinians’ quest for statehood on territory captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war must be addressed.
On Thursday, Science and Technology Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen signed a historic agreement in Morocco in the field of technology and science. It follows similar deals Israel signed with the UAE and Bahrain.
Israel’s embassies in Bahrain and Egypt, held public events this month celebrating Israel Independence Day.
Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/article-707855.