On Monday, the Islamic Resistance Movement, a militant wing, “Hamas” valued the position of the Iraqi presidency and government, and the political and societal forces in Baghdad, which reject normalization with Israel.
“We appreciate the positions of the presidency, the government and the Iraqi judiciary, which reject attempts at normalization with the Zionist enemy (Israel), and support the struggle of our people, their rights and constants,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement to Anatolia.
He added, “We also highly appreciate the responsible and noble positions that were issued by the political and societal forces, the sheiks and dignitaries of Iraq’s clans that reject normalization and support our Palestinian people, their resistance, and their just causes.”
Barhoum considered that “these positions express the authenticity of Iraq and its people, and its affiliation with Palestine and its stable people.”
He resumed his movement’s rejection of “all forms of normalization with the Israeli occupation, at any level, because it has serious repercussions.”
The Hamas spokesman called on the Arab and Islamic nations to “stand united in the face of the normalizers and work to provide all the factors and ingredients for the people’s steadfastness in the face of Israel and its projects.”
On Friday, a “peace” conference was held in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, organized by Sunni and Shiite tribal figures, and called for the normalization of relations with and Israel publicly, in the first event of its kind in Iraq.
The call for normalization with Israel provoked official and political reactions, at the level of the government, parliament, the presidency of the Iraqi republic, and the presidency of the Kurdistan region.
Article 201 of the Iraqi Penal Code stipulates that “anyone who favors or promotes the principles of Zionism, including Freemasonry, or who is affiliated with any of its institutions, or helps them financially or morally, or works in any way whatsoever to achieve its purposes, shall be punished with death.”
Iraq does not establish any relations with Israel, and the majority of political forces reject normalization with Israel .​​​​
Out of 22 Arab countries, only 6, namely Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, maintain public official relations with Israel, which continues to occupy lands in more than one Arab country, rejects the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and commits daily violations against the Palestinian people.
