IRAQI PARLIAMENT APPROVES BAN ON TIES WITH ISRAEL

Thu 26 May 2022:

Iraqi lawmakers on Thursday voted to approve a bill on banning relations with Israel.

In a statement, the Parliament’s media office said the assembly passed a bill “criminalizing the normalization of ties with the Zionist entity.”

According to state news agency INA, the bill was passed unanimously during Wednesday’s session.

The Iraqi parliament held its regular meeting on Thursday, headed by Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi and attended by 275 MPs.

The parliamentary meeting began by changing the name of the bill from “Banning Normalization and Establishment of Relations with the Zionist Entity” to “Criminalizing Normalization and Establishment of Relations with the Zionist Entity.”

“We affirm that this law, which was unanimously voted by the voters, represents a true reflection of the will of the people, a brave national decision, and a position that is the first of its kind in the world in terms of criminalizing the relationship with the Zionist entity. Therefore, we call on the Arab and Islamic parliaments to issue similar legislation that meets the aspirations of their peoples,” the parliament said in a statement on Thursday.

The normalization of ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords is a US-led joint Middle East peace initiative. Four countries – the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Bahrain, and Morocco – have announced normalization agreements with Israel, with America’s support. A conference in September advocating for Iraq to join the agreement, was met with widespread condemnation and criticism from the public and officials.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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