Sunday, April 24, 2022

Iraq and Israel, Iraq and Turkey

Tensions increase in Iraq with regards to Israel. Ali Jawad and Ahmed Asmar (ANADOLU AGENCY) reports:

Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said he plans to float a proposal to parliament to criminalize the normalization of relations with Israel.

"One of the main reasons that prompted me to have the Sadrist movement run in elections again was the issue of normalization and Israeli ambitions to dominate our beloved Iraq," al-Sadr said in a Twitter post.

He said his movement and allies will soon unveil a proposal to be put for vote in parliament to criminalize normalization and dealings with Israel.



Prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Saturday said that his bloc intends to introduce a bill criminalizing the normalization of relations with Israel, following a series of Trump administration-brokered talks that saw numerous Muslim countries normalize ties with the Jewish state.
[. . .]

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 advocating for Iraq to join the Abraham Accords was held in the Kurdistan Region's capital of Erbil in September and was attended by more than 300 Sunnis and Shiites from across the country.

Widespread condemnation from Baghdad and Erbil struck the conference, with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi calling it "illegal" and saying that the concept of normalization with Israel is illegal as per the Iraqi constitution. 


Outlets seem reluctant to discuss what's causing Moqtada's move.  For the last week, the Iraqi press has been reporting on the proposed pipeline from Basra to a port in Jordan.  From yesterday's entry:

Along with Mustafa being a failure, Nouri is speaking out about a pipeline he feels the current government (Mustafa) is trying to push through during this stalemate.  PARS TODAY reports that he's denouncing a proposed pipeline out of Basra to Jordan's port of Aqaba as a Zionist plot and illegal and a Constitutional violation -- the latter two charges he demands  Iraq's Supreme Court address.   He states the current government, that would be Mustafa, should stop their actions immediately and allow the new government to address this proposal.

Nouri insists this is a way for Jordan, Egypt and Zionists to steal Iraqi oil that would be provided for peanuts while the Iraqi people would be left with the building costs for the pipeline and its facilities.  In speaking out on this issue, Nouri joins other Iraqi politicians such as Karim al-Nouri and Yousef al-Kalabi as well as Sheikh Ali al-Asadi.  The Sheikh, who has now been criticizing this proposed pipeline for over a week, he argues it is part of the efforts of the US and the UK to continue to destabilize Iraq (as noted also in this April 13th report from YJC). 


Nouri is former prime minister and forever thug Nouri al-Maliki who is also calling out Turkey for their latest assault on Iraq.  Turkey is dropping bombs on the Kurdistan and has sent ground troops in as well.  Though western outlets like to pretend they're fair, they tend to ignore the number of civilians the Turkish military is killing, wounding and terrorizing.  RUDAW reports:


A Christian family from a Duhok village has decided to migrate to Australia due to ongoing clashes between Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) at home. 

Amirnisan Gorgis is from the Christian village of Sharansh in Duhok’s Zakho city. He and his family have fled their village due to Turkish bombardment four years ago. They live in a rental house in the Bersiv region in the same province. He told Rudaw’s Yusuf Musa on Tuesday that he plans to migrate to Australia in July when the current academic year ends. 

“I have turned 62 and I have built several houses but have been displaced five times. I have spent most of my age in displacement,” he said, adding that he wants to join his son in Australia. 

Turkey has intensified its military activities in Zakho in the last few years, leading to the displacement of a large number of people. 

Out of 20 Christian villages in Zakho, nine have been evacuated, according to local authorities. 


Iraqi politicians such as Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's president Barham Saleh and others have called out Turkey's actions.  More voices are joining the condemnation of Turkey.  ANHA reports:


​​​​​​​Today, the presidency of the Iraqi parliament condemned the Turkish occupation military attacks in Başûr Kurdistan, stressing that they constitute a "clear violation of Iraq's security and stability."

The office of Shakhwan Abdullah, the second parliamentarian, stated that "the latter attended the meeting of the Presidency of the House of Representatives with Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein and the advanced cadre of the ministry, which was held today in the Constitutional Hall and in the presence of heads of blocs and parliamentary committees and a number of deputies."


IRAN INTERNATIONAL explains, "Last Monday, Turkey carried out air and land operations -- dubbed Operation Claw Lock – against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq that targeted camps and ammunition stores."  And MEHR NEWS AGENCY notes, "News sources reported that at least six rockets were fired at 'Zelika' base, east of Mosul.  Turkey has long been violating the territorial integrity of northern Iraq by claiming to oppose the PKK."  The Nineveh Province base isn't the only Turkish military base in Iraq.  This base and the others are illegal and should be closed by the Turkish government immediately.  They are in violation of Iraq's national sovereignty and their established upon non-Turkish land can be seen as an act of war.  


New content at THIRD:




The following sites updated:



Posted by at