IRAQ: Umma Party leader Mithal al-Alusi calls on Iraqi government to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel

BAGHDAD – Against the background of the fresh accord between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalize diplomatic relations, leader of the Iraqi Umma Party Mithal al-Alusi called on his government to do the same. Mithal al-Alusi called on his government to normalize relations with Israel while he emphasized that normalization does not mean a weakening the Iraqi state but instead secures a state that preserves Iraqi human rights and dignity, al-Alusi said in a statement.

“Slogans of war advocates have brought Iraq to where it is now, and Iraqi people cannot remain in this situation. My experience with voters in parliamentary elections was my best evidence of Iraqi popular desire for such a normalization,” al-Alusi said. Al-Alusi also noted that there are about 500.000 Iraqi Jews in Israel, who still have rights in Iraq, and can be a bridge of peace between the two countries.

In comments to Shafaaq News Agency al-Alusi stated “Iraq needs to get out of the wars and extremism, and it needs to build stable relations with all countries of the world,” adding, “For this Iraq needs a peace agreement with Israel,”…  but that “the Iraqi politicians are afraid of Iran, and Tehran controls their decisions, otherwise, Iraq would have preceded the UAE in concluding a peace agreement with Israel.”

The United Arab Emirates is the third Arab country after Egypt and Jordan to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel. Sudan seems to be heading that way, albeit a bumpy way.

There has to be more to this story. One possibility is that there is a struggle over exactly who in #Sudan will get credit for making peace with Israel, the civilian government or the military. So was this just a rogue spokesman or a reflection of internal jockeying for power? https://t.co/v3sUkEODCn

— Alberto Miguel Fernandez (@AlbertoMiguelF5) August 19, 2020