Resistance movements hail Iraq over criminalization of ties with Israeli regime

In a statement on Friday, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine depicted the passing of the new law as a “historic and decisive” move that expresses support for the Palestinian cause.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad also hailed the move, stressing that the Iraqi parliament’s decision blocked the infiltration corridors for the Zionist enemy.

The statement from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad said that yesterday’s resolution would prevent the enemy from trying to infiltrate the Arab capitals further through the normalization project.

In a separate statement, Hezbollah noted that the “honorable and courageous stance” shows “Iraq’s firm and permanent position alongside the Palestinian cause, which was affected by neither the American occupation nor the difficult economic and political conditions that Iraq has experienced in recent years.”

The movement said that it considers the decision a major and a key step in confronting the shameful process of normalization undertaken by some Arab countries.

Hezbollah called on Arab nations to learn from the Iraqi example and work in various arenas to issue the necessary legislations and laws to confront normalization at all levels.

Meanwhile, the US government expressed its anger over the new law, claiming that it was in violation of freedom of expression and promoted an “environment of anti-Semitism.”

In a press statement on Friday, the US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Washington is “deeply disturbed by the Iraqi Parliament’s passage of legislation that criminalizes normalization of relations with Israel.”

Meanwhile, Iraq’s influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr hit back at the remarks, saying that the Iraqi nation is not anti-Semitic, but anti-oppression, anti-occupation, and anti-terror.

The cleric wrote in a statement on Friday that “We support the Christian and Jewish minorities while you expel the Arabs and the Muslims. We condemn the behavior of ISIS (Daesh), while you support Western extremism.”

Referring to the double standards by the western governments, he sarcastically addressed their actions and wrote: “Anti-Semitism is forbidden, compromise [with the Zionist regime] is mandatory; The killing of worshipers in New Zealand mosques is not terrorism; Resistance to occupation means terrorism; Moving the Arabs from Al-Quds and preventing them from entering it, is a humane act! Is this your policy?!”

Back in September 2020, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed normalization deals with Israel. Morocco and Sudan later signed similar agreements with the Israeli regime as well.

The so-called Abraham Accords were pushed by the US under former president Donald Trump.

Palestinians have denounced the normalization deals, describing them as a “stab in the back” and a “betrayal” to their cause.

Back in late November last year, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry reiterated Baghdad’s support for the Palestinian cause, stressing that the Arab country categorically rejects any normalization scheme with the Israeli regime.