Iraqi parliament passes bill criminalizing normalization of ties with Israel

BAGHDAD, May 26– The Iraqi parliament on Thursday approved a bill criminalizing institutions, officials and ordinary people for normalizing relations with Israel. The bill is supposed to preserve the principles of the Iraqi people in defending Palestine and its people as well as the Arab peoples, whose lands are occupied by Israel, said the statement.

BAGHDAD, May 26 (Xinhua) — The Iraqi parliament on Thursday approved a bill criminalizing institutions, officials and ordinary people for normalizing relations with Israel.

A statement issued by the parliament said that 275 lawmakers attending the session voted unanimously to pass the bill.

The bill is supposed to preserve the principles of the Iraqi people in defending Palestine and its people as well as the Arab peoples, whose lands are occupied by Israel, said the statement.

It aims to deter all those working on normalizing or establishing relations with Israel, added the statement.

The bill also prohibits Iraqis from traveling to Israel and having any kind of communications with the country, or they will face harsh penalties of up to life imprisonment and death penalty on violations, according to some articles of the new law revealed by local media.

The approval of the bill came weeks after Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called on the members of the Sadrist Movement, which won the largest number of seats in last year’s Iraqi elections, to formulate such a bill.

In September 2021, the Iraqi government announced its opposition to normalizing its relations with Israel, after hundreds of Iraqis called for establishing diplomatic ties with Israel. Enditem