US condemns Iraq bill criminalizing dealing with Israel
WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – “The United States is deeply disturbed by the Iraqi Parliament’s passage of legislation that criminalizes normalization of relations with Israel,” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement issued late on Thursday.
“In addition to jeopardizing freedom of expression and promoting an environment of antisemitism,” Price continued, “this legislation stands in stark contrast to progress Iraq’s neighbors have made by building bridges and normalizing relations with Israel.”
Earlier that day, 275 members of Iraq’s 329-member National Assembly voted to approve the bill. Entitled “Criminalizing Normalization and Establishment of Relations with the Zionist Entity,” it makes any dealings with Israel punishable with extraordinarily harsh penalties: life in prison or even execution.
Moreover, the definition of who is subject to the law and what might constitute a violation is extraordinarily broad.
The legislation “applies to all Iraqis, state and independent institutions, as well as foreigners working in the country, according to a text carried by the Iraqi News Agency (INA),” as the Associated Press reported, even as it warned that the legislation “entails risks for companies working in Iraq,” which might be “found to be in violation of the law.”
It seems that any company that operates in Israel would need to be wary of operating in Iraq because, at some point, the company, or its employees, could be said to be in violation of the anti-Israel law.
National Assembly has Conducted no Substantial Business to Date
Iraq’s National Assembly—which was elected more than seven months ago—has yet to conduct any meaningful business. As the Associated Press observed, “Iraq’s parliament has been unable to convene on any other issue bar the law prohibiting ties with Israel, including electing a new president and forming its own government.”
There was no evident reason for producing the bill now, even as the Iraqi media strained to come up with one. AP, for example, suggested that the legislation might be related to Iran’s March 13 ballistic missile attack on the Kurdistan Region.
Tehran claimed that the missiles, which hit the home of the head of the Kurdistan Region’s largest energy firm, the KAR group, targeted an Israeli intelligence center.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) strongly denied any Israeli presence in the Region, and an official Iraqi investigation backed up the KRG’s stance.
So, in its report, AP came up with the suggestion that the KAR group sold oil to Israel—even though there is not a shred of evidence to support such a claim.
Best Case, Worst Case Scenario
So why was this bill passed now? There is no clear explanation. It was introduced by Muqtada al-Sadr’s party, Sairoon, which won the largest number of seats in the October elections. Along with the Kurdish Party with the largest number of seats, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the biggest Sunni party, led by the Speaker of the Assembly, Mohammed al-Halbousi, Sadr has a parliamentary majority. In a properly functioning political system, he would form the government.
But Sadr is being blocked by the pro-Iranian parties. They maintain that, rather than a “majority government,” there should be a “consensual government”—i.e., every political party should get its share of ministries and the resources and advantages that come with holding such posts.
Sadr is a very clever political figure. It is not impossible that the anti-Israel bill is intended to help him outmaneuver the pro-Iranian parties and allow him to form a government on his terms.
After the vote, Sadr called on Iraqis to go into the streets and celebrate this “great achievement,” and the measure does seem to have some significant popularity.
That would be the best-case explanation for the legislation. The worst-case explanation is that it is merely a piece of populist theater intended to boost Sadr’s popularity (temporarily, at least) while obscuring the political paralysis in Baghdad.