BAGHDAD (Anadolu) – Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says he plans to float a proposal to parliament to criminalize the normalization of relations with the Zionist regime.
“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 the occupying regime.
Iraq’s Penal Code punishes with death anyone who promotes “Zionist principles” or becomes a member in any institution that promotes its idea.
Iraq has no diplomatic relations with the regime, and most of Iraqi political parties oppose normalization with Tel Aviv.
Four Arab countries – the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco – agreed to normalize relations with the Zionist regime under U.S.-brokered agreements in 2020, when former U.S. president Donald Trump was in office.
Spearheaded by the UAE, the move has sparked widespread condemnations from the Palestinians as well as nations and human rights advocates across the world, especially within the Muslim world.
Palestinians see the accords as a stab in their back and a direct affront to their cause to liberate their lands from the occupation.