BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – The Iraqi judiciary has issued arrest warrants for participants in a conference in Erbil that called for normalizing relations with the Zionist regime, reports Anadolu Agency.
Arrest warrants were issued against the head of the Awakening Movement, Wissam al-Hadran, former lawmaker Mithal al-Alosi and Sahar Karim al-Taie, an employee at the Ministry of Culture, the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council said in a statement.
The statement said legal action will also be taken against the other participants in the event.
On Friday, a conference was held in Erbil in northern Iraq by a number of tribal figures, who called for the normalization of relations between Iraq and the occupying regime.
The Friday conference was welcomed by Zionist foreign minister Yair Lapid as “a hopeful event.” Speakers at the conference included Chemi Peres, the head of an Israeli foundation established by his father, former Zionist president Shimon Peres.
Iraq does not have relations with the Zionist regime and the idea of normalization is widely rejected in the country.
The Iraqi presidency on Saturday rejected all attempts aimed at normalizing ties with the occupying regime, and reiterated the Arab nation’s strong support for the Palestinian cause.
“The Presidency confirms Iraq’s firm support for the Palestinian cause and fully legitimate rights of the Palestinian nation. It renews its rejection of normalization with Israel,” it stated.
Separately, the leader of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq group said Iraqi resistance fighters will teach “an unforgettable lesson” to all those pushing for normalization with the regime.
Qais al-Khazali, the secretary general of the anti-terror group which is part of the Popular Mobilization Units, on Saturday denounced the Erbil event as contrary to Iraq’s national and humanitarian principles.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said the Iraqi government and people have always supported the aspirations of the Palestinian people.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem praised the Baghdad government’s stance on the Palestinian issue and its opposition to normalization with the occupying regime.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) also chastised “some of the organizers” of the gathering held by a U.S. think tank in the semi-autonomous northern Iraqi region.
In a statement, the KRG’s interior ministry stressed that it supports the Iraqi government in rejecting the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Zionist regime.
Last year, four Arab regimes – the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco – normalized their relations with the Zionist regime, a move denounced by Palestinians as a betrayal to its cause.