Iraq court orders arrests of leaders who called for 'peace with Israel'

The Iraqi administration, on Sunday, issued warrants for the arrest of two prominent leaders who addressed a conference calling for their country to normalise ties with Israel. As per Times of Israel, a court in the capital of Baghdad issued a warrant to arrest Sahar al-Ta’i, a senior official in Iraq’s Culture Ministry, as well as tribal leader Wisam al-Hardan, both of whom galvanised support for negotiations earlier. In a separate order, the Iraqi judicial body also announced that the remaining 300 residents would be arrested as soon as their “identities were determined.” 

Earlier on Friday, more than 300 prominent Iraqis, both Shias and Sunnis, coalesced to call for peace with Israel and to end decades of fraught talks. “We demand full diplomatic relations with the State of Israel… and a new policy of normalization based on people-to-people relations with the citizens of that country,” Wissam al-Hardan, an Iraqi leader said at the conference held in the Kurdistan region. Moreover, he also called the expulsion of Jews from the country as its “most infamous act.”

“Israel today, as you know, is a strong country and an inseparable part of the world and the United Nations. Iraq cannot neglect this fact and live in isolation from the world,” Sahar al-Ta’i told the attendees as per Times of Israel.

Iraqi leaders condemn the conference

The conference attracted the ire of the Iraqi administration. A seemingly furious President Barham Salih denounced the conference as “illegal” and accused the attendees of seeking to stir up unrest. “The recent meeting held to promote [normalization] does not represent the people and residents of Iraq. It represents only those who participated in it,” Salih said. Adding to it, prominent Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said, "Erbil must prevent these Zionist terrorist meetings. If not, the government must arrest all the participants.”

Iraq-Israel relations

Iraq and Israel have been at war ever since the Jewish state was formed in 1948. However, their relationship hit rock bottom after Baghdad, without any provocation fired 42 scud missiles on Israel during the Gulf War in 1991. While the aim was to prompt Israeli participation in the conflict, the Zionists stopped short of retaliation following a request from the US. Iraq has not yet formally recognised the Israeli state to date. 

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