Iraq opposes independent Kurdish state, or a ‘second Israel’

Leaders from Turkey, Iraq, and Syria denounce the drive for Kurdish self-determination, with Iraq saying it would be a “second Israel.”

As the  Kurdish people, an ethnic minority that inhabits portions of Turkey, Iraq,  Iran, and Syria, among other Middle Eastern countries, fights to establish a nation of its own, they continue to meet opposition from political leaders and religious figures in the Muslim-majority nations in which they live.

On Sunday, the vice president of Iraq decried the creation of an independent Kurdistan, explaining that his nation would not suffer the creation of “a second Israel,” according to AFP. The comment was made after the Jewish state distinguished itself as the only nation that supported a slated Kurdish independence referendum in northern Iraq.

The response in Iraq mirrored previous sentiments in Turkey. The Israeli embassy in Ankara had to be evacuated on Friday due to a demonstration by a Turkish ultra-nationalist party protesting the creation of a “second Israel” in Iraqi Kurdistan, reported Times of Israel.

These responses come on the heels of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments regarding an independent Kurdistan. Specifically, the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement on the heels of the Israeli leader’s historic trip to Latin America. “While Israel rejects terror in any form, it supports the legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to attain a state of its own,” the statement read.

According to various news outlets, Israeli flags have been flown at rallies for Kurdish independence. The Kurds have faced persecution in a number of Middle Eastern countries, including horrific treatment by the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein

By: World Israel News