Iraq slams Israel’s “nation-state” law, says not recognizing Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his speech to the UN General Assembly
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq has slammed a recently approved law by Israeli lawmakers which proclaims Israel as an exclusively Jewish state, saying it feeds racism.
In a statement released on Monday, the Iraqi foreign ministry said the “nation-state” law “entrenches racism and undermines whatever hope left for the peace process and the Palestinian cause”.
The ministry stressed it “does not recognize the Zionist entity and the illegitimate Knesset from which that law emerged”, adding that the law violates all international conventions regarding settlement activity.
The law, passed last week, gives Jews an exclusive right to self-determination, a provision which the Arab minority, which accounts for nearly 20 percent of the population, deemed racist. It also removes Arabic from the state’s list of official languages, only giving it a special status.The approval of the law came through a narrow majority of votes and had witnessed intense debates among Knesset members.
The legislation comes only two months after Israel marked the 70th anniversary of its establishment, and the U.S. decision to relocate its embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move which sparked an Arab and Palestinian uproar and ignited clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces.