Al-Sudani's appearance at Conference sparks protests over normalization with Israel

Shafaq News/ Dozens of supporters of Iraq's Sadrist movement demonstrated in Nasiriyah, the center of Dhi Qar governorate in southern Iraq, on Saturday to protest against what they described as attempts to "normalize" the Iraqi government's relations with Israel.

The protesters accused the Iraqi government, led by the Framework Coalition, of seeking to organize "normalization" with Israel and expressed concern over the recent appearance of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia'a Al-Sudani, at the same Conference in the "Democracy Delivering Justice for All" session, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which they viewed as an "indirect rapprochement with Israel."

However, a high-ranking government source denied reports of al-Sudani participating in a session with Netanyahu during the summit.

The source clarified that al-Sudani participated in a session that did not include Israel after setting the condition that Israel would not be present.

The source emphasized that Iraq's refusal of normalization only pertains to its presence with Israel in a single activity, such as the World Cup or Olympics, and not to its participation in any international forum where Israel is present.

The Iraqi prime minister's participation was at the official invitation of US President Joe Biden, and leaders and representatives from 115 countries worldwide also participated in the summit.

Iraq and Israel have traditionally been considered enemies due to Iraq's alignment with other Arab states and the wider Muslim world in their opposition to Israel, which they view as an occupying force in Palestine and a threat to regional stability.