Iraqi parliament defers the anti-normalization law to the Iraqi presidency

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi parliament on Monday deferred the law on criminalizing the normalization of ties with Israel to the Iraqi presidency for ratification, according to an official document appended by the signature of the acting secretary-general of the Iraqi parliament, Sirwan Abdullah Ismail.

Last week, 275 lawmakers of the 329-seat Iraqi parliament voted in favor of the law, titled "Criminalizing Normalization and Establishment of Relations with the Zionist Entity."

The law criminalizes activities including traveling to or from Israel, visiting any of its embassies, participation in conferences linked to Israel and promoting Zionist ideas.

The two countries lack diplomatic relations. Iraq has technically been at war with Israel since the Jewish state’s founding in 1948, and Iraqi citizens are barred from visiting Israel.

Violations of the law are punishable by life in prison or even death. The anti-normalization law expands on a 1969 law criminalizing communication with Israel.

The legislation stirred a wave of controversy on the local and international levels. The US State Department said that the new Iraqi law undermines freedom of expression and promotes "an environment of antisemitism."