WASHINGTON — Iraq's parliament passed a bill on May 26 criminalizing normalization and any cooperation or activities involved with Israel. It received widespread support, with 275 out of 329 lawmakers voting in favor of the law:
- It criminalizes “normalization with the occupying Zionist entity of Palestinian lands” and prevents building any ties or “diplomatic, political, military, economic, cultural and any other types of relations” with Israel.
- Any of the following activities are considered illegal and punishable by the law: traveling to or from Israel, visiting any of its embassies or organizations worldwide, establishing any relations with Israel, normalization with Israel, promoting any Zionist ideas in public or private via participation in conferences or via social media or any other means, affiliation with any Zionist organizations or helping them, and accepting any help or funds from Israel.
- The penalty for such activities is up to a lifetime in prison and/or death.
The law applies to all Iraqis, individuals and state organizations including the president, prime minister, parliament speaker and head of the judiciary. It also applies to Iraqi and foreign media and all companies working in Iraq regardless of citizenship.
