Iraqi parliament urges 'unified Arab response' to support Palestine's Gaza Strip

On Sunday, 15 October, the Iraqi parliament harshly condemned Israel's new war on the besieged Gaza Strip, calling for an emergency session of the League of the Arab Parliaments to be held in Baghdad to support the people of Palestine. 

As Israel's war on Palestine's besieged Gaza Strip entered its ninth day, Israeli air strikes killed over 2,450 Palestinians, including hundreds of women and children, so far. Entire Gaza city blocks lie in ruins, and hospitals overflow with thousands of wounded civilians.

Further concern increased in Iraq over a more expansive humanitarian crisis in Gaza after Israel announced it has cut off water, food, and power, vowing to maintain the complete siege until all hostages are freed.

"The House of Representatives addressed the situation in Gaza, condemning the policies of the occupying Zionist entity, expressing support for the Palestinian people's right to defend their land and their rights, and calling on the Iraqi government to take actions to assist and aid the Palestinian people," reads a statement by the Iraqi parliament. 

A Palestinian mother says goodbye to her murdered children#IsraelTerrorists #GazaUnderAttack #Gazagenocide #Israel #Hamas #PalestineGenocide #Palestine pic.twitter.com/476K9bbGci

— Adam (@FallenXRPAngel) October 16, 2023

"The parliament also called for an emergency session of the League of the Arab Parliaments in Baghdad to have a unified stance in alignment with the will of the Arab peoples," it continued. 

The parliament reiterated Iraq's steadfast support for the Palestinian cause and the rights of the Palestinian people to establish their state with full sovereignty over their lands. 

The assembly also emphasised the need for the United Nations to take immediate action to open humanitarian aid routes to the Palestinian people. It also called upon the UN's Security Council to take responsibility for halting the escalation, killings, and displacement against the Palestinian people. 

Furthermore, it urges opening official channels for governmental and non-governmental contributions to support the Palestinian people.

On his part, the First Deputy Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Mohsen al-Mandalawi, emphasised today that the international community's silence regarding the acts of genocide against Palestinian children and women is a stain on the forehead of advocates for humanity.

Iraqis held vast demonstrations on Friday to support the people of Gaza and Palestine. Meanwhile, students at the American University in Baghdad defy a ban on Palestinian keffiyehs set by the university's administration.

Activists in Iraq have been circulating a leaked decision from an email related to the administration of the American University in Baghdad, which prohibits students from wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh, presumably to avoid any social or political solidarity movements with Palestine within the university's premises.

Moreover, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani, on Thursday, 12 October, directed sending humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip.

"This aid, coordinated with Egyptian authorities, will include medical supplies and essential humanitarian relief for the Palestinian people," according to a statement by government spokesman Bassem Al-Awadi. 

Brigadier Special Forces Yahya Rasul, spokesperson of Iraq's armed forces, announced on Sunday that they will begin receiving humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people. 

Egypt controls the Rafah border crossing, the only passage in and out of the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel, which has been closed since Tuesday after three Israeli air strikes on the Palestinian side.

Israel has massed forces outside the long-blockaded enclave of 2.4 million people ahead of what the army has said will be a land, air, and sea attack involving a "significant ground operation".

Palestinians and foreigners have been unable to flee, and aid trucks bound for Gaza have been waiting in El Arish, 50 kilometres (30 miles) away.