Iraq's Prime Minister calls on Arab states to cut ties with Israel

Middle East News

Jan 7, 2009, 11:42 GMT

Baghdad - Iraq's Prime Minister Wednesday called on all Arab and Muslim countries to cut their ties with Israel, calling the Israeli military attacks on Gaza 'a dreadful crime,' according to a press statement. Nouri al-Maliki said that 'we ask Arab countries and all Muslims to cancel their diplomatic relations and stop all contacts - private and public - with this murderous regime, which continues its painful aggression against peaceful, unarmed civilians.' 'There are disputes worldwide, but to reach this degree of crime, which kills children and women is unacceptable. The international silence is very disturbing to us, we hope the international community and the Security Council would take fast decisions, clear and explicit to stop the massacres against the Palestinian people,' he added. The Premier's statements came a day after Israeli attacks on three schools run by the United Nations in the Gaza Strip, including one that killed more than 46 civilians. Since Israel began operations on Gaza more than 10 days ago some 680 Palestinians have been killed. Iraq, where a US-led invasion overthrew former President Saddam Hussein in 2003, has no diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab states to sign peace deals with Israel. Both came under strong Arab pressure to do more to prevent Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Your Talkback on this Story

Note posts made on our older Talkback system will still show below. However, new posts can only be made via the new system (above). We will export the old comments to the new shortly. You can still comment as a guest on the new system but it also allows you to login using various social network and other accounts.

Other features coming soon.

Talkback

page: 1

lanceJan 7th, 2009 - 11:58:55

@*&$#

Who the hell do they think they are? They are not a sovereign nation. They are a democracy. That means they can elect a president as long as it is agreeable with the U.S. and they can set policies as long as the U.S. signs off on it first. And like any democracy, if they do not obey and elect the right guy then they are a terrorist organization.

Report this comment

page: 1

Middle East

Iraq's Prime Minister calls on Arab states to cut ties with Israel

Middle East News

Your Talkback on this Story

Talkback

Latest Headlines in Middle East

From Sites We Like

Latest PopEater News

Latest Cinema Blend News

Latest Tech Herald News

In Monsters and Critics

Corporate

The Fine Print