Iraq–Israel relations
Encyclopedia
Iraq
and Israel
do not have any diplomatic relations. Iraq declared war on the newly established Jewish state
in 1948, since then, relations between the two states have remained hostile at best. Iraqi forces took part in actions against Israel in 1948, 1967, and 1973, as well as firing dozens of Scud
ballistic missiles at Israel during the 1991 Persian Gulf War
(despite Israel not being involved in that war). Israel bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak in 1981.
There are approximately 250,000 to 400,000 Iraqi Jews in Israel, and 34,000 Palestinian refugees in Iraq.
in the 1940s, which crossed from Western Iraq through British ruled Transjordan
to British-ruled Palestine (today's Israel). Upon the 1948 birth of Israel and the immediate eruption of war with Iraq, Transjordan and other Arab
neighbors, this forced the shutdown of the oil line and resulted in the diversion of Iraqi oil through a branchline to Syria
.
Since 1948, Israel and Iraq have been implacable foes. Technically, Baghdad
has been in a continuous state of war with Israel since 1948. It sent armies to fight Israel in 1948 and 1967. Iraq also sent troops to provide back up for Syria's armed forces in the Yom Kippur War
in 1973.
Saddam Hussein was widely revered in Arab nations for his anti-Israel stance and has supported several Palestinian guerrilla and militant organisations, and during the last Palestinian intifada Iraq subsidized families of Palestinian martyrs (including suicide bombers). Military action was taken by Israel when they bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, fearing that Saddam would use it to develop nuclear weapons. Iraq did not respond until during the Persian Gulf war, in 1991, when Hussein's army fired 39 Scud
missiles at Israel. However, Israel did not retaliate and no further action was taken from either sides since.
According to British author Nigel Ashton, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
sent a message to Saddam Hussein through King Hussein of Jordan requesting a meeting between him and Saddam. Rabin hoped peace with Iraq might encourage Iran
and Syria
to do the same. Rabin was assassinated in November, ending the contact between governments. Rabin had previously supervised Operation Bramble Bush
, a failed 1992 plan to assassinate Saddam with Sayeret Matkal
commandos.
, Israeli officials did not push their American counterparts to initiate the war in Iraq. In an interview with Ynet
, Feith stated that "what you heard from the Israelis was not any kind of advocacy of war with Iraq" and that "[w]hat you heard from Israeli officials in private discussions was that they were not really focused on Iraq... [t]hey were much more focused on Iran."
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said in 2004 that Iraq would not reconcile its differences with Israel.
On July 1, 2008, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
shook hands and met briefly with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani
at a conference of Socialist International
in Greece
. Barak and Talabani were both at the conference as representatives of their respective political parties, Labour and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
.
Iraqi MP Mithal al-Alusi
has twice visited Israel; once in 2004 and once in 2008, drawing protest from many in the Iraqi government. He has called for diplomatic relations and military intelligence sharing between Iraq and Israel.
During the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza Conflict, the Iraqi government condemned the attack, stating that: "the Iraqi government demands a halt to the military operations, that civilians’ lives are not unnecessarily exposed to danger and requests that the international community honour its responsibilities and take the required measures to stop the attack". The Dawa Party
of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
called on Islamic countries to cut relations with Israel and end all "secret and public talks" with it.
Also the Iraqi Shia leader Ali al-Sistani, has called for decisive action by Arab and Muslim states for an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza. Though he condemned the operation, he stated that "supporting our brothers only with words is meaningless, considering the big tragedy they are facing."
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
do not have any diplomatic relations. Iraq declared war on the newly established Jewish state
Jewish state
A homeland for the Jewish people was an idea that rose to the fore in the 19th century in the wake of growing anti-Semitism and Jewish assimilation. Jewish emancipation in Europe paved the way for two ideological solutions to the Jewish Question: cultural assimilation, as envisaged by Moses...
in 1948, since then, relations between the two states have remained hostile at best. Iraqi forces took part in actions against Israel in 1948, 1967, and 1973, as well as firing dozens of Scud
Scud
Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...
ballistic missiles at Israel during the 1991 Persian Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
(despite Israel not being involved in that war). Israel bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak in 1981.
There are approximately 250,000 to 400,000 Iraqi Jews in Israel, and 34,000 Palestinian refugees in Iraq.
1948-2003
An oil line was built by the BritishBritish people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
in the 1940s, which crossed from Western Iraq through British ruled Transjordan
Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory in the Southern Levant that was part of the British Mandate of Palestine...
to British-ruled Palestine (today's Israel). Upon the 1948 birth of Israel and the immediate eruption of war with Iraq, Transjordan and other Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
neighbors, this forced the shutdown of the oil line and resulted in the diversion of Iraqi oil through a branchline to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
.
Since 1948, Israel and Iraq have been implacable foes. Technically, Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
has been in a continuous state of war with Israel since 1948. It sent armies to fight Israel in 1948 and 1967. Iraq also sent troops to provide back up for Syria's armed forces in the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
in 1973.
Saddam Hussein was widely revered in Arab nations for his anti-Israel stance and has supported several Palestinian guerrilla and militant organisations, and during the last Palestinian intifada Iraq subsidized families of Palestinian martyrs (including suicide bombers). Military action was taken by Israel when they bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, fearing that Saddam would use it to develop nuclear weapons. Iraq did not respond until during the Persian Gulf war, in 1991, when Hussein's army fired 39 Scud
Scud
Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...
missiles at Israel. However, Israel did not retaliate and no further action was taken from either sides since.
According to British author Nigel Ashton, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
sent a message to Saddam Hussein through King Hussein of Jordan requesting a meeting between him and Saddam. Rabin hoped peace with Iraq might encourage Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
to do the same. Rabin was assassinated in November, ending the contact between governments. Rabin had previously supervised Operation Bramble Bush
Operation Bramble Bush
Operation Bramble Bush was an Israeli plan to assassinate Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 1992. It was described in full in December 2003 by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, though news reports had circulated about the plot since January 1999...
, a failed 1992 plan to assassinate Saddam with Sayeret Matkal
Sayeret Matkal
Sayeret Matkal is a special forces unit of the Israel Defence Forces , which is subordinated to the intelligence directorate Aman. First and foremost a field intelligence-gathering unit, conducting deep reconnaissance behind enemy lines to obtain strategic intelligence, Sayeret Matkal is also...
commandos.
Relations since 2003
In 2003, a US-led coalition of nations (which did not include Israel) toppled Hussein's government in an effort called Operation Iraqi Freedom. According to former US undersecretary of defense Douglas FeithDouglas Feith
Douglas J. Feith served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy for United States President George W. Bush from July 2001 until August 2005. His official responsibilities included the formulation of defense planning guidance and forces policy, United States Department of Defense relations...
, Israeli officials did not push their American counterparts to initiate the war in Iraq. In an interview with Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
, Feith stated that "what you heard from the Israelis was not any kind of advocacy of war with Iraq" and that "[w]hat you heard from Israeli officials in private discussions was that they were not really focused on Iraq... [t]hey were much more focused on Iran."
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said in 2004 that Iraq would not reconcile its differences with Israel.
On July 1, 2008, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
shook hands and met briefly with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani is the sixth and current President of Iraq, a leading Kurdish politician. He is the first non-Arab president of Iraq, although Abdul Kareem Qasim was half Kurdish....
at a conference of Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Barak and Talabani were both at the conference as representatives of their respective political parties, Labour and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is a Kurdish political party in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded on June 1, 1975, by coordinations between Jalal Talabani and Nawshirwan Mustafa...
.
Iraqi MP Mithal al-Alusi
Mithal al-Alusi
Mithal Jamal Hussein Ahmad al-Alusi is an Iraqi politician and the leader of the Democratic Party of the Iraqi Nation. He was elected to the Iraqi Council of Representatives as an independent in the December 2005 election...
has twice visited Israel; once in 2004 and once in 2008, drawing protest from many in the Iraqi government. He has called for diplomatic relations and military intelligence sharing between Iraq and Israel.
During the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza Conflict, the Iraqi government condemned the attack, stating that: "the Iraqi government demands a halt to the military operations, that civilians’ lives are not unnecessarily exposed to danger and requests that the international community honour its responsibilities and take the required measures to stop the attack". The Dawa Party
Islamic Dawa Party
The Islamic Dawa Party or Islamic Call Party is a political party in Iraq. Dawa and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council are two of the main parties in the religious-Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, which won a plurality of seats in both the provisional January 2005 Iraqi election and the longer-term...
of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...
called on Islamic countries to cut relations with Israel and end all "secret and public talks" with it.
Also the Iraqi Shia leader Ali al-Sistani, has called for decisive action by Arab and Muslim states for an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza. Though he condemned the operation, he stated that "supporting our brothers only with words is meaningless, considering the big tragedy they are facing."
See also
- Iraq - Palestine relations
- Iraqi Jews
- Arab-Israeli conflict
- Israeli–Kurdish relations
- International recognition of IsraelInternational recognition of IsraelThe recognition of Israel in the international community remains an outstanding issue of the Arab–Israeli conflict. Pursuant to the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, which provided for the establishment of a Jewish state, Israel declared its independence at midnight on 14 May 1948...