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Iraqi writer and researcher Ghaith Al-Tamimi said in a June 5, 2026 interview with Mohanned Majeed on YouTube that Iraq's national security should not depend on whether Israel and Gaza are at war or at peace. He argued that Iraq's national security has nothing to do with Gaza or Tehran and questioned why Palestine is considered the foremost cause of Arabs and Muslims. Asking whether Palestine is more important than Baghdad, he said that Iraqis are often looked down upon while being expected to sacrifice for the Palestinian cause.
Al-Tamimi asked why Iraqis should die for Gaza or why Lebanon should be destroyed because of Gaza, adding: "Just explain it to me. Why are the Palestinians better than me?" He said that Palestinians are not better than he is and that he would not sacrifice himself for them because their cause is not his cause. He further argued that conflicts in Syria, Sudan, and Yemen have not generated the same global mobilization as the war between Israel and Gaza, which he said has united groups ranging from the global left, Christians, liberals, and nationalists to Salafis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and supporters of Iran's doctrine of the Rule of the Jurisprudent.
Ghaith Al-Tamimi: "You cannot establish a state without a clear notion of its national security. You cannot say: We have a secure and stable state, but our national security is dependent on some people in Gaza and Israel. If they reconcile between themselves, we could calm down, but if they continue to fight, our national security will go down the drain.
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"You should have national security on our own land. It has nothing to do with Gaza or Tehran.
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"Our security depends on Gaza. Unless Israel and Gaza reach some understanding, the Arab countries' security will remain hanging in mid air. Why is Palestine the number-one cause of the Arabs and Muslims? Is it better than Baghdad?! Palestine?!
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"Who called it 'Palestine?' The British colonizers. They established this colony in 1920, and called it 'Palestine.' And you are looking down on us Iraqis? Seriously? And this Gaza of yours is better than Baghdad and Damascus?! I'm supposed to die for Gaza?! Why? Why? Make me understand.
"Why should Lebanon be destroyed? How exactly is Gaza better than Beirut? How is it better than Damascus, Baghdad, or Jordan? Just explain it to me. Why are the Palestinians better than me?
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"No! They are not better than me, and I am not going to sacrifice myself for them! I have nothing to do with them. This is not my cause. Full stop! You can call me an infidel right now. Enough! We've been fighting wars for 100 years. And for what? A pure fantasy.
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"There are a million causes in the world worthy of sympathy, including the cause of the Palestinian people. Why when the Sudanese people die in hunger and war nobody cares? The Yemeni people suffer diseases and hunger, and are humiliated and slaughtered in the streets.
"For 12-13 years, the Syrian people suffered a genocide by barrel bombs, and everybody was as relaxed as ever. But when it comes to Israel and Gaza, demonstrations break out from the end of the West to the corner of the East.
"The global left unities with the Christians, the nationalist movements, the liberal and democratic movements, the homosexuals with the Salafis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the supporters of the Rule of the Jurisprudent. Can you imagine it? A joint demonstration in Baghdad of the homosexuals and Iran's supporters?"
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