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Former Iraqi MP Mithal Al-Alusi said in an April 21, 2019 interview on Asia TV (Iraq) that he has no problem visiting Israel and putting “an end to the great Arab and Islamist lie" surrounding Jerusalem, which he said he does not view as an Arab capital plundered by the Zionist entity. He said that he is more concerned with helping Iraqis and with Iraq's food security, which he said would improve if he traveled to Israel and built a "bridge between the half-a-million Iraqi Jews and Iraq." He said: "Whether Israel is a plunderer or not is none of my business… Let [the Palestinians] sort this out themselves." Al-Alusi said that he won't sell Iraq out for the sake of "lying Palestinian mercenaries" like Yasser Arafat, and he pointed out that Palestinian ministers live in prosperity. Al-Alusi asserted that Israel is a legitimate state.
Following are excerpts:
Mithal Al-Alusi: Why shouldn't I travel to Israel, and put an end to the great Arab and Islamist lie? Jerusalem! Saddam formed the Quds Army and the Iranian regime has one, too… I'd like to know who is peddling Jerusalem. Enough with the peddling, already… I am interested in the Iraqis from Basra, from Karbala, from Al-Anbar…
Interviewer: So Jerusalem is not in your conscience and on your mind as an Arab capital plundered by an occupying Israeli-Zionist entity?
Mithal Al-Alusi: Not at all.
Interviewer: Ahh…
Mithal Al-Alusi: Of course. Not at all.
[…]
What I care about is how to help the Iraqi pensioners live in dignity, and how to help Iraqi farmers have good crops of tomatoes and cucumbers. I am interested in Iraq's food security…
Interviewer: And all those things would improve if you traveled to Israel?
Mithal Al-Alusi: Allah willing! Allah willing, I will be one of the pioneers who will build the bridge between the half-a-million Iraqi Jews and Iraq.
[…]
Iraq's greatness lies in its civilization. Isn't that what we always say? Is it only Arab-Islamic civilization? No, it is the civilization of all the different groups.
Interviewer: You say in the media that the Israeli entity is not plundering, and that you may visit it…
Mithal Al-Alusi: Whether Israel is a plunderer or not is none of my business. That concerns the Palestinians. Let them sort this out themselves. I will never be one of those Iraqis who sell out their own people, their livelihood, and their food security for the sake of some lying Palestinian mercenaries like Yasser Arafat, may Allah have mercy on the dead.
Interviewer: Really?
Mithal Al-Alusi: Of course! Are we that naïve? Palestinian ministers live in prosperity and affluence. They own farms and castles in Paris and in…
Interviewer: Would you normalize relations with Israel and open an Israeli embassy in Iraq?
Mithal Al-Alusi: I will do whatever is dictated by the interests of the Iraqi state.
[…]
Israel is a [legitimate] country. Period!
Interviewer: Is it?
Mithal Al-Alusi: Of course! With whom does Mahmoud Abbas talk? With whom did Arafat talk?
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