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On January 9, 2023, the official media office of Qais Al-Khazali, Secretary-General of the Iran-backed Iraqi 'Asaib Ahl Al-Haq militia, reported that on the same day, in his office in Baghdad, Al-Khazali met with Major General Jibril Rajoub, an emissary from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Rajoub is Secretary General of the Fatah Central Committee and Head of the PLO Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs.[1]
The statement from Qais Al-Khazali's official media office contains the following report:
The meeting covered bilateral relations between "the two sibling nations" and "the most important political issues concerning the region." Rajoub praised the Iraqi government for supporting the Palestinian cause and "rejecting normalization and normalizers with the Zionist enemy, despite immense pressure exerted by "organizations, governments, and states" to advance such normalization. Khazali reiterated his support for the Palestinian cause and people to "confront Zionist hubris and insolence," referring to their cause as an "existential issue that cannot be renounced."
The Telegram channel belonging to Al-Khazali's office, as well as Telegram channels linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq published photographs of the meeting.
It should be noted that Al-Khazali's staunch positions in support of the Palestinian struggle against Israel are well-known, and in the past he has declared that the liberation of Iraq from American occupation is a step toward liberating Jerusalem.[2] Furthermore, he has also previously expressed "total willingness to provide whatever is necessary for the continuation of the courageous Palestinian resistance until the total disappearance of the oppressive entity from our region."[3]
[1] Telegram, January 9, 2023.
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