Former Iraqi MP Mithal Al-Alusi: Palestinian Rights Should Not Come At The Expense Of The Iraqi People; The Streets Of Gaza Are More Beautiful Than Those Of Baghdad; Hamas Leaders Live A Life of Luxury, While We Are Being Slaughtered

Former Iraqi MP Mithal Al-Alusi said that the Palestinian rights should not come at the expense of the Iraqi people and that the "the Palestinians live a life of luxury, while we in Iraq are slaughtered." He made his remarks in an interview that aired on Sharqiya TV (Iraq) on July 13, 2021. Al-Alusi said that the Iraqi budget is paid to the "resistance" and their leaders live like princes, just like Hamas leaders live like princes. He added that there is no difference between the Islamists in Iraq and the Islamists in Gaza. Al-Alusi was asked by the interviewer whether normalization with Israel would solve the crises in Iraq, to which he replied that Iraqis care about their country and their people. He said that not all of the Iraqi people agree with him, although all of the Iraqi politicians agree with this "under the table."

Mithal Al-Alusi: "We, Iraqis, do not talk about the [Islamic] nation, the world, and humanity. We care about our citizens, our daughters, our sons, and our families. We care about providing bread, quality education, and employment, and ensuring the safety of the Iraqi citizens in their own homes. I am not interested in seeing on your TV channel how the streets of Gaza are more developed and more beautiful than the streets of Baghdad. This is unacceptable.

"I am not interested in seeing that the illiteracy rate in the West Bank and Gaza is at 4%, while in our country, unfortunately, it reaches 40%. I do not want to see Iraq's budget, the money of my sons, of my daughters, and of the good families of Iraq, paid to the resistance, which is all a lie. They are all 'princes' there. Did you know that the leaders of Hamas are princes and live like princes? What is the difference between the Islamists here and the Islamists there? There is no difference. It is the same corruption, the same institutions, and even the same executive authority. Iraqis, Europeans, South Americans – everybody wants freedom and rights for the people. No one denies the rights of the Palestinian people. But do I have to pay the price of this alleged right and the great peddling of it? They live a life of luxury, while we, in Iraq, are slaughtered."

[...]

Interviewer: "I'm talking about, at the very least, taking the feelings of our Palestinian brothers into consideration...

Al-Alusi: "Feelings? What feelings are you talking about? Our girls are being slaughtered in the streets, families are dying, people are unstable because of electricity problem, hunger, despair, and disease, and you are talking about feelings? What feelings?"

Interviewer: "Will normalization [with Israel] resolve these crises?"

Al-Alusi: "The crises of all of humanity do not interest me personally, nor are we in Iraq interested in the crises of the entire planet. We care about our country and our people. The concept of sovereignty is to have responsibility for your own people. Do the Iraqis agree with my opinion? Not necessarily. But among the politicians, there are two sets of opinions – over the table and under the table. Under the table, they all say that I am right. Over the table, we are getting into emotions, dreams, and lies. In the current Israeli government there are four Iraqi ministers. What would you call them? Are they Iraqis or not?"

Interviewer: "They are Iraqi women."

Al-Alusi: "Four Iraqi women serve as ministers in the Israeli government.

[…]

"What interests me is why should I fight and for whom? If Hassan Nasrallah wants to fight, where was he in the recent conflict between Gaza and Israel? After all, he has 150,000 rockets. All that Hassan Nasrallah and the great Hizbullah did was to say they were here. What does it mean? In addition, if you want a Palestinian state, go and establish one."