Israel’s election is captivating the Arab and Muslim world, with analysts dissecting scenarios and candidates—chief among them Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While most regional countries focus primarily on turnout among Israel’s Arab citizens, one nation is ignoring what’s happening across Israel entirely: Iraq.
1+Unlike its neighbors, Iraq’s official news agency hasn’t published a single story mentioning Israel’s election. The country, which recently freed itself from the U.S. and international coalition military presence, chose to deliberately ignore the developments. The reason Iraq may have chosen to ignore the election is the tense situation that emerged recently in the country. Mysterious strikes that destroyed weapons depots and Chinese-made military equipment raised speculation in Baghdad that Israel was responsible—a theory that received no response from Jerusalem.
1+Those claims add to an American report from May that Israel built a secret military base on Iraqi soil before Operation “Lion’s Roar.” The report created major embarrassment for the local government, which tried to explain away the allegation. A senior Iraqi official in the former prime minister’s office spoke with Qatari media and tried to provide answers: “Iraq was subjected to American deception.”