Chalabi aide suspended for Israel visit
An aide to controversial Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi has been suspended from his Iraqi National Congress party for visiting Israel, said a party spokesman.
“Midhat al-Alusi has been suspended because of his trip in Israel,” said Haydar al-Musawi on Monday.
In a statement, the party said: “Al-Alusi’s visit took place without the knowledge or agreement of the political leadership”, adding that his statements to the (Israeli) press did not reflect the party’s position.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Monday quoted al-Alusi as telling it: “Many intellectuals in Iraq know that Israel must be taken into account as an existing fact and that generations of people have been born here.”
Diplomatic relations
“It is in Iraq‘s interest to have diplomatic relations with everyone, and that is what we want,” al-Alusi was quoted as saying.
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“Only an elected government of Iraq will have the right to announce on behalf of Iraqis its stance on this and any other issue” Haydar al-Musawi, |
Earlier, when asked by Aljazeera about the visit of Midhat al-Alusi to Israel, Haydar al-Musawi said, “We have only heard about the visit from the Israeli media. The visit has not been approved or authorised by the INC.”
The INC officially announced it had no information about the visit and formed a committee to interrogate al-Alusi when he arrives in Baghdad to inquire about the circumstances surrounding the visit, reported our correspondent.
On who had authorised al-Alusi to say that most Iraqis wanted to normalise relations with Israel, al-Musawi said, “This is what al-Alusi will explain to the committee when it meets in Baghdad.”
“Only an elected government of Iraq will have the right to announce on behalf of Iraqis its stance on this and any other issue,” al-Musawi said.