DAVOS, Switzerland — Iraq’s prime minister
scoffed Thursday at U.S. efforts to rein in Israel’s
military campaign against Hamas and lay out
long-term plans for a more peaceful Middle East,
noting that Israeli leaders aren’t onboard.
In comments at the World Economic Forum,
Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani dismissed in
particular Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s
more hopeful earlier remarks about how the crisis
playing out in the Gaza Strip could be a chance
to get back on track for a two-state solution to
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Blinken, who was
in Davos on Tuesday and Wednesday, also
stressed that doing so should involve broader
efforts at improving Israel’s ties with Arab
countries that have long shunned it.
“That is nothing new, what Mr. Blinken has said.
Everybody has said the same thing, basically,” Al
Sudani said during a session moderated by
POLITICO Global Editor-in-Chief John Harris.
“What is being said by Blinken is refused by the
Israeli government. Even the post-war scenario is
refused from the Israelis.”
“The international community has failed,” the
Iraqi leader added. “The International
organizations have failed. The international
institutions have failed in this unjustifiable,
unacceptable death that is unraveling before us
in Gaza.”
The remarks underscored the obstacles and
skepticism the United States faces in the Middle
East as it tries to rally countries to help it find a
way out of the Israel-Hamas fight and broader
regional tensions.
Washington is trying to keep the battle from
expanding into a full-blown regional war, but it’s
also urging Israelis and Palestinians to start
planning for post-war scenarios. That includes
the critical question of who will govern Gaza, the
scene of much of the fighting and which was
long controlled by the militants of Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
resisted U.S. plans that call for a reformed
Palestinian Authority to eventually take over
Gaza. The Palestinian Authority governs in parts
of the West Bank, but Netanyahu has long
viewed it as an unacceptable partner.
Since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October
7, killing 1,200 people, the Israeli military
response has killed more than 22,000 in Gaza,
while displacing hundreds of thousands.
Iraq is among the countries affected by the
fallout from the crisis. That’s largely because of
its ties to Iran, a major backer of Hamas and
other militant groups in the region.
U.S. forces based in Iraq have come under fire
from Iranian-backed militias, and have
responded in kind. The U.S. carried out a recent
drone strike that killed an Iranian-backed militia
leader in Baghdad .
That has led Iraq’s government to say it is
looking at ending the U.S. military presence on
its soil, which, as part of an international
coalition, has helped Baghdad battle the Islamic
State militant group.
Al Sudani insisted that at some point the U.S.-
led coalition had to wrap up its role in his
country.
“The sooner we withdraw the coalition, it is a
necessity for the stability, the security of Iraq,”
he said, speaking through a translator.

https://www.politico.eu/article/iraqi-leader-dismisses-us-efforts-in-middle-east/