Prime Minister Netanyahu says Israel endorses Kurdish independence

Israel becomes the first country to officially endorse Kurdish independence as PM Netanyahu announced that the Jewish State “supports the legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to attain a state of its own.”
• The referendum which takes place in Turkey, Iraq and Iran on Sept. 25, have all three countries opposing the vote.

By the Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel supports Kurdish independence.

The statement, made ahead of a key referendum on the matter set for Sept. 25, said that Israel rejects the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and considers it a terrorist organization, but noted that Israel “supports the legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to attain a state of its own.”

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The referendum will be held in the three governorates that make up the Kurds’ self-ruled region in Iraq, as well as disputed areas that are controlled by Kurdish forces but claimed by Baghdad, including the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Israel has long been sympathetic to the Kurds and has now become the first country to officially endorse them in the vote.

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