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On October 1, Abu Ala al-Walai, Commander of the Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada faction of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), said that the PMU is ready to retaliate against Israeli attacks.
Al-Walai said that Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi’s confirmation of Israel’s responsibility for a string of attacks on positions of the PMU makes retaliation legitimate.
On September 30, Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi said in an interview with the al-Jazeera TV network that “investigations into the targeting of some Popular Mobilization Forces positions indicate that Israel carried it out.”
Mahdi said that “many indicators show that no one wants war in the region except for Israel.”
عاجل | رئيس وزراء #العراق للجزيرة: الكثير من المؤشرات تدل على ألا أحد يريد حربا في المنطقة باستثناء إسرائيل
— الجزيرة – عاجل (@AJABreaking) September 30, 2019
Second-in-Command of Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada Ahmed al-Maksousi told al-Araby al-Jadeed media outlet that the PMU was “aware for more than a month that the report compiled by the commission of inquiry on the bombing of the PMU positions proved the Zionist regime’s involvement, especially since Americans told Abdel-Mahdi that Israel was behind these strikes.”
Al-Maksousi also called on the Iraqi government and parliament to “explore diplomatic channels and submit complaints to the Security Council, the United Nations and even international tribunals about the bombings. Different Iraqi factions are going to hold a meeting in the capital Baghdad within the next two days.”
It’s unlikely that the ‘diplomatic efforts’ may lead to any real progress in preventing Israeli attacks on the PMU if these attacks really take place. Therefore, the PMU will need adopt more direct measures to repel them.
