Iraqi Kurdistan–Palestine relations

Iraqi Kurdistan–Palestine relations

Iraqi Kurdistan	Palestine

Iraqi Kurdistan–Palestine relations (Arabic: علاقات فلسطين وكردستان‎‎; Kurdish: کوردستان-فه‌له‌ستین عه‌لاقات‎) covers the diplomatic, political, and cultural relations between the semi-autonomous Region of Iraqi Kurdistan with the Palestinian Authority (1994–2012) and the State of Palestine.

The Palestinian Authority has had a diplomatic representation in Iraqi Kurdistan via a General Consulate, and is one of the first Arab governments to have relations with Kurdistan. The president of Kurdistan described the opening of the consulate as "an historical day for the two brotherly and persecuted nations." Ambassador Khudhouri commented "And here today, we are opening this consulate to continue our historical relations."

Political relations

The Palestinian Authority opened its general consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan on 29 November 2011 in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. Masoud Barzani, President of Iraqi Kurdistan, expressed his hope the that the Palestinian General Consulate will lead to more cooperation and visits with the Arab world. Mahmoud Abbas is the first Arab leader to visit Iraqi Kurdistan, and Nadhmi Khudhouri, the Ambassador of Kurdistan, described the opening of the consulate as a "great achievement" for the Palestinian people. The ambassador also said about Israel: "It is only propaganda, those who claim that Kurdistan region has relation with Israel. What I feel here is that Kurds support Palestine."

Cultural relations

In April 2012, the Iraqi Kurdish national football team was invited to participate in the 2012 Palestine International Cup. KFF held an emergency meeting and eventually decided to let the team participate. Salam Hussein, KFF Secretary said "We finally decided to let the team participate in the Palestine competition after we found out that the competition will not coincide with the VIVA World Cup,"