Israeli minister calls for independent Kurdistan

Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has called for the establishment of an independent Kurdish state, Israel’s Yediot Ahronot newspaper reported.

“We must openly call for the establishment of a Kurdish state that separates Iran from Turkey, one which will be friendly towards Israel,” Shaked said at the annual INSS security conference in Tel Aviv.

“We are witnessing the disintegration of nation-states. We Kurds and Jews have a long history. We have common interests in trying to stop the Islamic State. The Kurds are fighting Daesh with all their might,” she added.

Shaked stressed the need for Israel to build cultural, economic and political relations with the Kurds in Iraq and Turkey.

The minister said that Israel explicitly declares its support for “the aspirations of the Kurdish people in the autonomous territories in northern Syria and Iraq”, adding that “the Kurdish people are partners with the Israeli people”.