Iraq vs. Israel

1973 - ongoing by 2011

Core issue: Non-recognition of Israel as an independent state by Iraq

Type of conflict ending: Conflict ongoing by 2011

Iraq participated with other Arab countries in the war against the newly created state of Israel during the Arab-Israeli War in 1948. Iraq was the only Arab country that did not sign the ceasefire agreement which ended violent hostilities in 1949. Technically, both countries are thus still in a state of war and they have not established diplomatic relations. Iraq does not recognize the independent Israeli state; hence the core issue has not yet been resolved.

After the Arab-Israeli War, Israel allied with Iran in 1950 which had its own rivalry with Iraq. To further balance against the Iraqi government, Israel supported the Kurdish minority in Iraq. The alliance with the Iranian Shah lasted until his overthrow in 1979.  During period from 1950 to 1979, Iraq took part in both major wars (1967 and 1973) against Israel but was defeated twice.

With the takeover of power by the nationalistic Ba'ath Party in Iraq in 1968, Iraq began to pursue more expansionist policies. Leading member of the Ba'ath Party, and later President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, sought to achieve regional hegemony in the Middle East. This endeavor was bolstered by the increase in oil prices in the 1970s which allowed the Iraqi government to invest more in its army and petrochemical industry, thereby accelerating an arms race with Israel. After the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt was signed in 1979, Iraq assumed a leading role within the Arab world.

Israel considered Iraq under Saddam Hussein's rule as a major security threat. Israel destroyed the Osirak nuclear facility with an airstrike in 1981 due to fear of development of nuclear weapons by the Iraqi regime. Iraq did not retaliate, as it was focused on the Iran-Iraq War at that time. During the Gulf War in 1991, Iraq attacked Israeli territory with Scud missiles. As of 2011, neither country had resolved the core issue regarding the existence of the Israeli state. It is strongly contested by the Iraqi state despite the toppling of Saddam Hussein and his government in 2003. Since 1949, both countries were embedded in mutual hostile relations which occasionally led to violent militarized interstate disputes.

Sources

Cole, Juan, 2009. "Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in the Twentieth Century", Macalester International, Vol. 23, 3-23.

Cook, Jonathan, 2008. Israel and the Clash of Civilisations Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East, London: Pluto Books.

Cooley, J.K., 2005. An Alliance Against Babylon: The U.S., Israel, and Iraq. London: Pluto Press.

Lewis, O. and K. Liffey, 2010. "TIMELINE: U.S.-Israeli relations since 1948", Reuters, March 15. Accessed  October 2019; https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-israel-usa-timeline/timeline-u-s-israeli-relations-since-1948-idUSTRE62E45Z20100315

Luis, W.R. and A. Shlaim, 2012. The 1967 Arab-Israeli War: Origins and Consequences, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Neff, Donald, 1991. "The U.S., Iraq, Israel, and Iran: Backdrop to War", Journal of Palestine Studies, 20 (4), 23-41.

"UCDP - Uppsala Conflict Data Program: Israel: Palestine", 2019. Accessed 5 October 2019 < https://ucdp.uu.se/#conflict/234>