Major repercussions began in Palestine nearly a year ago, marking the transition to a new phase in the region, the head of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Faleh al-Fayyad, pointed out on Friday.

During his participation in the security forum for the dignitaries and tribal sheikhs of Nineveh, al-Fayyad stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "sought to expand the conflict in order to relieve the pressure on the Zionist entity due to its ongoing aggression."

Al-Fayyad pointed out that October 7, 2023, shattered all dreams of normalization with the Israeli occupation entity, prompting the enemy to adopt actions "that exceeded all standards."

He said the real battle is between the Ummah and its enemies, who are seizing the land and trying to change the consciousness of its peoples.

He asserted that the Western world has gone beyond all considerations in defending "Israel", stressing that these developments concern all the free people of the world.

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Iraq has to protect itself

Touching on the situation in Syria, al-Fayyad indicated that the Syrian crisis is an internal matter, but not when it involves terrorist groups whose recent crimes are still remembered.

"Although Iraq is not a party to the crisis, it has to protect itself in light of what is happening in a neighboring country, and Syria represents our vital security area that cannot be separated from Iraq, and anyone who says otherwise is delusional," he said.

"Iraq cannot turn a blind eye when terrorist groups dominate Syria,” he underlined, pointing out that "Iraq today is different from Iraq in 2014, as is Mosul, and terrorist groups today bear the same names that we fought, and Nineveh is the largest arena that fought ISIS and others."

Al-Fayyad remarked that the promotion of ISIS and other terrorist organizations was presented under the guise of "fighting for the Sunnis," while the group's terrorism did not distinguish anyone, "even among our own Sunni people."

He explained that "these extremist groups do not recognize the existence of the other and disregard all values," expressing confidence that "the people of Mosul are the most committed to Iraq's security."

Al-Fayyad also pointed out that the role of security forces is to serve the Iraqi people, and the strength of the PMF stems from the people.

Elsewhere, he underscored that "Iraq has all the capabilities and resources to break the power of anyone who seeks to tamper with its security."

On Thursday, al-Fayyad affirmed from the western Nineveh operations area (northern Iraq) that the security readiness at the Iraqi-Syrian border had been heightened, assuring full preparedness by the PMF and Iraqi security forces to confront terrorist groups.

Al-Fayyad had previously pointed out that the situation in Syria has direct repercussions on Iraq's national security.

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