Netanyahu Expresses Support For Kurdish Independence

With an eye on developments in Iraq, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed open support Sunday for Kurdish independence.

In a policy address in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said that among the challenges facing Israel was the need to build cooperation with moderate countries in the region to help fend off the threat posed by extremists such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

He said Israel must back efforts to support Jordan, which borders both Syria and Iraq, so that the insurgency doesn't spread there.

"It is upon us to support the international efforts to strengthen Jordan, and support the Kurds' aspiration for independence," Netanyahu said. The Kurds, he said, are a "fighting people that have proven political commitment and political moderation, and they're also worthy of their own political independence."

He did not specify whether he meant only Iraqi Kurds, or Kurds living across a broad stretch of the region in countries including Iran, Syria and Turkey. Those countries, as well as Iraq, have long opposed creation of a Kurdish state including territory now within their borders.

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http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-netanyahu-israel-iraq-kurdistan-20140629-story.html