Ismail Haniyeh's comments

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh today called on the Iraqis to unite, appealing for an end to sectarian bloodshed in the country. "We call for our brothers in Iraq to unite Iraq, and to unite the Iraqi people and to stop the shedding of Iraqi blood". He also said "We have almost 20,000 Palestinians living in Iraq facing assassinations, killings and kidnapping".

Zakaria al-Agha, head of refugee affairs for the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, said about 520 Palestinians in Iraq had disappeared over the past three years. Some were later found killed, with torture marks on their bodies, he added, “Who ever speaks the Palestinian accent in Baghdad is snatched and killed."