At a rally in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Sunni leaders and former generals of the Iraqi army called for the country to join the so-called Abraham Accords between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

The conference, which was broadcast live on several social networks, featured, among others, Chemi Peres, the son of former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres; he gave a speech in Hebrew, wherein he called for the normalization of ties between the two countries.

“From the day this government took office, our goal has been to expand the Abrahamic Accords. The event in Iraq inspires hope for places we hadn’t thought of before,” Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said in response to the event.

“We and Iraq have a common history and roots in the Jewish community, and wherever they contact us we will do anything to turn back the clock,” he said.

The conference was securitized by the Kurdish security forces.

A few of the speakers linked the call for peace with Israel to the demand for the establishment of a federal government in Iraq.