Kurdistan's Flag on the Walls of Destroyed Homes in Khan Younis: What Is the PKK Doing in Gaza?

One of the Palestinian war correspondents navigating the challenging mission in the Gaza Strip wandered amidst the rubble of the shattered city of Khan Younis, aiming to highlight and document the war crimes of the Israeli Occupation. However, he stumbled upon a different kind of surprise when he documented the presence of a Kurdistan flag on one of the walls of the destroyed Palestinian homes that were invaded by the Israeli army and later withdrew from.

On April 12, 2024, a video captured by the Palestinian correspondent showed the phrase "Free Kurdistan" written in the colors of the Kurdish flag, expressing the Kurdistan Workers' Party or the PKK, classified as a terrorist organization by the Turkish government, the European Union, and the United States.

Another attention-grabbing and intriguing phrase was found, which read "Vamos Avrina," meaning "Let's go to Afrin."

Afrin is a well-known city in northwestern Syria, belonging to the Aleppo Governorate, with a majority Kurdish population, and holds symbolic significance for the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

This raised questions about the presence of this flag in Gaza and the nature of the presence of PKK elements within the Israeli army forces committing unprecedented war crimes in the Strip since October 7, 2023.

The Dream Ally

Israeli relationship with a segment of the Kurds dates back to 1948 when 8,000 Kurdish Jews immigrated to Palestine. Currently, the estimated number of Kurdish Jews in the occupied territories exceeds 600,000, with the largest concentration around the outskirts of Jerusalem. They play a pivotal role in maintaining unofficial cultural and trade relations between "Israel" and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in particular.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly expressed support for the establishment of an independent Kurdish state, stating: "The Kurdish people are a struggling people, and they have demonstrated their political commitment and moderation, and they are worthy of their political independence."

The situation escalated to the extent that the military affairs editor of Maariv, Alon Ben-David, published an article on June 30, 2015, describing the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as "Israel's dream ally."

In the same year (2015), the former deputy head of Mossad, Menahem (Nahik) Navot, revealed in his memoirs that Mossad (the Israeli intelligence and special operations agency) had trained and armed Kurdish fighters under the leadership of Mustafa Barzani.

He mentioned that the Kurds played a central role in assisting "Israel" in the expulsion of Iraqi Jews in late 1969, where they transported Jews from their homes towards the borders with Iran, which was in an undeclared alliance with "Israel" at that time, and then transferred them to the occupied territories.

The Israeli officer detailed in his book titled The Story of a Mossad Man that he was tasked with establishing ties between "Israel" and the Iraqi Kurds since 1969, where they were carefully trained and armed.

Ankara's Disquiet

On September 22, 2023, Haaretz conducted an interview with Frederick Hoff, the first American envoy to Syria after the revolution.

Hoff admitted that the support of "Tel Aviv" for the establishment of a Kurdish state and its assistance in arming elements of the PKK primarily aimed to irritate Turkiye, pointing out the highly advanced relations between "Israel" and the Kurds, especially in Iraqi Kurdistan.

He emphasized that "Israel" provided logistical and intelligence support to the PKK during its confrontation with the Turkish government during its extensive military operations in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, the main stronghold of the PKK.

However, the relationship between the organization and "Israel" has other dimensions of cooperation. On August 24, 2015, the Financial Times reported that "Israel" relies almost entirely on oil imported from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The imports reached approximately 19 million barrels of oil in one year, covering more than 77 percent of the Israeli Occupation's needs at significantly reduced prices.

This is in exchange for support from the Jewish lobby in America for the Kurdish cause, promoting the PKK, and preventing its broader classification as a terrorist organization, according to Turkish efforts.

Kurdistan State

Israeli senior officials have long declared their support for the establishment of a separate state for the Kurds, extending from Iraq to Iran and Turkiye.

On November 6, 2019, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely stated that her country supports the creation of an independent Kurdish state, with its nucleus in northern Iraq, and subsequently extending to Turkiye, Syria, and Iran.

She explicitly stated, "The goal is for Israel to access the strategic depth of those countries through its close strategic relations with the Kurds for decades," which would be achieved with the establishment of an independent state for them.

In May 2006, the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Masoud Barzani, responded to a question during his visit to Kuwait regarding the relationship between the Kurds and Israelis, stating that it is not a crime.

He further added, "If Baghdad establishes diplomatic relations with Israel, we can open a consulate in Erbil," openly displaying his warm relations towards "Israel" on numerous occasions.

2000 Elements

But the striking development is the reports and indications of the alignment of PKK elements alongside units of the Israeli army, which are committing one of the worst war crimes in Gaza.

On November 3, 2023, less than a month after the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the local Turkish newspaper, Turkiye, published its report on the cooperation of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) elements with the Israeli Occupation.

It stated, "Two thousand elements of this organization were sent to the occupied territories in Gaza as mercenaries to fight alongside the Israeli Occupation army.

"An amount of approximately $220 has been allocated for each element, and $25,000 will be paid in compensation to their families in case they are killed or injured in this war.

"Zionist forces fear entering the tunnels dug by the resistance, fearing they may not come out alive, so mercenaries from the Kurdistan Workers' Party were used."

Then followed: "It has been reported that 2000 mercenaries from European countries, Iraq, Syria, and America have arrived in the occupied territories, all under the umbrella of the PKK."

It was noted that PKK elements, who have also obtained Israeli citizenship, were transported by three planes from Erbil to the occupied territories.

These individuals primarily moved from Kobani in northern Syria to northern Iraq and then to Tel Aviv because they were familiar with urban warfare.

This was emphasized by Ayhan Bilgen, former spokesman for the People's Democratic Party, in early December 2023, when he described the Kurds' actions as suicidal. He stated in an interview with Turkish media: "It is clear that they are trying to make the Kurds and Israelis partners. This is a merciless trap.

"The place of the Kurds in this war is with Palestinian resistance, not the opposite."