People who have first-hand experience in Israeli support and their support for independence have the following to say:

Mardean Isaac cited Kamal Chomani, a nonresident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for the Middle East Policy, “a prominent and articulate critic of human rights abuses and political oppression in the KRG.” He is from Erbil and now based in Hamburg:

“Barzani and the KDP [Kurdistan Democratic Party] have used Israel’s rhetoric to further persecute Kurds, stifling political dissent and voices critical of the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government – Iraq]. Israel should have approached the Kurds as a nation—and not just certain parties and families who do not have much support among the Kurdish population.”

Israel, at least on the surface supports Kurdistan independence as part of a humanitarian justification, but in all reality, it is simply to receive oil, since Iraq is officially an enemy state.

“There is no Kurdistan: They aren’t an entity that you can trade with separately,” Yifa Segal, of the International Legal Forum, explained. “But it’s not unprecedented to create a legal framework that distinguishes between a state and a particular part of it. Legally, it’s a very simple amendment to make: You just define Kurdistan in a way that it’s clear enough technically. It will open up a whole different possibility regarding trade.” It remains unclear, of course, what practical difference the legislation would make given from the KRG’s end, given that it remains part of a country that does not recognize Israel.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has been described as a tribal, feudalistic, and aristocratic party which is controlled by the Barzani tribe. Israel’s leadership has little care for any of that, as long as it manages to receive its oil, under the pretense of humanitarian care and assistance. The official version of support being provided is to combat terrorism, Islamism and extremism.