Iraq: ‘Abadi-Hakim’ Electoral Alliance Collapses

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2015. (AFP Photo/Jim Watson)
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2015. (AFP Photo/Jim Watson)
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Iraq: ‘Abadi-Hakim’ Electoral Alliance Collapses

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2015. (AFP Photo/Jim Watson)
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2015. (AFP Photo/Jim Watson)

The electoral Nasr al-Iraq alliance between Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the Hikma Movement headed by Ammar al-Hakim collapsed over “technical” issues, two weeks after the withdrawal of Popular Mobilization Forces’ al-Fath (Conquest) from a similar alliance with the PM.

A statement issued by the Hikma Movement said: “The Nasr coalition and the Hikma Movement have decided to run in the parliamentary elections in two lists based on a mutual agreement reached between the two parties over technical issues.”

It added that the two sides might set up an alliance following the elections to form a national government that meets “the ambitions and hopes of the Iraqi people.”

Explaining what technical reasons have led to the quick withdrawals from Abadi’s Nasr coalition, an Iraqi politician told Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity: “All parties that signed an electoral pact with Abadi later discovered that joining such alliance will make them lose in the upcoming elections.”

He said that Abadi was not prepared to join the electoral battle, but was forced to announce a list following immense political and even religious pressures.

The source added that parties allied with Abadi realized that the coming victory would only be in the interest of the prime minister.

“Those parties discovered they will fail in the upcoming elections after Abadi placed several conditions on parties wishing to sign an electoral pact with his coalition,” the source said, adding that the prime minister’s “cake does not satisfy all parties.”

On Tuesday, a source said seven parties have already withdrawn from Abadi’s al-Nasr coalition

State of Law Coalition MP Rehab Abouda told Asharq Al-Awsat: “It remains clear there was a rush to join Abadi’s coalition, which includes many parties and entities that have nothing in common except the hope to receive the highest number of parliamentary seats.”



Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces indictment on security charges pending a hearing, Israel's attorney general has said, for allegedly leaking top secret military information during Israel's war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's close adviser, Jonatan Urich, has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which legal authorities began investigating in late 2024.

Netanyahu has described probes against Urich and other aides as politically motivated and on Monday said that Urich had not harmed state security. Urich's attorneys said the charges were baseless and that their client's innocence would be proven beyond doubt, reported Reuters.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a statement late on Sunday that Urich and another aide had extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to German newspaper Bild.

Their intent, she said, was to shape public opinion of Netanyahu and influence the discourse about the slaying of six Israeli hostages by their Palestinian captors in Gaza in late August 2024.

The hostages' deaths sparked mass protests in Israel and outraged hostages' families, who accused Netanyahu of torpedoing ceasefire talks that had faltered in the preceding weeks for political reasons.

Netanyahu vehemently denies this. He has repeatedly said that Hamas was to blame for the talks collapsing, while the group has said it was Israel's fault no deal had been reached.

Four of the six slain hostages had been on the list of more than 30 captives that Hamas was set to free if a ceasefire had been reached, according to a defense official at the time.

The Bild article in question was published days after the hostages were found executed in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. It outlined Hamas' negotiation strategy in the indirect ceasefire talks and largely corresponded with Netanyahu's allegations against the militant group over the deadlock.

Bild said after the investigation was announced that it does not comment on its sources and that its article relied on authentic documents. The newspaper did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

A two-month ceasefire was reached in January this year and included the release of 38 hostages before Israel resumed attacks in Gaza. The sides are presently engaged in indirect negotiations in Doha, aimed at reaching another truce.

In his statement on Monday, Netanyahu said Baharav-Miara's announcement was "appalling" and that its timing raised serious questions.

Netanyahu's government has for months been seeking the dismissal of Baharav-Miara. The attorney general, appointed by the previous government, has sparred with Netanyahu's cabinet over the legality of some of its policies.