National Wisdom Movement Says Iraq's Govt. Lacks Credibility

National Wisdom Movement Says Iraq's Govt. Lacks Credibility
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National Wisdom Movement Says Iraq's Govt. Lacks Credibility

National Wisdom Movement Says Iraq's Govt. Lacks Credibility

Iraq's National Wisdom Movement, led by Ammar al-Hakim, issued Monday a shocking and prolonged report, the first since its decision to move to the opposition in June. It revealed in its report that the achievements made by Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s government over six months don’t exceed 38 percent.

It revoked the 79 percent rate mentioned in the report issued by the government end of June, covering the period since Abdul Mahdi has taken office in October 2018.

Sources close to the Iraqi government told Asharq Al-Awsat they rule out any response by the government to the recent report issued by the opposition Movement.

While members of the Movement say the report is “in favor of the government and aims at correcting its work rather than criticizing it.”

According to the Movement’s report, a group of experts examined what the government issued on its achievements and concluded that the achievement rate doesn’t exceed 38 percent.

It said the figures announced by the government lack accuracy and credibility and that the percentage of projects implemented is only four percent.

The government’s report also didn’t tackle the relation between the federal government and the Kurdistan region despite its major problems with Baghdad, according to the Movement’s report, which highlighted the pledge made by the government’s plan to solve these issues.

It also noted that “some of the work, considered by the government as achievements in its report, is limited to some maintenance projects, book printing and the preparation of studies.”

The government’s report also attributed service achievements to Abdul Mahdi’s government while they were completed under previous governments.

The opposition Movement’s report, however, tackled the work and achievements of all the ministries and showed that the report issued by the government is baseless, the leader in the National Wisdom Movement, Mohamed Hossam al-Husseini, told Asharq Al-Awsat.



US, Arab Mediators Make Some Progress in Gaza Peace Talks, No Deal Yet

Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
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US, Arab Mediators Make Some Progress in Gaza Peace Talks, No Deal Yet

Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)

US and Arab mediators have made some progress in their efforts to reach a ceasefire accord between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but not enough to seal a deal, Palestinian sources close to the talks said on Thursday.
As talks continued in Qatar, the Israeli military carried out strikes across the enclave, killing at least 17 people, Palestinian medics said.
Qatar, the US and Egypt are making a major push to reach a deal to halt fighting in the 15-month conflict and free remaining hostages held by the Hamas group before President Joe Biden leaves office.
President-elect Donald Trump has warned there will be "hell to pay", if the hostages are not released by his inauguration on Jan. 20.
On Thursday, a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said the absence of a deal so far did not mean the talks were going nowhere and said this was the most serious attempt so far to reach an accord.
"There are extensive negotiations, mediators and negotiators are talking about every word and every detail. There is a breakthrough when it comes to narrowing old existing gaps but there is no deal yet," he told Reuters, without giving further details.
On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Eden Bar-Tal said Israel was fully committed to reaching an agreement to return its hostages from Gaza but faces obstruction from Hamas.
The two sides have been at an impasse for a year over two key issues. Hamas has said it will only free its remaining hostages if Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw all its troops from Gaza. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled and all hostages are free.
SEVERE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
On Thursday, the death toll from Israel's military strikes included eight Palestinians killed in a house in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps, where Israeli forces have operated for more than three months. Nine others, including a father and his three children, died in two separate airstrikes on two houses in central Gaza Strip, health officials said.
There was no Israeli military comment on the two incidents.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in the Gaza war, according to Palestinian health officials. Much of the enclave has been laid waste and most of the territory's 2.1 million people have been displaced multiple times and face acute shortages of food and medicine, humanitarian agencies say.
Israel denies hindering humanitarian relief to Gaza and says it has facilitated the distribution of hundreds of truckloads of food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment to warehouses and shelters over the past week.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. On Wednesday, the Israeli military said troops had recovered the body of Israeli Bedouin hostage Youssef Al-Ziyadna, along with evidence that was still being examined suggesting his son Hamza, taken on the same day, may also be dead.
"We will continue to make every effort to return all of our hostages, the living and the deceased," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.