Barham Saleh Rejects Attack on Saudi Arabia

Barham Saleh, Iraq’s president, speaks during the 2019 UN General Assembly. Bloomberg
Barham Saleh, Iraq’s president, speaks during the 2019 UN General Assembly. Bloomberg
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Barham Saleh Rejects Attack on Saudi Arabia

Barham Saleh, Iraq’s president, speaks during the 2019 UN General Assembly. Bloomberg
Barham Saleh, Iraq’s president, speaks during the 2019 UN General Assembly. Bloomberg

Iraqi President Barham Saleh described the targeting of oil and other facilities in Saudi Arabia as a “severely alarming development,” stressing that Iraq’s security was “intricately tied to that of the Gulf.”

Warning that the repercussions of the attack could be “disastrous”, Saleh called for a solution based on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the countries and added that the regional situation was “dangerous and portends catastrophic consequences.”

The Iraqi president was speaking on the second day of the high-level meetings of the 74th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

On the situation in Iraq, he noted that his country was about to embark on important positive endeavors.

“There are positive turns in Iraq which we have not seen previously, with a bright future ahead,” he remarked.

Saleh emphasized that stability in Iraq was “valuable and important”.

“We must not take it lightly. Rather, we must work on entrenching it. And we expect our neighbors and the international community not to make Iraq pay for their own disagreements and conflicts,” he said.

Asserting the importance of the military victory over ISIS, he warned that there were still “terrorist remnants that are trying to reorganize themselves.”

The Iraqi president went on to say that international and regional agreement was important for the continued stability of his country and for combating extremist and terrorist ideologies.

“But the most important task required right now is that of reforms in order to secure good governance for our citizens, to combat corruption and to offer work opportunities for our youth,” he stressed.



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.