Iraq PM Pays Respects to Hashemi's Family, Calls Him 'Hero'

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi pays his respects to the family of slain scholar and government advisor Hisham al-Hashemi in Baghdad's Zayouna district, hugging his sons | AFP
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi pays his respects to the family of slain scholar and government advisor Hisham al-Hashemi in Baghdad's Zayouna district, hugging his sons | AFP
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Iraq PM Pays Respects to Hashemi's Family, Calls Him 'Hero'

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi pays his respects to the family of slain scholar and government advisor Hisham al-Hashemi in Baghdad's Zayouna district, hugging his sons | AFP
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi pays his respects to the family of slain scholar and government advisor Hisham al-Hashemi in Baghdad's Zayouna district, hugging his sons | AFP

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi paid his respects on Wednesday to the family of slain scholar and government advisor Hisham al-Hashemi, pledging to "avenge" his death.

Hashemi, 47, was a specialist in militant movements and had developed a vast network of top decision-makers, armed groups, and rival parties, often mediating among them.

He was shot dead outside his Baghdad home on Monday night by gunmen on motorcycles, leaving behind a wife, three sons, and a daughter.

On Wednesday, Kadhimi paid his respects to the family, calling Hashemi -- a personal friend and advisor -- a "hero".

"Those afraid of a word can only be described as cowards. Hisham did nothing but try to help Iraqis through his words," said Kadhimi, hugging the deceased's tearful three sons Issa, Moussa, and Ahmed.

Their names translate in Arabic to Jesus, Moses, and another name for the Prophet Mohammed.

The three boys had rushed outside their home on Monday after hearing gunshots and helped neighbors pull their father's bullet-riddled body from his car.

"This behavior is not Iraqi. Iraqis don't kill Iraqis," Kadhimi said.

"I will avenge him, and God willing his killers will not go free. I am your brother, and Issa, Moussa, and Ahmed are my children," the premier told Hashemi's widow.

"This is my duty and the state's duty," he added.

Hashemi was a renowned researcher on the Islamic State group and had more recently become outspoken against rogue armed actors in Iraq.

He was no stranger to intimidation efforts, but those close to him told AFP he had received more serious threats from Iran-backed groups in recent weeks.

Experts have voiced fear that Hashemi's killing would usher in a dark era in which prominent voices critical of political parties and armed groups would be violently silenced.

Already, there has been no accountability for more than 550 people killed in protest-related violence since October, when mass rallies slammed Iraq's government as corrupt, inept, and beholden to neighboring Iran.

Among them are around two dozen activists who were shot dead, often by masked assailants on motorcycles.



Israel Closes 6 UN Schools for Palestinians in East Jerusalem

Palestinian schoolgirls leave a UNWRA school in the Shoafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem on May 8, 2025, as Israeli security forces reportedly prepare to close the school. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
Palestinian schoolgirls leave a UNWRA school in the Shoafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem on May 8, 2025, as Israeli security forces reportedly prepare to close the school. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
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Israel Closes 6 UN Schools for Palestinians in East Jerusalem

Palestinian schoolgirls leave a UNWRA school in the Shoafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem on May 8, 2025, as Israeli security forces reportedly prepare to close the school. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
Palestinian schoolgirls leave a UNWRA school in the Shoafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem on May 8, 2025, as Israeli security forces reportedly prepare to close the school. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)

Israel permanently closed six UN schools in east Jerusalem on Thursday, forcing Palestinian students to leave early and throwing the education of more than 800 others into question.

Last month, heavily armed Israeli police and Education Ministry officials ordered six schools in east Jerusalem to close within 30 days, which ended on Wednesday. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, runs the six schools. UNRWA also runs schools in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which continue to operate, The Associated Press reported.

The closure orders come after Israel banned UNRWA from operating on its soil earlier this year, the culmination of a long campaign against the agency that intensified following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel that ignited the war in Gaza. Israel claims that UNRWA schools teach antisemitic content and anti-Israel sentiment, which UNRWA denies.

UNRWA is the main provider of education and health care to Palestinian refugees across east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel has annexed east Jerusalem and considers the entire city its unified capital.

The Israeli Ministry of Education says it will place the students into other Jerusalem schools. But parents, teachers and administrators caution that closing the main schools in east Jerusalem will force their children to go through crowded and dangerous checkpoints daily, and some do not have the correct permits to pass through.

In a previous statement to The Associated Press, the Ministry of Education said it was closing the schools because they were operating without a license. UNRWA administrators pledged to keep the schools open for as long as possible.