Iraqi PM Visits Shrines of Imams Musa al-Kadhim, Abu Hanifa

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visits the shrines of Imams Musa al-Kadhim and Abu Hanifa in Baghdad. (PM's media office)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visits the shrines of Imams Musa al-Kadhim and Abu Hanifa in Baghdad. (PM's media office)
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Iraqi PM Visits Shrines of Imams Musa al-Kadhim, Abu Hanifa

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visits the shrines of Imams Musa al-Kadhim and Abu Hanifa in Baghdad. (PM's media office)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visits the shrines of Imams Musa al-Kadhim and Abu Hanifa in Baghdad. (PM's media office)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi paid a visit on Tuesday to the shrines of Imams Musa al-Kadhim and Abu Hanifa in Baghdad.

The visits are part of “soft” diplomatic and local moves Kadhimi is making to gain the trust of citizens in his government, three months after he was appointed to his position.

A previous move was his reception of a number of Yazidis on the sixth anniversary of a massacre committed by ISIS against the community in Sinjar. The latest of the PM’s gestures was his reception on Monday of a teenager who was the victim of abuse by security forces affiliated with the Interior Ministry.

A statement from his office, said that he visited the shrines, “praying to God that He will protect Iraq and its people.”

Kadhimi also visited the headquarters of the Iraqi Fiqh Council, where he met with several scholars and clerics to discuss general affairs. He underscored the important role played by religious figures in pursuing the interests of the people. He also hailed their role in bolstering societal peace and stability in the country.

The council is among the highest Sunni religious authorities in Iraq and is a reference for several of Iraq’s Sunni community.

The premier also met with Hussein Ismail al-Sadr, one of Baghdad’s most prominent Shiite officials and a major member of the Sadr family.

Kadhimi’s visit was widely praised by the public, given its humanitarian and national motives. His visit to the shrines demonstrates his efforts to bolster national unity and bridge divides caused by years of sectarian violence after the 2003 US invasion.



Arab League Urges UN Security Council to Stop Israeli Assault against Palestinian People

A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Arab League Urges UN Security Council to Stop Israeli Assault against Palestinian People

A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

The Arab League urged on Saturday the UN Security Council and the international community to assume their responsibilities and exert pressure on Israel to stop its assaut against the Palestinian people and to ensure that it provides all humanitarian assistance needed by the people in Gaza Strip.

In a statement marking the 107th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the Arab League urged Britain and all the other countries that did not recognize the Palestinian state to take this step in support of peace in line with the two-state solution.

It emphasized that the only way to achieve just, comprehensive and lasting peace is to end the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, and to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital according to international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

"The Balfour Declaration continues to be a profound wound in the human conscience due to the Nakba that the Palestinian people have experienced and the ongoing deprivation of their legitimate and inalienable rights to freedom and independence. This refers to the Israeli occupation's violations and practices, settlement and Judaization, annexation and siege, the destruction of the Palestinian people's livelihoods, and the desecration of their religious shrines," the Arab League statement said.

It stressed that Israel's continued crimes and violations are a reflection of the international community's inability to fulfil its obligations and assume its responsibilities in resisting aggression and occupation, protecting the Palestinian people.

It must ask Israel to comply with the principles of international law and relevant resolutions in a manner that ends the occupation and allows the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination in an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Arab League stressed that Israel continues to insist on expanding the area of its hostilities to include Lebanon and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights despite the imminent danger of a regional war.

Moreover, the Israeli Knesset's decision to ban UNRWA's work in the occupied Palestinian territories is an additional flagrant violation of the UN Charter, of the international will, and of all human values.

The aim of this step is to destroy generations of Palestinians for whom the UN agency represents a lifeline in catastrophic humanitarian conditions. It is imperative that Israel stop these crimes and protect the agency's work in accordance with its UN mandate.