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PLO Warns of Israeli Settlement-Expansion Race

Israeli PM Naftali Bennett (second from right) and some members of his government attend its first cabinet meeting, in Jerusalem, on June 13, 2021. (Reuters)
Israeli PM Naftali Bennett (second from right) and some members of his government attend its first cabinet meeting, in Jerusalem, on June 13, 2021. (Reuters)
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PLO Warns of Israeli Settlement-Expansion Race

Israeli PM Naftali Bennett (second from right) and some members of his government attend its first cabinet meeting, in Jerusalem, on June 13, 2021. (Reuters)
Israeli PM Naftali Bennett (second from right) and some members of his government attend its first cabinet meeting, in Jerusalem, on June 13, 2021. (Reuters)

The Palestinian Liberation Organization has warned from the race between the right-wing rule and the far-right opposition to pass laws and services aimed at expanding the settlements' project.

The PLO’s National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements issued a press statement saying that the competition has intensified in Israel over who provides more services for the “settlement, annexation and occupation project” since the formation of the new government last week.

It also warned of the threat of the Knesset passing a law to legalize the so-called “youth settlement,” which includes building 70 wildcat outposts in the West Bank.

The Bureau pointed to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s announcement that he will back settlement construction in all areas of the occupied West Bank, including Area C.

The new government will not change its settlement-related policies, it stressed.

The statement cited an Israeli plan to expand the “Shvut Rachel” settlement, south of Nablus, by adding 534 new settlement units to it.

According to the plan, the new settlement units would be constructed on an extra 376 dunums of Palestinian land.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, alongside more than three million Palestinians.

Palestine’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the international silence over Israeli occupation and the failure to implement United Nations resolutions on the Palestinian cause.

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‘Oil-for-Salaries’ Deal Ends Dispute Between Baghdad and Erbil

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
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‘Oil-for-Salaries’ Deal Ends Dispute Between Baghdad and Erbil

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)

The Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) reached a landmark agreement on Thursday that ends a years-long dispute over oil revenues and public sector salaries.

The deal, announced following an emergency cabinet meeting in Baghdad, covers oil production handover, non-oil revenue sharing, and the resumption of salary payments to KRG employees beginning with May 2025.

According to a government statement, the agreement was based on a recommendation by a ministerial committee and aligned with Kurdistan’s regional cabinet decision No. 285, issued on July 16.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani confirmed the breakthrough, stating that the federal government had approved a “mutual understanding regarding salaries and the region’s financial entitlements.”

Under the terms of the deal, the KRG will hand over all crude oil production - currently 280,000 barrels per day (bpd) - to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), with the exception of 50,000 bpd reserved for domestic consumption. This marks the first such commitment in more than two years, during which oil exports were suspended amid ongoing disputes and recent drone strikes targeting northern oilfields operated mostly by US firms.

In return, the federal Ministry of Finance will pay $16 per barrel, in cash or in kind, to cover production costs. Revenues from locally consumed oil derivatives will go to the federal treasury after deducting production and transport expenses.

On non-oil revenues, the KRG will transfer an initial 120 billion Iraqi dinars (approx. $92 million) to the federal finance ministry, representing an estimate of Baghdad’s share for May. A joint audit team from both governments will verify and finalize the figures within two weeks.

To resolve long-standing disputes over public salaries, a new joint committee will oversee the localization of KRG employee payrolls, in line with a ruling from the Federal Supreme Court. The committee is expected to complete its work within three months.

As part of the agreement’s first phase, the federal government will begin disbursing May salaries following confirmation from SOMO that the agreed oil volumes have been received.