Disputes Linger in Iraq over Positions of President, Premier, Parliament Speaker

Iraqi President Salih (L) and PM Kadhimi. (Reuters file photo)
Iraqi President Salih (L) and PM Kadhimi. (Reuters file photo)
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Disputes Linger in Iraq over Positions of President, Premier, Parliament Speaker

Iraqi President Salih (L) and PM Kadhimi. (Reuters file photo)
Iraqi President Salih (L) and PM Kadhimi. (Reuters file photo)

Iraqi President Barham Salih announced on Thursday that the newly-elected parliament will convene its first meeting on January 9.

The legislature will meet in spite of persistent disputes between the country's main Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs over the formation of a new government and amid a debate over whether to renew the terms of or elect a new president, prime minister and parliament speaker.

These disputes are set to dominate the discussions on January 9.

In a social media post, Salih hoped a new government would be formed smoothly so that it could assume its role in bolstering Iraq's sovereignty and serving its people.

This demands solidarity in order to achieve the desired reforms, he stressed.

The parliament meeting will unlikely lead to the election of a new speaker given the ongoing disputes between the Taqadom alliance, headed by incumbent Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, and the Azm alliance, headed by Khamis Khanjar.

Halbousi is hoping his term will be renewed.

Reports have said that Halbousi and Khanjar had reached an agreement that would see the former keep his position, while the latter would be appointed as one of his deputies.

Several Azm lawmakers have objected to Halbousi's election to a second term. They have suggested three replacements: Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, Khaled al-Obaidi and Thabet al-Abbasi.

As for the position of prime minister, the largest parliamentary bloc usually announces its preferred candidate.

The post is also at the center of heated dispute between Shiite blocs - namely the Sadrist movement, the winner of the elections, and the Coordination Framework, a coalition of pro-Iran factions and the losers of the elections.

Head of the Sadrist movement, cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is insisting that his bloc, which won 75 seats, is entitled to naming the premier. The Coordination Framework is, however, insisting on naming the candidate.

Sadr has cited a constitutional article that stipulates that the largest bloc has the right to name the prime minister.

PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi could be reappointed to his post given the support he enjoys from Sadr. Some factions of the Coordination Framework want him out.

Meanwhile, the position of president is reserved to a Kurdish figure. Salih has not hidden his ambition to be elected to a second term.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party, headed by Masoud Barzani, however, is hoping to nominate a new figure to the post, preferably someone from his party or the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Members of the PUK have said, however, that they would nominate Salih for a second term, paving the way for a potential dispute with Barzani.



Palestinian Envoy Tells UN Court that Israel is Killing Civilians and Targeting Aid Workers in Gaza

A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
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Palestinian Envoy Tells UN Court that Israel is Killing Civilians and Targeting Aid Workers in Gaza

A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

A Palestinian diplomat has told the United Nations’ top court that Israel is killing and displacing civilians and targeting aid workers in Gaza in a “man-made catastrophe of unprecedented proportions.”

Ambassador Ammar Hijazi was speaking Monday at the opening of a week of hearings at the International Court of Justice into Israel’s legal obligations to facilitate aid in the occupied territories, The Associated Press said.

Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff.

The United Nations’ highest court opened hearings Monday into Israel’s obligation to “ensure and facilitate” urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories, bringing the ongoing conflict in Gaza back into focus in The Hague.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the hearings part of a “systematic persecution and delegitimization” of his country. Speaking in Jerusalem as the hearings began in The Hague, Saar said the court was “becoming completely politicized.” He called the proceeding “shameful.”

A week of hearings has been scheduled in response to a request last year from the UN General Assembly, which asked the International Court of Justice to weigh in on Israel’s legal responsibilities after the country blocked the UN agency for Palestinian refugees from operating on its territory.

In a resolution sponsored by Norway, the General Assembly requested an advisory opinion, a non-binding but legally important decision from the court, on Israel's obligations in the occupied territories to "ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population?”

Hearings open as the humanitarian aid system in Gaza is nearing collapse. Israel has blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other humanitarian supplies since March 2. It renewed its bombardment on March 18, breaking a ceasefire, and seized large parts of the territory, saying it aims to push Hamas to release more hostages. Despite the stepped-up Israeli pressure, ceasefire efforts remain deadlocked.

The World Food Program said last week its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory. Many families are struggling to feed their children.

The United Nations was the first to address the court on Monday, followed by Palestinian representatives. In total, 40 states and four international organizations are scheduled to participate. Israel is not scheduled to speak during the hearings, but could submit a written statement. Israel's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The United States, which voted against the UN resolution, is scheduled to speak on Wednesday.

The court will likely take months to rule. But experts say the decision, though not legally binding, could profoundly impact international jurisprudence, international aid to Israel and public opinion.

“Advisory opinions provide clarity,” Juliette McIntyre, an expert on international law at the University of South Australia, told The Associated Press. Governments rely on them in international negotiations and the outcome could be used to pressure Israel into easing restrictions on aid.

Whether any ruling will have an effect on Israel, however, is unclear. Israel has long accused the United Nations of being unfairly biased against it and has ignored a 2004 advisory ruling by the ICJ that found its West Bank separation barrier illegal.

On Tuesday, South Africa, a staunch critic of Israel, will present its arguments. In hearings last year in a separate case at the court, the country accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza — a charge Israel denies. Those proceedings are still underway.

Israel's troubled relations with UNRWA

Israel’s ban on the agency, known as UNRWA, came into effect in January. The organization has faced increased criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who claim the group is deeply infiltrated by Hamas. UNRWA rejects that claim.

Israel alleged that 19 out of UNRWA’s approximately 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and set off the war in Gaza. UNRWA said it fired nine staffers after an internal UN investigation concluded that they could have been involved, although the evidence was not authenticated and corroborated. Israel later alleged that about 100 other Palestinians in Gaza were Hamas members, but never provided any evidence to the United Nations. Israel has also accused Hamas of using UN facilities for cover, building tunnels near UN buildings and diverting aid deliveries for its own use.

The Israeli ban doesn't apply directly to Gaza. But it controls all entry to the territory, and its ban on UNRWA from operating inside Israel greatly limits the agency's ability to function. Israeli officials say they are looking for alternative ways to deliver aid to Gaza that would cut out the United Nations.

UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 to provide relief for Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in what is now Israel during the war surrounding Israel's creation the previous year until there is a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The agency has been providing aid and services — including health and education — to some 2.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as 3 million more in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.

Israel’s air and ground war has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.