Supreme Court Suspends Iraq Parliament

A general view of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, January 9, 2022. (Reuters)
A general view of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, January 9, 2022. (Reuters)
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Supreme Court Suspends Iraq Parliament

A general view of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, January 9, 2022. (Reuters)
A general view of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, January 9, 2022. (Reuters)

The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq suspended on Thursday the parliament speaker and his two deputies, days after they were elected to their post.

The ruling came after MPs Bassem Khashan and Mahmoud Daoud filed a complaint citing "legal and constitutional violations" in their election.

The parliament will therefore be suspended until the judiciary can examine the appeal and issue a final ruling in the case.

The suspension marked a precedent in Iraq. Observers have expressed concern that should the appeal be accepted, it would delay other pending constitutional affairs, such as the election of a president in the next three weeks.

Former head of the Integrity Commission Judge Rahem al-Ugaili doubted that the court's acceptance of the appeal would annul the inaugural session of the new parliament, which was held on Sunday.

In remarks to the Asharq Al-Awsat, he explained that the ratification of the appeal is not considered a judicial ruling, but rather a suspension that would give the relevant authorities time to examine the legality and constitutionality of the inaugural meeting.

The decision will, however, have direct and indirect impacts on the parliament, which will be completely suspended until a final ruling over the appeal is reached.

He said that such an issue should be finalized withing 10 to 15 days.

He believes that the Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction over the work of the parliament, rather its authority covers the constitutionality of laws and regulations.

MP Khashan, who filed the appeal, is known for his fierce rivalry with Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, who was reelected to his post on Sunday.

During the meeting, he submitted legal documents that condemn Halbousi and prevent him from again running for speaker, but his objections were ignored.



Israeli Army Bombards Homes in North Gaza, Airstrike Kills 15, Medics Say

A Palestinian boy inspects the destruction at the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a home in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
A Palestinian boy inspects the destruction at the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a home in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
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Israeli Army Bombards Homes in North Gaza, Airstrike Kills 15, Medics Say

A Palestinian boy inspects the destruction at the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a home in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
A Palestinian boy inspects the destruction at the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a home in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)

Israeli forces bombarded houses in overnight attacks in the northern Gaza Strip, killing at least 15 people in one of the buildings in the town of Beit Lahiya, Palestinian medics said on Monday.

Several others were wounded in the attack and others were missing after a house providing shelter to displaced people was struck, with rescue workers unable immediately to reach them, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said.

The three barely operational hospitals in the area were unable to cope with the number of wounded, they added.

Clusters of houses were bombed and some set ablaze in Jabalia and in Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, where the Israeli army has been operating for several weeks, residents said.

They said Israeli drones had dropped bombs outside a school sheltering displaced families, suggesting this was intended to scare them into leaving.

The Palestinians say Israel's army is trying to clear people out of the northern edge of Gaza with forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. The Israeli army denies this.

The Israeli military, which began its offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the group's attack on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, has said its latest operations in northern Gaza are meant to prevent militants regrouping and waging attacks from those areas.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 44,400 people and displaced most of the population, Gaza officials say. Vast swathes of the enclave lie in ruins.

About 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage in the Hamas attack on the October 2023 attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

NEW CEASEFIRE PUSH

Israel agreed a ceasefire with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah last week, but the conflict in Gaza has continued.

Officials in Cairo have hosted talks between Hamas and the rival Fatah group led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the possible establishment of a committee to run post-war Gaza.

Egypt has proposed that a committee made up of non-partisan technocrat figures, and supervised by Abbas's authority, should be ready to run Gaza straight after the war ends. Israel has said Hamas should have no role in governance.

An official close to the talks said progress had been made but no final deal had been reached. Israel's approval would be decisive in determining whether the committee could fulfill its role. Egyptian security officials have also held talks with Hamas on ways to reach a ceasefire with Israel.

A Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters Hamas stood by its condition that any agreement must bring an end to the war and involve an Israeli troop withdrawal out, but would show the flexibility needed to achieve that.

Israel has said the war will end only when Hamas no longer governs Gaza and poses no threat to Israelis.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday there was some indication of progress towards a hostage deal but that Israel's conditions for ending the war had not changed.

White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said he thought the chances of a ceasefire and hostage deal were now more likely.