Qaani's Efforts to Reach Political Understandings in Iraq Stumble at Barzani, Sadr's Demands

A picture hows few Iraqi lawmakers attending a scheduled parliament session in Baghdad, with most major political blocs boycotting it. (AFP)
A picture hows few Iraqi lawmakers attending a scheduled parliament session in Baghdad, with most major political blocs boycotting it. (AFP)
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Qaani's Efforts to Reach Political Understandings in Iraq Stumble at Barzani, Sadr's Demands

A picture hows few Iraqi lawmakers attending a scheduled parliament session in Baghdad, with most major political blocs boycotting it. (AFP)
A picture hows few Iraqi lawmakers attending a scheduled parliament session in Baghdad, with most major political blocs boycotting it. (AFP)

The Iraqi parliament announced on Monday that the postponement of the presidential elections will not impact the work of the legislature.

The parliament had on Monday cancelled the polls as it lacked the quorum to hold a session.

Only 58 members out of 329 were present, which is less than the necessary two-thirds quorum needed to choose a new president for the mostly ceremonial post.

On Sunday many lawmakers said they would boycott the proceedings after the Supreme Court suspended a former foreign minister's presidential bid over graft allegations.

The court said on Sunday that the candidacy of Hoshyar Zebari, a veteran Iraqi Kurdish statesman, could not proceed until corruption charges from a separate 2016 stint as finance minister were dealt with.

The elections have been postponed indefinitely until political parties can resolve their differences.

Political sources said commander of Iran's Quds Forces, Esmail Qaani, has become involved in efforts to reached political understandings to resolve the presidential elections and form a new government.

He has held several meetings with officials in Baghdad, Erbil and Najaf to reach agreements with officials.

His efforts have, however, stumbled at Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani's insistence on Zebari's nomination. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is meanwhile insisting on the reelection of President Barham Salih.

Qaani has also stumbled at Sadrist movement leader cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's insistence on the formation of national majority government that excludes the rival Shiite pro-Iran Coordination Framework. He is also adamant on the exclusion of the State of Law coalition, specifically its leader former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Sadr emerged as the winner in the October parliamentary elections, giving him control over the formation of the government.



UN: Nearly 70% of Verified Gaza War Dead Are Women and Children

FILE PHOTO: Palestinians react after a school sheltering displaced people was hit by an Israeli strike, at Beach camp in Gaza City November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians react after a school sheltering displaced people was hit by an Israeli strike, at Beach camp in Gaza City November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo
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UN: Nearly 70% of Verified Gaza War Dead Are Women and Children

FILE PHOTO: Palestinians react after a school sheltering displaced people was hit by an Israeli strike, at Beach camp in Gaza City November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians react after a school sheltering displaced people was hit by an Israeli strike, at Beach camp in Gaza City November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo

The UN Human Rights Office said on Friday nearly 70% of the fatalities it has verified in the Gaza war were women and children, and condemned what it called a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
The UN tally since the start of the war, in which Israel's military is fighting Hamas militants, includes only fatalities it has managed to verify with three sources, and counting continues.

The 8,119 victims verified is a much lower number than the toll of over 43,000 provided by Palestinian health authorities for the 13-month-old war. But the UN breakdown of the victims' age and gender backs the Palestinian assertion that women and children represent a large portion of those killed in the war.

This finding indicates "a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality," the UN rights office said in a statement accompanying the 32-page report.

"It is essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies and that, in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence are collected and preserved," United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a request by Reuters for comment on the report's findings.

"Our monitoring indicates that this unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians is a direct consequence of the failure to comply with fundamental principles of international humanitarian law," Turk said in a statement.

"Tragically, these documented patterns of violations continue unabated, over one year after the start of the war."

His office found that about 80 percent of all the verified deaths in Gaza had occurred in Israeli attacks on residential buildings or similar housing, and that close to 90 percent had died in incidents that killed five or more people.