Iraq’s Commission of Integrity Recovers 1,376 Properties

This picture taken on August 16, 2022 shows a view of a bridge over Tigris river in Iraq's capital Baghdad amidst a dust storm. (AFP)
This picture taken on August 16, 2022 shows a view of a bridge over Tigris river in Iraq's capital Baghdad amidst a dust storm. (AFP)
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Iraq’s Commission of Integrity Recovers 1,376 Properties

This picture taken on August 16, 2022 shows a view of a bridge over Tigris river in Iraq's capital Baghdad amidst a dust storm. (AFP)
This picture taken on August 16, 2022 shows a view of a bridge over Tigris river in Iraq's capital Baghdad amidst a dust storm. (AFP)

The Iraqi Commission of Integrity announced Monday the restoration of 1,376 properties that had been illegally acquired by powerful persons and parties, to state ownership.

The Commission confirmed it is also in the process of recovering another 6,000 properties, pending the response of concerned real estate departments.

There are more than 10,000 state owned properties that the Commission documented as illegally acquired by persons or parties in Iraq.

In a statement, the Commission said its efforts to restore state property and real estate are part of its mission to preserve public funds in accordance with the work of the Diwani Order Committee.

“The Diwani Order Committee is following up with the relevant real estate registration departments to restore 6,000 properties while it is investigating the rest of the properties whose fate is still unknown,” it said.

According to a source familiar with the file, the illegal acquisition of state properties was carried out, in most cases, through gangs and groups supported by influential parties.

The source told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Some state properties are seized by ordinary people who chose to reside in them as in the case of the slums spread in Baghdad and other governorates.”

Also, the source said other state-owned lands and properties were seized by armed factions, which have used them as their headquarters.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ali Allawi submitted his resignation on Tuesday during a cabinet meeting.

He did not disclose the reason for his decision.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi accepted the resignation.

Some observers believe Allawi’s move is a precursor to his appointment as prime minister to form a new government.

However, economic analysts said his resignation could be linked to his failure to implement the Food Security Law, which was approved by parliament two months ago.

The bill allocates about $17 billion for staple food supplies, gas, electricity and payment of public servant salaries.

The Sadrist bloc, which first approved the law, later withdrew its support.

Allawi had faced difficulties in implementing the law, especially after independent MP Bassem Khashan filed a complaint before the Federal Supreme Court to challenge the bill.



Israeli Strikes Hit Dozens of Targets in Gaza as Ceasefire Efforts Stall

A man looks through the rubble to inspect a destroyed building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 18, 2025. (AFP)
A man looks through the rubble to inspect a destroyed building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Hit Dozens of Targets in Gaza as Ceasefire Efforts Stall

A man looks through the rubble to inspect a destroyed building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 18, 2025. (AFP)
A man looks through the rubble to inspect a destroyed building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 18, 2025. (AFP)

Israeli airstrikes hit around 40 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military said on Friday, hours after Hamas rejected an Israeli ceasefire offer that it said fell short of its demand to agree a full end to the war.

Last month, the Israeli military broke off a two-month truce that had largely halted fighting in Gaza and has since pushed in from the north and south, seizing almost a third of the enclave as it seeks to pressure Hamas into agreeing to release hostages and disarm.

The military said troops were operating in the Shabura and Tel Al-Sultan areas near the southern city of Rafah, as well as in northern Gaza, where it has taken control of large areas east of Gaza City.

Egyptian mediators have been trying to revive the January ceasefire deal, which broke down when Israel resumed airstrikes and sent ground troops back into Gaza, but there has been little sign that the two sides have moved closer on fundamental issues.

Late on Thursday, Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas' Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.

But he dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing "impossible conditions".

Israel has not responded formally to Al-Hayya's comments but ministers have said repeatedly that Hamas must be disarmed completely and can play no role in the future governance of Gaza. The ceasefire offer it made through Egyptian mediators includes talks on a final settlement to the war but no firm agreement.

Defense Minister Israel Katz also said this week that troops would remain in the buffer zone around the border that now extends deep into Gaza and cuts the enclave in two, even after any settlement.