Iraqi Parliament Approves Al-Sudani’s Government

A picture shows a view of the Iraqi Parliament in the capital Baghdad, ahead of a confidence vote on a new government on October 27, 2022. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP)
A picture shows a view of the Iraqi Parliament in the capital Baghdad, ahead of a confidence vote on a new government on October 27, 2022. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP)
TT

Iraqi Parliament Approves Al-Sudani’s Government

A picture shows a view of the Iraqi Parliament in the capital Baghdad, ahead of a confidence vote on a new government on October 27, 2022. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP)
A picture shows a view of the Iraqi Parliament in the capital Baghdad, ahead of a confidence vote on a new government on October 27, 2022. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, whose government won Parliament’s confidence on Thursday, pledged to hold early parliamentary elections within a year, in what appeared to be an attempt to appease the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada Al-Sadr.

Al-Sudani pledged to “amend the Parliamentary Elections Law within three months and hold early elections within a year.”

The policy statement said the government was committed to build effective anti-corruption tools within 90 days.

Al-Sudani also announced reviewing all the decisions of the caretaker government, especially those pertaining to the country’s economy and security, as well as the hasty appointments and the disbursement of petrodollar dues to the oil and gas-producing governorates.

The new Iraqi prime minister said the government would unify customs procedures at all land, sea and air border crossings and close unofficial ports. It will also earmark “a sufficient budget to compensate those affected by terrorist and military operations in accordance with the law in force.”

Some observers said that Al-Sudani’s pledge to hold early elections within a year after amending the electoral law, was an ambitious and far-fetched plan, amid the persisting political differences.

On the other hand, the new prime minister appeared to be trying to please the Sadrist movement and its leader. Al-Sadr, who had rejected to participate in the government before his withdrawal from Parliament, did not express strong opposition to the formation of Al-Sudani’s government.

In a series of tweets, Al-Sadr steered clear of his harsh criticism against the political parties.

In fact, the distribution of the ministerial seats among the three main Iraqi components (Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds), did not give the prime minister sufficient freedom to choose his ministers.

Moreover, sectarian divisions led to the insistence by some parties on taking over certain key ministries, including the ministries of defense and interior, as well as other important portfolios, such as oil, transportation and planning.



Fears for Gaza Hospitals as Fuel and Aid Run Low

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said Friday that hospitals have only two days' fuel left before they must restrict services, after the UN warned aid delivery to the war-devastated territory is being crippled. - AFP
The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said Friday that hospitals have only two days' fuel left before they must restrict services, after the UN warned aid delivery to the war-devastated territory is being crippled. - AFP
TT

Fears for Gaza Hospitals as Fuel and Aid Run Low

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said Friday that hospitals have only two days' fuel left before they must restrict services, after the UN warned aid delivery to the war-devastated territory is being crippled. - AFP
The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said Friday that hospitals have only two days' fuel left before they must restrict services, after the UN warned aid delivery to the war-devastated territory is being crippled. - AFP

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said Friday that hospitals have only two days' fuel left before they must restrict services, after the UN warned aid delivery to the war-devastated territory is being crippled.

The warning came a day after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant more than a year into the Gaza war.

The United Nations and others have repeatedly decried humanitarian conditions, particularly in northern Gaza, where Israel said Friday it had killed two commanders involved in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.

Gaza medics said an overnight Israeli raid on the cities of Beit Lahia and nearby Jabalia resulted in dozens killed or missing.

Marwan al-Hams, director of Gaza's field hospitals, told reporters all hospitals in the Palestinian territory "will stop working or reduce their services within 48 hours due to the occupation's (Israel's) obstruction of fuel entry".

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of 80 patients, including 8 in the intensive care unit" at Kamal Adwan hospital, one of just two partly operating in northern Gaza.

Kamal Adwan director Hossam Abu Safia told AFP it was "deliberately hit by Israeli shelling for the second day" Friday and that "one doctor and some patients were injured".

Late Thursday, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, Muhannad Hadi, said: "The delivery of critical aid across Gaza, including food, water, fuel and medical supplies, is grinding to a halt."

He said that for more than six weeks, Israeli authorities "have been banning commercial imports" while "a surge in armed looting" has hit aid convoys.

Issuing the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, the Hague-based ICC said there were "reasonable grounds" to believe they bore "criminal responsibility" for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and crimes against humanity including over "the lack of food, water, electricity and fuel, and specific medical supplies".

At least 44,056 people have been killed in Gaza during more than 13 months of war, most of them civilians, according to figures from Gaza's health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.