The Day Saddam Hussein’s Corpse Was Laid in Front of Maliki’s Home https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4072756/day-saddam-hussein%E2%80%99s-corpse-was-laid-front-maliki%E2%80%99s-home%C2%A0
The Day Saddam Hussein’s Corpse Was Laid in Front of Maliki’s Home
Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein gestures during his trial in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 29, 2006. (AP)
Friday marked the 16th anniversary of the execution of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
The death sentence did not come as a shock. But the events that accompanied the execution and its fallout will continue to haunt Judge Rauf Rashid who announced the sentence.
The video recording of Saddam’s final moments, when the noose was tied around his neck amid chants of “Moqtada, Moqtada, Moqtada” - a reference of Iraqi leader Moqatda al-Sadr - was widely circulated and remains in Iraq’s collective memory.
The execution took on a sectarian turn because it took place at dawn on Eid al-Adha.
Another aspect related to the execution lingered on in the country. I paid a visit to Judge Rashid in Erbil in May 2007 and we discussed the execution.
He did not wish to delve into the details that upset him. Some people present at the execution took Saddam’s corpse and laid it in front of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's house as a form of “gloating” as that would be the first time the two officials would ever “meet”.
Maliki had signed the execution order because then President Jalal Talabani was committed to an international agreement that prohibits the death penalty.
I met with Maliki in May 2010. He served as prime minister at the time and was known as the “strong man in the post-Saddam era”. The meeting was amicable and long and he encouraged me to ask him about Saddam.
I asked him how he felt about signing his death sentence. He replied: “My wish was not to see him hanged as that would have been a form of salvation for him. The execution is nothing to the crimes he committed.”
“He should have remained in prison, humiliated and shamed, to set an example to dictators,” he confided. “But the will of the people and families of martyrs prevailed.”
I asked him if he feared that Saddam would retain the image of the hero in the Arab collective memory because he was toppled by a foreign force. Maliki said: “Saddam can only be a hero to those who share his views and behavior.”
“What acts of heroism did he offer? His defeats and the chaos he created? Or his policy that culminated in the arrival of foreign forces?” wondered Maliki.
“I advise all leaders against ending up like Saddam,” he added.
Maliki said he had never met Saddam, but was forced to view his corpse at the insistence of others.
“I stood before his corpse for half a minute. I told him: ‘What use is your execution? Will it bring back our martyrs and the country that you destroyed?’”
I did not tell Maliki that his statement reminded me of the violent images that marked Iraqi history over the decades. He recalled the image of Abdul Karim Qassem being dragged to the radio building and the ensuing dialogue between him and his comrade in the revolt, Abdul Salam Aref, who refused to oppose his execution.
Back to Judge Rashid, he said he did not sympathize with Saddam, but did not feel the need to gloat before him either. He recalled that Saddam was expecting the death sentence against him and did not show a sign of weakness or of being unsettled. The execution would cast a shadow over Judge Rashid’s life for years to come.
Winter Storm Rips through Gaza, Exposing Failure to Deliver Enough Aid to Territoryhttps://english.aawsat.com/features/5218396-winter-storm-rips-through-gaza-exposing-failure-deliver-enough-aid-territory
Winter Storm Rips through Gaza, Exposing Failure to Deliver Enough Aid to Territory
Palestinians cross a flooded street following heavy rain in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Rains drenched Gaza’s tent camps and dropping temperatures chilled Palestinians huddling inside them Thursday as storm Byron descended on the war-battered territory, showing how two months of a ceasefire have failed to sufficiently address the spiraling humanitarian crisis there.
Children’s sandaled feet disappeared under opaque brown water that flooded the camps. Trucks moved slowly to avoid sending waves of mud toward the tents. Piles of garbage and sewage turned to waterfalls.
“We have been drowned. I don’t have clothes to wear and we have no mattresses left,” said Um Salman Abu Qenas, a mother displaced from east of Khan Younis to a tent camp in Deir al-Balah. She said her family could not sleep the night before because of the water in the tent, The AP news reported.
Aid groups say not enough shelter aid is getting into Gaza during the truce. Figures recently released by Israel's military suggest it has not met the ceasefire stipulation of allowing 600 trucks of aid into Gaza a day, though Israel disputes that finding.
“Cold, overcrowded, and unsanitary environments heighten the risk of illness and infection,” said the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, in a terse statement posted on X. “This suffering could be prevented by unhindered humanitarian aid, including medical support and proper shelter."
Rains falling across the region wreak havoc in Gaza Sabreen Qudeeh, also in the Deir al-Balah camp, said her family woke up to rain leaking from their tent's ceiling and water from the street soaking their mattresses. “My little daughters were screaming and got shocked when they saw water on the floor,” she said.
Ahmad Abu Taha, a Palestinian man in the camp, said there was not a tent that escaped the flooding. “Conditions are very bad, we have old people, displaced, and sick people inside this camp,” he said.
In Israel, heavy rains fell and flood warnings were in effect in several parts of the country — but no major weather-related emergencies were reported as of midday.
The contrasting scenes with Gaza made clear how profoundly the Israel-Hamas war had damaged the territory, destroying the majority of homes. Gaza’s population of around 2 million is almost entirely displaced and most people live in vast tent camps stretching for miles along the beach, exposed to the elements, without adequate flooding infrastructure and with cesspits dug near tents as toilets.
The Palestinian Civil Defense, part of the Hamas-run government, said that since the storm began they have received more than 2,500 distress calls from citizens whose tents and shelters were damaged in all parts of the Gaza Strip.
Not enough aid getting in Aid groups say that Israel is not allowing enough aid into Gaza to begin rebuilding the territory after years of war.
Under the agreement, Israel agreed to comply with aid stipulations from an earlier January 2025 truce, which specified that it allow 600 trucks of aid each day into Gaza and an agreed-upon number of temporary homes and tents. It maintains it is doing so, though AP has found that some of its own figures call that into question.
COGAT said Dec. 9, without providing evidence, that it had “lately" let 260,000 tents and tarpaulins into Gaza and over 1,500 trucks of blankets and warm clothing. The Shelter Cluster, an international coalition of aid providers led by the Norwegian Refugee Council, sets the number lower.
It says UN and international NGOs have gotten 15,590 tents into Gaza since the truce began, and other countries have sent about 48,000. Many of the tents are not properly insulated, the Cluster says.
Amjad al-Shawa, Gaza chief of the Palestinian NGO Network, told Al Jazeera Thursday that only a fraction of the 300,000 tents needed had entered Gaza. He said that Palestinians were in dire need of warmer winter clothes and accused Israel of blocking the entry of water pumps helpful to clear flooded shelters.
"All international sides should take the responsibility regarding conditions in Gaza,” he said. “There is real danger for people in Gaza at all levels.”
Senior Hamas official Khaled Mashaal said that many people’s tents have become worn out after the two-year war, and people cannot find new places to shelter. He said Gaza also needs the rehabilitation of hospitals, the entry of heavy machinery to remove rubble, and the opening of the Rafah crossing — which remains closed after Israel said last week it would open in a few days.
COGAT did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the claims that Israel was not allowing water pumps or heavy machinery into Gaza.
Ceasefire at a critical point Mashaal, the Hamas official, called for moving to the second, more complicated phase of the US-brokered ceasefire.
“The reconstruction should start in the second phase as today there is suffering in terms of shelter and stability,” Mashaal said in comments released by Hamas on social media.
Regional leaders have said time is critical for the ceasefire agreement as mediators seek to move to phase 2. But obstacles to moving forward remain.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday that the militants needed to return the body of a final hostage first.
Hamas has said Israel must open key border crossings and cease deadly strikes on the territory.
Ukraine Hasn’t Held Elections since Russia’s Full-scale Invasion. Here’s Whyhttps://english.aawsat.com/features/5218281-ukraine-hasn%E2%80%99t-held-elections-russia%E2%80%99s-full-scale-invasion-here%E2%80%99s-why
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to press before his meeting with President of Cyprus in Kyiv on December 4, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP)
Ukraine Hasn’t Held Elections since Russia’s Full-scale Invasion. Here’s Why
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to press before his meeting with President of Cyprus in Kyiv on December 4, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected suggestions that he is using the war as an excuse to cling to power, saying he is ready to hold elections if the US and other allies will help ensure the security of the poll and if the country's electoral law can be altered.
Zelenskyy’s five-year term was scheduled to end in May 2024, but elections were legally put off due to Russia’s full-scale invasion. That has become a source of tension with US President Donald Trump, who has criticized the delay as he pushes Zelenskyy to accept his proposals for ending the war.
Zelenskyy responded to that criticism on Tuesday, saying he was ready for elections.
“Moreover, I am now asking — and I am stating this openly — for the United States, possibly together with our European colleagues, to help me ensure security for holding elections,” he told reporters on WhatsApp. “And then, within the next 60–90 days, Ukraine will be ready to hold them.”
Until now, Zelenskyy has declined to hold an election until a ceasefire is declared, in line with Ukrainian law that prevents a poll from being held when martial law is in effect. Ukrainians largely support that decision.
Here is a look at why Ukraine has not been able to hold elections so far:
A wartime election would be illegal
Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. The country’s constitution provides for martial law in wartime, and a separate law bars the holding of elections while it remains in force.
Beyond being illegal, any nationwide vote would pose serious security risks as Russia bombs Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones. With roughly one-fifth of the country under Russian occupation and millions of Ukrainians displaced abroad, organizing a nationwide ballot is also widely seen as logistically impossible.
It would also be difficult to find a way for Ukrainian soldiers on the front line to cast their votes, The Associated Press said.
Although Zelenskyy’s term formally expired in May 2024, Ukraine's constitution allows him to legitimately remain in office until a newly elected president is sworn in.
What Trump said
In an interview with Politico published on Tuesday, Trump said it was time for Ukraine to hold elections.
“They’re using war not to hold an election, but, uh, I would think the Ukrainian people ... should have that choice. And maybe Zelenskyy would win. I don’t know who would win.
“But they haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.”
Trump's comments on elections echo Moscow's stance. The Kremlin has used Zelenskyy’s remaining in power after his expired term as a tool to cast him as an illegitimate leader.
What Zelenskyy said Zelenskyy reiterated previous statements that the decision about when to hold elections was one for the Ukrainian people, not its international allies.
The first question, he said, is whether an election could be held securely while Ukraine is under attack from Russia. But in the event that the US and other allies can guarantee the security of the poll, Zelenskyy said he is asking lawmakers to propose legal changes that would allow elections to be held under martial law.
“I’ve heard it suggested that we’re clinging to power, or that I’m personally holding on to the president’s seat, that I’m clinging to it, and that this is supposedly why the war is not ending. This, frankly, is a completely absurd story.”
Zelenskyy has few political rivals
Holding elections in the middle of a war would also sow division in Ukrainian society at a time when the country should be united against Russia, Zelenskyy has said.
One potential candidate who could challenge Zelenskyy in an election is former army chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the current Ukrainian ambassador to Britain. Zaluzhnyi has denied plans to enter politics, though public opinion surveys show him as a potential Zelenskyy rival.
Petro Poroshenko also is a key political rival of Zelenskyy’s and the leader of the largest opposition party. He is unlikely to run again, analysts said, but his backing of a particular candidate would be consequential.
From Israeli-Held Zones in Gaza, Foes of Hamas Seek Lasting Role https://english.aawsat.com/features/5217917-israeli-held-zones-gaza-foes-hamas-seek-lasting-role%C2%A0
A drone view shows Palestinians walking past the rubble, following Israeli forces' withdrawal from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 11, 2025. (Reuters)
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From Israeli-Held Zones in Gaza, Foes of Hamas Seek Lasting Role
A drone view shows Palestinians walking past the rubble, following Israeli forces' withdrawal from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Groups operating from Israeli-held areas of Gaza say they will continue to fight Hamas despite the killing of their most prominent commander, reporting more recruits since an October ceasefire as they eye a role in the enclave's future.
The emergence of the groups, though they remain small and localized, has added to pressures on Hamas and could complicate efforts to stabilize and unify a divided Gaza shattered by two years of war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Israeli backing for anti-Hamas groups in June, saying Israel had "activated" clans, though Israel has given little detail since then.
Last week, the man seen at the heart of efforts to establish anti-Hamas forces - Yasser Abu Shabab - was killed in southern Gaza's Rafah area. His group, the Popular Forces, said he died mediating a family feud, without saying who killed him. His deputy, Ghassan al-Dahini, has taken over and vowed to continue on the same path.
Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007 and has so far refused to disarm under the ceasefire plan, has branded such groups collaborators - a view that Palestinian analysts say is broadly shared by the public. It moved swiftly against Palestinians who defied its control after the US-backed ceasefire took hold, killing dozens, including some it accused of working with Israel.
Nearly all Gaza's 2 million people live in Hamas-held areas, where the group has been reestablishing its grip and where four Hamas sources said it continues to command thousands of men despite suffering heavy blows during the war.
But Israel still holds over half of Gaza - areas where Hamas' foes operate beyond its reach. With President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza moving slowly, there is no immediate prospect of further Israeli withdrawals.
Three Egyptian security and military sources said Israel-backed groups had increased their activities since the ceasefire, and estimated they now had 1,000 fighters, adding 400 since the truce.
Egypt, which borders Gaza, has been closely involved in negotiations over the conflict. The sources expected the groups to further step up their activities in the absence of a comprehensive deal on Gaza's future.
FOOTAGE SHOWS FIGHTERS ASSEMBLED
A diplomat who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the anti-Hamas groups lacked any popular constituency, but added that their emergence raised concerns for the enclave's stability, heightening risks of conflict among Palestinians.
Since Abu Shabab's death, his group and two others have posted videos showing dozens of fighters assembled, as commanders are heard praising him as a martyr and vowing to continue.
One video released on December 5 shows Dahini telling fighters Abu Shabab's death was a "grave loss" and adding that they would "continue on this path and move with the same strength and even more strength".
Reuters verified the location as Rafah Governorate - an area of Gaza where Israeli forces are still deployed - by analyzing the buildings, walls and trees in the footage which matched file and satellite imagery of the area.
On December 7, Dahini announced the execution in late November of two men he identified as Hamas fighters, saying they had killed a member of his group. A security official in a Hamas-led coalition of militant groups in Gaza said such actions did not "alter the realities on the ground".
Hussam Al-Astal, who heads another anti-Hamas faction based in the Khan Younis area, said he and Dahini had "agreed the war on terror will continue" during a visit to Abu Shabab's grave in the Rafah area. "Our project, new Gaza ... will move ahead," Al-Astal told Reuters by phone.
Al-Astal, speaking to Reuters in a separate call in late November, said his group has received arms, money and other support from international "friends" whom he declined to identify. He denied receiving Israeli military backing but acknowledged contacts with Israel over "the coordination of the entry of food and all the resources we need to survive".
He said he was speaking from inside Gaza, in the Israeli-controlled sector near the "yellow line" behind which Israel has withdrawn. Al-Astal said his group had added recruits since the truce and now had several hundred members including fighters and civilians. The Popular Forces has also grown, a source close to it said, without giving a figure.
Hamas police officers stand guard, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, October 11, 2025. (Reuters)
HAMAS: ABU SHABAB MET 'INEVITABLE FATE'
Israel says it aims to ensure that Hamas, which ignited the war with its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, is disarmed and has no future role governing Gaza.
In response to a request for comment, an Israeli government official said: "There is no shortage of Palestinians wishing and actively fighting to free themselves of the Hamas repression and tyranny."
The Popular Forces didn't respond to requests for comment sent via their Facebook page. It has previously denied receiving Israeli support.
Hamas said Abu Shabab's death was the "inevitable fate of all those who betrayed their people and homeland", while claiming no role in his killing.
The security official in the Hamas-led coalition said threats by its foes were "psychological warfare" orchestrated by Israel to "undermine internal stability".
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said security forces would pursue collaborators "until this phenomenon is eradicated".
But they "are protected by the occupation army in the areas where these forces are present, which makes it difficult for the security apparatuses", he said, in comments to Reuters before Abu Shabab's death.
HOUSING COMPOUNDS PLANNED
As well as disarming Hamas, Trump's plan foresees the establishment of a transitional authority, the deployment of a multinational force, and reconstruction.
But with no clarity on next steps, there is a risk of de facto partition between an inland sector controlled by Israel where few people now remain, and a sector along the coast now crowded with displaced people, much of it wasteland.
Touring Gaza on Sunday, Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said Israel had "control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip and we will remain on those defense lines".
"The Yellow Line is a new border line — serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity," he said.
Goals cited by anti-Hamas groups include establishing secure areas for displaced Gazans.
Hamas militants sit inside a vehicle as they escort members of the Red Cross towards an area within the so-called "yellow line" to which Israeli troops withdrew under the ceasefire, in Gaza City November 20, 2025. (Reuters)
In October, US Vice President JD Vance and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner said reconstruction funds could flow to the Israel-controlled area without waiting for the next stage of the plan to begin, with the idea of creating model zones for Gazans to live in.
Rafah is one of the first sites US officials have identified for such housing compounds, described as "Alternative Safe Communities," though no timeline has been set, according to two Israeli officials and three Western diplomats involved in post-war Gaza planning.
A US State Department spokesperson said the US was working with partners "to provide housing and other services to Gazans as quickly as possible".
The United States has not had any official contact with the anti-Hamas groups, "nor are we providing any funding or support", a US official said. "We are not going to be picking winners or losers in Gaza," the official said, adding: "Beyond Hamas having no future role, who will govern Gaza will be up to Gazans."
DESTABILIZING HAMAS CONTROL
Some Palestinians celebrated news of Abu Shabab's death in the nearby city of Khan Younis by distributing sweets, witnesses said.
Ghassan al-Khatib, a lecturer in international studies at Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank, said that while Hamas' popularity had declined because of the costs of the Gaza war, the anti-Hamas groups had no future because they are viewed by Palestinians as collaborators.
"Israel is using them only for tactical reasons, particularly to try to destabilize Hamas control," he said.
A spokesperson for President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Movement, which was driven from Gaza by Hamas and runs the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, said it rejected any armed groups backed by Israel, saying they had "nothing to do with our people and their cause".
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