Iraq’s ‘Gulf 25’ Win Intensifies Need for Deeper Ties with Arab Neighbors

 Iraqi player Ali Fayez during celebrations on the Shatt al-Arab Corniche in Basra, Iraq (Reuters)
Iraqi player Ali Fayez during celebrations on the Shatt al-Arab Corniche in Basra, Iraq (Reuters)
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Iraq’s ‘Gulf 25’ Win Intensifies Need for Deeper Ties with Arab Neighbors

 Iraqi player Ali Fayez during celebrations on the Shatt al-Arab Corniche in Basra, Iraq (Reuters)
Iraqi player Ali Fayez during celebrations on the Shatt al-Arab Corniche in Basra, Iraq (Reuters)

Iraqi leaders and officials are avoiding to use the term “Arab Gulf” when congratulating their country’s football team for winning the “25th Arabian Gulf Cup,” but Muqtada al-Sadr has decided to continue challenging Tehran by calling the waterway dividing Iran from its Arab neighbors the “Arab Gulf.”

In a tweet, al-Sadr congratulated the Iraqi squad and used the term “Arabian Gulf.”

Most Iraqi leaders are choosing to placate Iran by referring to the tournament as “Basra Gulf 25.” Iran strongly objects to Iraqis, officials and citizens using the term “Arabian Gulf.”

The Iraqi national team prevailed in claiming its fourth Arab Gulf Cup after defeating Oman 3-2 in the thrilling 2023 final.

“The Arabian Gulf Cup in Basra, which was won by the Iraqi team, brought Iraq back to the Arab ranks,” tweeted al-Sadr.

“We also thank all the Arab teams that participated with us in this tournament,” he added.

“Welcome to the Arab Gulf countries in the Iraq of Arabism,” said al-Sadr.

Hassan Al Ethari, the head of the Sadrist parliamentary bloc, hinted at the possibility of his bloc returning to political action again.

The Sadrist bloc had previously resigned from parliament.

Ethari did not explain the details of the return of his bloc, which had won the highest number of seats in the parliamentary elections in late 2021. But a Friday sermon called for by al-Sadr and attended by thousands of supporters revealed a strong motive among Sadrists to rejoin parliament.

As for the football championship, Iraqi Culture Minister Ahmad Fakkak said it represented a quantum leap in Iraq’s political, economic, cultural and tourism tracks as well as community relations.

“The tournament opened the doors of Iraq and its airports to receive our Gulf and Arab brothers, and at the same time it delivered a message to the international community announcing that Iraq has become a safe area free from terrorism,” Fakkak told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“This championship presented the most wonderful picture of Iraq,” he highlighted, adding that the “Iraqi government has provided all means for the success of this tournament.”

President of the Federation of Journalists of Iraq Moaid Allami, for his part, praised the great success achieved through the tournament.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Arab and Gulf media had succeeded in conveying the true and positive image of Iraq in general and Basra in particular.



Human Rights Watch Says Israel's Deprivation of Water in Gaza is Act of Genocide

Displaced Palestinians line up to fill their containers with water in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on September 14, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Displaced Palestinians line up to fill their containers with water in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on September 14, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
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Human Rights Watch Says Israel's Deprivation of Water in Gaza is Act of Genocide

Displaced Palestinians line up to fill their containers with water in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on September 14, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Displaced Palestinians line up to fill their containers with water in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on September 14, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that Israel has killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water which it says legally amounts to acts of genocide and extermination.
"This policy, inflicted as part of a mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, means Israeli authorities have committed the crime against humanity of extermination, which is ongoing. This policy also amounts to an 'act of genocide' under the Genocide Convention of 1948," Human Rights Watch said in its report.
Israel has repeatedly rejected any accusation of genocide, saying it has respected international law and has a right to defend itself after the cross-border Hamas-led attack from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 that precipitated the war, reported Reuters.
In a statement on X, Israel's foreign ministry wrote: "The truth is the complete opposite of HRW's lies."
"Since the beginning of the war, Israel has facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid into Gaza, despite operating under constant attacks of Hamas terror organization," the statement said.
Although the report described the deprivation of water as an act of genocide, it noted that proving the crime of genocide against Israeli officials would also require establishing their intent. It cited statements by some senior Israeli officials which it said suggested they "wish to destroy Palestinians" which means the deprivation of water "may amount to the crime of genocide".
"What we have found is that the Israeli government is intentionally killing Palestinians in Gaza by denying them the water that they need to survive," Lama Fakih, Human Rights Watch Middle East director told a press conference.
In its response, Israel said it had ensured water infrastructure remained operational. It said international partners had sent water tankers through Israeli crossings, including last week, and ⁠Israel had facilitated the entry of more than 1.2 million tons of humanitarian supplies into Gaza.
Human Rights Watch is the second major rights group in a month to use the word genocide to describe the actions of Israel in Gaza, after Amnesty International issued a report that concluded Israel was committing genocide.
Both reports came just weeks after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. They deny the allegations.
The 184-page Human Rights Watch report said the Israeli government stopped water being piped into Gaza and cut off electricity and restricted fuel which meant Gaza's own water and sanitation facilities could not be used.
As a result, Palestinians in Gaza had access to only a few liters of water a day in many areas, far below the 15-liter-threshold for survival, the group said. Israel launched its air and ground war in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border 14 months ago, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins.