Iraqi Parliament Speaker in Erbil to Discuss Pending Disputes

Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi. (AFP)
Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi. (AFP)
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Iraqi Parliament Speaker in Erbil to Discuss Pending Disputes

Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi. (AFP)
Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi. (AFP)

Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi kicked off on Friday an official visit to the Kurdistan Region, his first to the area since his appointment to his post.

He held talks with Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, who was recently nominated for the Kurdish presidency.

The two officials discussed pending political and security affairs between Erbil and Baghdad and efforts to form a new Iraqi government.

They underline the need and importance of filling the remaining vacant seats in the cabinet.

The case of refugees in Kurdistan was also addressed.

Later, Halbousi held talks with former Kurdish President Masoud Barzani on the political process in Iraq and the obstacles it is facing, including completing the cabinet lineup.

The warned of the repercussions of failing to form the government, while stressing the need to preserve balance in state institutions, especially in the security and military sectors.

Halbousi also held talks with Kurdistan’s general intelligence chief Masrour Barzani, who has been nominated to form the next Kurdish government.

They discussed bolstering ties between Erbil and Baghdad, as well as the Kurdish region’s budget.



UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli forces raided four of its schools in east Jerusalem, ordering their closure.

Israel has severed all ties with the agency, known as UNRWA, and bars it from operating in its territory. It says the agency allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, allegations denied by UN officials.

UNRWA said police entered a training center by force on Tuesday, firing tear gas and sound grenades and ordering its evacuation. It said 350 students and 30 staff were present during the raid on the Qalandiya Training Center.

It said police and city officials ordered the closure of three other schools in east Jerusalem, two of which proceeded with the school day.

Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne said police did not enter the UN buildings and that Jerusalem municipal authorities carried out the closures. He said police were deployed to protect the city workers, using “riot dispersal” means in one case where a crowd threw stones at them outside a UN facility.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, said the raids were an “unacceptable violation of United Nations privileges and immunities,” and a “denial of the right to education for children and trainees.”