Supreme Court Suspends Iraq Parliament

A general view of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, January 9, 2022. (Reuters)
A general view of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, January 9, 2022. (Reuters)
TT

Supreme Court Suspends Iraq Parliament

A general view of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, January 9, 2022. (Reuters)
A general view of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, January 9, 2022. (Reuters)

The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq suspended on Thursday the parliament speaker and his two deputies, days after they were elected to their post.

The ruling came after MPs Bassem Khashan and Mahmoud Daoud filed a complaint citing "legal and constitutional violations" in their election.

The parliament will therefore be suspended until the judiciary can examine the appeal and issue a final ruling in the case.

The suspension marked a precedent in Iraq. Observers have expressed concern that should the appeal be accepted, it would delay other pending constitutional affairs, such as the election of a president in the next three weeks.

Former head of the Integrity Commission Judge Rahem al-Ugaili doubted that the court's acceptance of the appeal would annul the inaugural session of the new parliament, which was held on Sunday.

In remarks to the Asharq Al-Awsat, he explained that the ratification of the appeal is not considered a judicial ruling, but rather a suspension that would give the relevant authorities time to examine the legality and constitutionality of the inaugural meeting.

The decision will, however, have direct and indirect impacts on the parliament, which will be completely suspended until a final ruling over the appeal is reached.

He said that such an issue should be finalized withing 10 to 15 days.

He believes that the Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction over the work of the parliament, rather its authority covers the constitutionality of laws and regulations.

MP Khashan, who filed the appeal, is known for his fierce rivalry with Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, who was reelected to his post on Sunday.

During the meeting, he submitted legal documents that condemn Halbousi and prevent him from again running for speaker, but his objections were ignored.



Women and Children Scavenge for Food in Gaza, UN Official Says

 Palestinians walk on a destroyed street after Israeli forces withdrew from a part of Nuseirat, following a ground operation amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, November 29, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians walk on a destroyed street after Israeli forces withdrew from a part of Nuseirat, following a ground operation amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, November 29, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Women and Children Scavenge for Food in Gaza, UN Official Says

 Palestinians walk on a destroyed street after Israeli forces withdrew from a part of Nuseirat, following a ground operation amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, November 29, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians walk on a destroyed street after Israeli forces withdrew from a part of Nuseirat, following a ground operation amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, November 29, 2024. (Reuters)

Large groups of women and children are scavenging for food among mounds of trash in parts of the Gaza Strip, a UN official said on Friday following a visit to the Palestinian enclave.

Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights office for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, expressed concern about the levels of hunger, even in areas of central Gaza where aid agencies have teams on the ground.

"I was particularly alarmed by the prevalence of hunger," Sunghay told a Geneva press briefing via video link from Jordan. "Acquiring basic necessities has become a daily, dreadful struggle for survival."

Sunghay said the UN had been unable to take any aid to northern Gaza, where he said an estimated 70,000 people remain following "repeated impediments or rejections of humanitarian convoys by the Israeli authorities".

Sunghay visited camps for people recently displaced from parts of northern Gaza. They were living in horrendous conditions with severe food shortages and poor sanitation, he said.

"It is so obvious that massive humanitarian aid needs to come in – and it is not. It is so important the Israeli authorities make this happen," he said. He did not specify the last time UN agencies had sent aid to northern Gaza.

US WARNING

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin set out steps last month for Israel to carry out in 30 days to address the situation in Gaza, warning that failure to do so may have consequences on US military aid to Israel.

The State Department said on Nov. 12 that President Joe Biden's administration had concluded that Israel was not currently impeding assistance to Gaza and therefore was not violating US law.

The Israeli army, which began its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after the group's attack on southern Israeli communities in October 2023, said its operating in northern Gaza since Oct. 5 were trying to prevent militants regrouping and waging attacks from those areas.

Israel's government body that oversees aid, Cogat, says it facilitates the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and accuses UN agencies of not distributing it efficiently.

Looting has also depleted aid supplies within the Gaza Strip, with nearly 100 food aid trucks raided on Nov. 16.

"The women I met had all either lost family members, were separated from their families, had relatives buried under rubble, or were themselves injured or sick," Sunghay said of his stay in the Gaza Strip.

"Breaking down in front of me, they desperately pleaded for a ceasefire."