Sadr’s Rivals Weigh Extending Kadhimi’s Term as Iraq PM

Khazali addresses a political rally in October 2021. (AP)
Khazali addresses a political rally in October 2021. (AP)
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Sadr’s Rivals Weigh Extending Kadhimi’s Term as Iraq PM

Khazali addresses a political rally in October 2021. (AP)
Khazali addresses a political rally in October 2021. (AP)

Head of the Hikma Movement in Iraq, Ammar al-Hakim caused a stir among his allies in the Shiite Coordination Framework when he proposed the extension of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's term as a solution to the current political impasse in the country.

Prominent Framework member, former PM Nouri al-Maliki has expressed his reservations over the extension.

During a speech to mark the Eid Al-Adha holiday among the Shiite community in Iraq on Sunday, Hakim said: “Introducing radical change in no longer necessary (…) rather, we must confront the major dangers lurking around us and in the region.”

Hakim has no intention in joining the new government, but he is very active in its formation and is keen that it is formed “as soon as possible.”

Moreover, he is confident that any settlement that excludes the Framework’s main Shiite rival, influential cleric Moqatada al-Sadr, is doomed to fail.

Hakim is opting for the safer option where the Shiite factions would avoid a major rift with Sadr’s sizable popular base.

Sadr’s lawmakers had quit parliament last month over the political deadlock and in attempt to speed up government formation efforts. His rivals have yet to make any progress in their efforts.

An informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the talks among the Framework since Sadr’s resignation have led to the emergence of a position that is wary of excluding the cleric from a new government.

Maliki will have to adjust with this position even though he believes that he would be able to contain the “consequences of excluding the Sadrists.”

Moreover, cracks have started to emerge in the Framework, which is no longer as united as it used to be since Sadr’s resignation, added the source.

The resignation has allowed members of the Framework, and for the first time since the October parliamentary elections, to review their priorities and interests for the new government.

Meanwhile, Sadr’s supporters are gearing up to hold mass prayers on Friday in a show of force against their rivals.

In remarks that are likely to provoke the cleric’s supporters, Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, claimed that Sadr’s withdrawal from the political process will speed up the government formation process.

He said on Sunday that Sadr wasted nine months in attempting to form a government to no avail. His withdrawal has therefore created a new opportunity to form a cabinet.

He claimed that there were no delays in forming a government, noting that parliament is in recess and is set to convene after the Adha holiday.

“Only then will it show whether there is a delay or not,” he charged.

Khazali also noted messages from regional countries and major powers that “clearly support the formation of a national unity government.”

Sadr had been pushing for the establishment of a majority government that excludes the Framework.

Khazali also ignored the ongoing dispute within the Framework over the naming of a prime minister, saying the “only challenge facing the formation of the government is the election of a president.”

Currently, the two main Kurdish parties are in disagreement over the election.

“The dispute between the Kurdish political forces is deeper than that between the Shiites,” said Khazali, adding that the Framework would support the agreement over the president reached by the Kurdish parties.

He acknowledged differences within the Framework over the naming of a PM, but he stressed that they “did not amount to being a real problem.”

In contrast to Hakim’s position, he expressed his rejection of extending the term of the current caretaker cabinet or introducing a reshuffle.



Hundreds of Thousands Flee as Israel Seizes Rafah in New Gaza 'Security Zone'

A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
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Hundreds of Thousands Flee as Israel Seizes Rafah in New Gaza 'Security Zone'

A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter on Thursday in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah, part of a newly announced "security zone" they intend to seize.

A day after declaring their intention to capture large swathes of the crowded enclave, Israeli force pushed into the city on Gaza's southern edge which had served as a last refuge for people fleeing other areas for much of the war, reported Reuters.

Gaza's health ministry reported at least 97 people killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, including at least 20 killed in an airstrike around dawn in Shejaia suburb of Gaza City.

Rafah "is gone, it is being wiped out," a father of seven among the hundreds of thousands who had fled from Rafah to neighboring Khan Younis, told Reuters via a chat app.

"They are knocking down what is left standing of houses and property," said the man who declined to be identified for fear of repercussions.

After a strike killed several people in Khan Younis, Adel Abu Fakher was checking the damage to his tent.

"Is anything left for us? There’s nothing left for us. We’re being killed while asleep," he said.

The assault to capture Rafah is a major escalation in the war, which Israel restarted last month after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January.

GAZANS FEAR PERMANENT DEPOPULATION

Israel has not spelled out its longterm aims for the security zone its troops are now seizing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu said troops were taking an area he called the "Morag Axis", a reference to an abandoned former Israeli settlement once located between Rafah on Gaza's southern edge and the adjacent main southern city Khan Younis.

Gazans who had returned to homes in the ruins during the ceasefire have now been ordered to flee communities on the northern and southern edges of the strip.

They fear that Israel's intention is to depopulate those areas indefinitely, leaving many hundreds of thousands of people permanently homeless in one of the poorest and most crowded territories on earth. The security zone includes some of Gaza's last agricultural land and critical water infrastructure.

Since the first phase of the ceasefire expired at the start of March with no agreement to prolong it, Israel has imposed a total blockade on all goods reaching Gaza's 2.3 million residents, recreating what international organizations describe as a humanitarian catastrophe after weeks of relative calm.

Israel's stated goal since the start of the war has been the destruction of the Hamas group which ran Gaza for nearly two decades and led the attack on Israeli communities in October 2023 that precipitated the war.

But with no effort made to establish an alternative administration, Hamas-led police returned to the streets during the ceasefire. Fighters still hold 59 dead and living hostages which Israel says must be handed over to extend the truce; Hamas says it will free them only under a deal that ends the war.

Israeli leaders say they have been encouraged by signs of protest in Gaza against Hamas, with hundreds of people demonstrating in north Gaza's Beit Lahiya on Wednesday opposing the war and demanding Hamas quit power. Hamas calls the protesters collaborators and says Israel is behind them.

The war began with a Hamas attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023 with gunmen killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Israel's campaign has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, Gaza health authorities say.

Rafah residents said most of the local population had followed Israel's order to leave, as Israeli strikes toppled buildings there. But a strike on the main road between Khan Younis and Rafah stopped most movement between the two cities.

Movement of people and traffic along the western coastal road near Morag was also limited by bombardment, said residents.

"Others stayed because they don't know where to go, or got fed up of being displaced several times. We are afraid they might be killed or at best detained," said Basem, a resident of Rafah who declined to give a second name.

Markets have emptied and prices for basic necessities have soared under Israel's total blockade of food, medicine and fuel.

The Palestinian Health Ministry, which is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank but has nominal authority over hospitals in Gaza, said Gaza's entire healthcare system was at risk of collapse.