BAGHDAD: Hundreds of supporters of powerful Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr on Wednesday stormed parliament after penetrating the capital’s high-security government Green Zone, protesting against a rival bloc’s nomination for prime minister.
The protests are the latest challenge for oil-rich Iraq, which remains mired in a political and a socioeconomic crisis despite elevated global oil prices.
No lawmakers were present. Only security forces were inside the building and they appeared to allow the protesters in with relative ease.
Protesters “stormed the parliament” after initially being stopped by police firing a barrage of tear gas, a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
State news agency INA said on messaging app Telegram that “protesters have entered the parliament building.”
The breach came amid the biggest protest since Iraqi elections were held in October. The demonstrators were protesting the recent nomination of Mohammed Al-Sudani as the official nominee of the Coordination Framework bloc, a coalition led by Iran-backed Shiite parties and their allies.
Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi called on the protesters to “immediately withdraw” from the heavily fortified Green Zone, which is home to both government buildings and diplomatic missions.
He warned in a statement that security forces would see to “the protection of state institutions and foreign missions, and prevent any harm to security and order.”
Riot police used water cannons to repel demonstrators pulling down cement blast walls. But many breached the gates to the area, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies.
The demonstrators walked down the zone’s main thoroughfare, with dozens gathering outside the doors to the parliament building.
Riot police assembled at the doors to the main gates. Demonstrators crowded around two entrances to the Green Zone, with some scaling the cement wall and chanting, “Sudani, out!“
Sadr’s bloc won 73 seats in Iraq’s October 2021 election, making it the largest faction in the 329-seat parliament. But since the vote, talks to form a new government have stalled.
Al-Sudani was selected by State of Law leader and former premier Nouri Al-Maliki. Before Al-Sudani can face parliament to be seated officially as premier-designate, parties must first select a president.
Iraq was plunged deeper into political crisis last month when the 73 lawmakers from Sadr’s bloc quit en masse in an apparent bid to break a logjam over the establishment of a new government.
Sixty-four new Iraqi lawmakers were sworn in later in June, making the pro-Iran bloc the largest in parliament.
Sadr had initially supported the idea of a “majority government” which would have sent his Shiite adversaries from the Coordination Framework into opposition.
The former militia leader then surprised many by compelling his lawmakers to resign, a move seen as seeking to pressure his rivals to fast-track government formation.
Earlier this month, hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshippers loyal to Sadr attended a Friday prayer service in Baghdad, in a display of political might to revive stalled talks on government formation.
The huge turnout came despite scorching heat and the Shiite cleric not being there in person — an indication of his status as a political heavyweight, as well as a key religious authority.
The mercurial cleric’s sermon took aim at rivals from other Shiite factions, including a powerful ex-paramilitary network.
“We are at a difficult... crossroads in the formation of the government, entrusted to some we do not trust,” Sadr said in the speech on July 15, read out by Sheikh Mahmud Al-Jayashi.
Some factions have shown they are “not up to the task,” he added.
(With AFP and AP)
Pro-Sadr protesters storm parliament in Iraq’s Green Zone
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Pro-Sadr protesters storm parliament in Iraq’s Green Zone
Palestinian president meets Red Cross chief in Ramallah
- Mirjana Spoljaric assessed the humanitarian needs of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
- Mahmoud Abbas underlined the significance of the upcoming ICRC conference in Switzerland
LONDON: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, at the Palestinian Authority’s headquarters in Ramallah on Thursday.
Abbas expressed gratitude to Spoljaric for visiting the Gaza Strip this week to assess the humanitarian needs of nearly 2 million Palestinians who have endured 15 months of war with Israel.
Younis Al-Khatib, president of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, attended the meeting.
The PA is dedicated to allowing Red Cross teams to deliver humanitarian relief materials to the Gaza Strip without restrictions, the Palestine News & Information Agency reported.
Abbas outlined to Spoljaric the significance of the ICRC conference in Switzerland in March, which will address issues concerning Palestine, including the treatment of prisoners in Israeli jails and the occupation policies in the Palestinian territories.
US envoys working to resolve last-minute dispute over Gaza deal, US official says
- The dispute was over the identities of several prisoners that Hamas is demanding to be released
- Working on the issue is President Joe Biden’s Middle East envoy, Brett McGurk
WASHINGTON: A last-minute glitch surfaced on Thursday in the details of the Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal and US envoys are working to resolve it, a US official said.
The dispute was over the identities of several prisoners that Hamas is demanding to be released, the official said. The official said the issue is expected to be resolved soon.
Working on the issue is President Joe Biden’s Middle East envoy, Brett McGurk, and President-elect Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff. They are both in Doha with Qatari and Egyptian negotiators, the official said.
“We’re aware of these issues and we are working through them with the Israeli government, as well as other partners in the region. We are confident these implementing details can be hammered out and that the deal will move forward this weekend,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said separately.
The agreement, reached on Wednesday, is supposed to begin to be implemented on Sunday.
Bootleg alcohol claims lives of at least 30 people in Turkiye
- Six people were detained for allegedly selling the counterfeit drinks and two suspects were charged with "deliberate murder"
- Many people resort to cheaper alternatives or homemade spirits as the prices of alcoholic beverages continue to rise
ANKARA: At least 30 people have died in Istanbul over the past three days after drinking bootleg alcohol, Turkiye’s state-run news agency reported Thursday, as authorities intensified a crackdown on counterfeit drinks.
The dead were among some 80 people who sought treatment in hospitals around Istanbul, Anadolu Agency reported. At least 31 patients were in intensive care units.
Deaths from counterfeit alcohol has become increasingly frequent in Turkiye, where the prices of alcoholic beverages continue to rise. Many people, confronted with ever-increasing costs, resort to cheaper alternatives or homemade spirits, increasing the risk of poisoning from toxic substances.
A combination of soaring inflation and government taxes has driven beverage prices to all-time highs.
On Wednesday, six people were detained for allegedly selling the counterfeit drinks while two other suspects were charged with “deliberate murder,” the Istanbul governor’s office said in a statement.
Authorities also seized 29 tons of bootleg alcohol in raids around Istanbul since Jan. 1 and revoked the licenses of 64 businesses for allegedly selling counterfeit or smuggled alcohol, according to the statement.
“We consider those who cause the death of dozens of our citizens by producing or selling fake alcohol to be no different from the terrorists who kill people,” the statement said. “Our fight against the scoundrels who attempt to kill our people for material gains will continue unabated.”
Netanyahu bets on political survival with Gaza ceasefire
- Parents of soldiers fighting in Gaza have accused Netanyahu of derailing months-long efforts to end the fighting for political gain
- Far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition have threatened to quit his administration over any ceasefire deal
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure for months from political allies and the families of hostages and soldiers to end the Gaza war, but analysts say he now hopes the ceasefire will help him stay in power.
The ceasefire and hostage release deal announced by mediators Qatar and the United States on Wednesday represents a pivotal moment for the Israeli leader.
Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Netanyahu has faced sharp public criticism for not securing the release of hostages sooner.
Parents of soldiers fighting in Gaza have accused Netanyahu of derailing months-long efforts to end the fighting for political gain, as he battles corruption charges in a lengthy trial.
Some 800 parents of soldiers earlier this month sent him a letter saying they could no longer “allow you to continue sacrificing our children as cannon fodder.”
More than 400 troops have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war.
But far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition have threatened to quit his administration over any ceasefire deal and pushed for an even harder response in Gaza.
Despite the conflicting pressures, analysts say that the obstacles clouding his mandate in recent months are unlikely to bring down the leader long seen as a political survivor.
After the October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, Netanyahu vowed to crush Hamas and bring home the hostages.
During their assault, militants took 251 people hostage, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
While Hamas has not been defeated, Israel has decimated its leadership and its military structure.
It has also massively weakened its Lebanese foe Hezbollah in a parallel war to the north that took out the Iran-backed group’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and a string of other commanders.
Netanyahu could now seek a way to use the ceasefire agreement to his advantage, potentially by pivoting away from the far-right coalition partners he has relied on since 2022.
The deal could even pave the way to a long-sought normalization deal with Saudi Arabia, backed by incoming US president Donald Trump.
“The key is not the situation but how you play the game, and the bottom line is that (Netanyahu) is the best player of the game there is,” said Jonathan Rynhold, head of the political studies department at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv.
Before the Hamas attack, Israeli ally the United States was close to clinching a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
“The question is what is Netanyahu getting out of the deal beyond the hostage release and the ceasefire and that is where we get into the Saudi question,” said Anshel Pfeffer, a journalist and author of a 2018 biography of Netanyahu.
He said it was possible that the agreement “could be part of something much bigger... Trump wants a deal” between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
While Netanyahu’s far-right partners have vowed to oppose the ceasefire, Pfeffer said it was unlikely any disagreements in the ruling coalition would bring him down.
Still, the ceasefire will be “a moment of truth” for Netanyahu, where he might try to “pivot away from the far right in the coalition to some sort of legacy-defining deal with the Saudis.”
After all but crushing his enemies in Hamas and Lebanon, Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Netanyahu may no longer need to rely on the far right.
Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, and Itamar Ben Gvir, the security minister, are both far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet and have expressed their opposition to the deal.
“It may well be that both Smotrich and Ben Gvir will not be part of such a deal, which means that behind heavy curtains, it may be the case that Netanyahu is preparing for that day,” Talshir said.
She noted that former defense minister Benny Gantz, opposition leader Yair Lapid and other figures have already indicated they would work with Netanyahu if he reaches an agreement to free the hostages or if he strikes a deal with Saudi Arabia.
Aviv Bushinsky, a political commentator and Netanyahu’s former chief of staff, said that despite some turbulence sparked by the ceasefire, “politically, it’s not a game changer.”
Nonetheless, the October 7 attack would continue to cast a shadow over Netanyahu, he said.
The prime minister “will want people to remember the ones he has managed to bring back but not the ones he was unable to bring back,” Bushinsky said.
“But this thing will continue to haunt him... It will be the first time since Israel was established” that its military was unable to rescue missing civilians, he added.
UAE president welcomes Egyptian counterpart in Abu Dhabi
- Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrived in the UAE capital on Thursday
LONDON: Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the president of the UAE, welcomed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Presidential Airport in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the deputy chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Tahnoon Al-Nahyan, adviser to the UAE president; and Ahmed Al-Mazrouei, chairman of the President’s Office for Strategic Affairs, were present during the reception for El-Sisi.
