Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war/node/2575127/middle-east
Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) attends a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi in Baghdad on Oct. 13. Iran’s top diplomat vowed upon his arrival in the Iraqi capital there would be “no red lines” for the country in defending its people and interests, ahead of Israel’s expected retaliation for Iran’s recent missile attack. (AFP)
Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of armed groups backed by Iran, has claimed several drone attacks targeting Israel in recent months
Updated 13 October 2024
AFP
BAGHDAD: The Iraqi government is struggling to rein in powerful pro-Iran factions that risk pulling Iraq into a regional war, as fighting in Gaza and Lebanon threatens to spread further.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of armed groups backed by Iran, has claimed several drone attacks targeting Israel in recent months, which they say are in support of their Palestinian ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
While most of the attacks have been intercepted, a drone strike last week that Israel said was launched from Iraq killed two Israeli soldiers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day said his country was “defending itself on seven fronts,” including against Shiite groups in Iraq.
After nearly a year of war in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, Israel in September escalated its strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah and sent ground troops into the south of Lebanon.
Iran launched its second-ever direct attack on Israel on October 1 this year, firing 200 missiles toward its arch-foe, prompting a promise of retaliation.
With warnings of all-out regional war multiplying, the fact that the Iraqi government is itself led by the Iran-aligned Coordination Framework coalition may make it harder for Baghdad to stay clear of further spillover.
Still, after decades of successive wars and crises, Iraq wants to prevent the violence already wracking the region from spreading into its turf.
On Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Baghdad was against any “expansion toward the Islamic Republic of Iran and (Israel’s) exploitation of Iraqi airspace,” during a visit by his Iranian counterpart.
“The continuation of the war and its expansion toward the Islamic Republic of Iran and (Israel’s) exploitation of Iraqi airspace as a corridor is completely unacceptable and rejected,” he said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, on the first anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, said that his government had worked “with great effort to spare Iraq an escalation.”
He also called for greater efforts to “save the region from the evils of a war that will leave nothing behind.”
But according to Iraqi political analyst Sajad Jiyad, Baghdad has realized that it cannot “control events” on its own turf, nor will it be able to “prevent any response from outside the country.”
A source close to Iraq’s pro-Iran groups told AFP that officials in the Coordination Framework recently met “with a number of faction leaders and stressed to them that attacks on Israel expose the country to the risk of air strikes that we can do without.”
During the meeting, the armed groups reportedly urged the government not to intervene, arguing that they alone would bear responsibility for any consequences, according to the same source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ahmad Al-Hamidawi, secretary-general of Iraqi armed faction Kataib Hezbollah, has said the groups should be readying for an escalation.
“The Islamic Resistance is preparing for the possibility of this war expanding and to continue directing precise strikes at the heart” of Israel, he said.
Iraqi national security adviser Qasim Al-Araji told Iraqi television channel Al-Rabia last week that Baghdad is exerting “internal and external pressure to reduce the escalation.”
“The government is the one that exclusively has the authority to issue the decision of war and peace, and Iraq has no intention of entering a war that may have dire consequences,” he said.
But Jiyad, a fellow at the New York-based Century International think tank, said that ultimately, it might not be up to Iraq whether or not it gets dragged in.
In the event of an Israeli attack on Iraqi infrastructure or oil fields, he said, “the Iraqi government will have no alternative but to support any military response to Israel.”
After Iran’s missile attack on Israel, the pro-Tehran Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee vowed to target US bases and interests in Iraq and the region if Israel used Iraq’s airspace to strike Iran.
But according to Iraqi military expert Munqith Dagher, the factions know any confrontation with Israel would not be an equal fight, given its intelligence and military prowess.
The Iraqi groups are fighting, in his words, “a media battle,” because “they know the limits of their military capabilities.”
Israeli airstrike kills five children in Gaza, says official Palestinian news agency
A group of children were playing near a cafe in the Al-Shati area when they were killed by a drone strike, according to WAFA
Updated 13 October 2024
Reuters
CAIRO: An Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza killed five children on Sunday, according to official Palestinian news agency WAFA and media affiliated with Hamas.
A group of children were playing near a cafe in the Al-Shati area when they were killed by a drone strike, according to WAFA, which cited local sources.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the report.
Frankly Speaking: Can a new global coalition achieve Palestinian statehood?
Riyad Mansour tells Arab News current-affairs program the coalition will pressure Israel to comply with international laws and resolutions to end the occupation
Palestinian ambassador to the UN also underscores the responsibility of the international community to take concrete action following ICJ ruling
Updated 16 min 46 sec ago
Arab News
DUBAI: Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s permanent observer to the UN, has commended Saudi Arabia’s leadership in advancing the two-state solution, stressing that the Kingdom’s efforts, led by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, are pivotal for the future of the Palestinian people.
Appearing on the Arab News current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Mansour said the international coalition spearheaded by Saudi Arabia is a vital step toward realizing Palestinian statehood and enforcing international law.
The coalition, launched at a high-level meeting during the UN General Assembly, involves key global players, including the EU and Norway.
“We are very appreciative of what Saudi Arabia is doing and the personal involvement of Prince Faisal bin Farhan,” Mansour said.
In the recent UN General Assembly session, Prince Faisal bin Farhan announced the coalition’s formation, drawing participation from a wide range of international stakeholders.
“About 90 countries participated, among them 90 foreign ministers,” Mansour said, adding that the coalition’s purpose is to take concrete steps to pressure Israel to comply with international laws and resolutions, which mandate an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories.
Delegates of member states line up to greet Riyad Mansour, top right, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, as he arrives for the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly last month. (AP/File Photo)
He praised the Saudi leadership for mobilizing this broad international support and noted that the coalition’s next steps would be shaped by an upcoming conference in Riyadh.
“There will soon be a conference in Riyadh in order to adopt the action plan for moving in the direction of taking all the steps necessary in order to either convince or force Israel to comply with this wish that this occupation has to end and it has to end soon to allow for the birth of the two-state solution,” Mansour told “Frankly Speaking” host Katie Jensen.
“Which means the independence of the State of Palestine, because one has been in existence since 1948-1949. The other one is under occupation, and it needs to be independent.
“It needs to be a full member in the UN to have parity and then to deal with all of the details that would lead to the evacuation of the settlements and the settlers and all of the manifestation of this illegal occupation to allow for seeing the two-state solution becoming a reality on the ground. I think we are in the initial stages of all these practical steps.”
He reaffirmed that the two-state solution remains the only viable path to peace in the region, emphasizing the importance of establishing the state of Palestine alongside Israel, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Mansour also stressed the need for Israel to be held accountable for its actions, particularly in Gaza, where some 42,000 Palestinians have been killed over the past year. He underscored the role of international legal mechanisms such as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court in achieving this accountability.
Reflecting on the ICJ’s ruling in July on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, Mansour said: “The court did its job and they gave us a historic advisory opinion.” However, he acknowledged the limitations of the court in enforcing its rulings. “The court doesn’t have an enforceability power,” he said.
“The enforceability power is in the hands of the international community — the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, the Contracting Parties of Fourth Geneva Convention and it is in the hands of national states.”
Mansour underscored the responsibility of the international community to take concrete action following the ICJ’s ruling. “We translated that in the resolution adopted in the General Assembly by saying this illegal occupation has to end as rapidly as possible. It should end within 12 months,” he said.
He called on countries that supply Israel with weapons to halt their support. “Those who provide weapons, they should stop sending weapons to embolden Israel and to allow it to continue with this illegal occupation and this genocidal war against our people in Gaza, among other things,” he said.
Mansour warned that the situation in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly. He also expressed concern that the world may be turning its back on the embattled enclave, despite the severity of the crisis.
“I hope that, after one year, these atrocities against our people in the Gaza Strip do not become a forgotten subject,” he said.
Mansour reiterated the importance of a ceasefire and humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
Protesters at a pro-Palestine demonstration in the Netherlands. Mansour called on the international community to take more decisive action to end the conflict and achieve peace. (AFP)
“We hope that that momentum will culminate in putting in place a ceasefire and the beginning of sending humanitarian assistance to the scale needed by our people in the Gaza Strip, and the process of allowing the people of Gaza to go back to the places where they were forced from and to provide them with shelter since winter is approaching,” he said.
Mansour did not shy away from criticizing the role of the US in the conflict, accusing Washington of failing to use its influence to stop the war in Gaza. He argued that the US could have exerted pressure on Israel to halt its military campaign but has allowed the violence to continue.
“The US could have stopped this war a long time ago,” Mansour said, adding that the situation has worsened due to this inaction.
“They could have mustered enough pressure on Israel more than three months ago when President Joe Biden made his announcement of the three stages of dealing with the situation in Gaza, starting with a ceasefire. And a resolution was adopted, 2735. Fourteen countries voted in favor. Nobody voted against it. And we are still not seeing a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.”
He added: “And they are now more or less frozen, and the administration is unable to take significant decisions to stop this war.”
Mansour also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using the conflict to advance his political interests.
“I believe that Netanyahu took the American leadership for a ride,” he said, suggesting that Netanyahu is exploiting the conflict to bolster his position domestically and avoid corruption charges.
“And he is, in essence, helping (Donald) Trump to become the next president. And he will wait and see what the result will be after Nov. 5.”
He warned that Netanyahu’s actions could destabilize the entire region, pointing to Israel’s ongoing strikes on Hezbollah targets and its military incursion into southern Lebanon, as well as threats against Iran.
“We condemn this aggression against Lebanon, and it should be stopped immediately,” he said.
“He created an environment to expand this war even further after what with regard to Iran, because he wants to wreck the entire Middle East if he can, in order to fulfill his selfish desire of remaining as prime minister of Israel and not going to jail because he’s facing four allegations of criminal activities that each one of them is enough to put him in jail.”
Mansour also commended Saudi Arabia for its financial support to the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza, where Saudi aid has been vital in addressing the growing humanitarian crisis.
He welcomed Saudi Arabia’s announcement of monthly financial aid to Palestine, calling it a significant step in ensuring the survival of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation.
“This step is a very significant step in showing that it is not up to Israel to decide the fate of the State of Palestine,” Mansour said, adding that the aid will help counter Israel’s economic pressure on the Palestinian Authority.
Mansour praised Saudi Arabia’s continued commitment to supporting Palestine, noting that its aid has to date totaled more than $5.3 billion.
He said that this support is not just humanitarian but also political, sending a clear message that the international community, led by Saudi Arabia, stands with Palestine.
Mansour called on the international community to take more decisive action to end the conflict and achieve peace. He expressed optimism that the Saudi-led coalition could serve as a catalyst for real change, but stressed that more needs to be done to hold Israel accountable and bring an end to the occupation.
Appearing on the Arab News current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Mansour said the international coalition spearheaded by Saudi Arabia is a vital step toward realizing Palestinian statehood and enforcing international law. (AN Photo)
Mansour said that global support for Palestine is growing. He called for continued pressure on Israel to comply with international law and for the international community to support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
“As Nelson Mandela said, and it was quoted even by President Biden in his speech at the UN, it is not over until it is over, until it is done,” he said.
“It looks very complicated. It looks that Israel is so belligerent. But when we reach that tipping point where countries, as some of them in Europe, like Spain, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, and others, started to see the light that, for example, admitting the state of Palestine to membership should take place at the beginning of the process, not at the end, as they used to believe.
“All these signs are giving us signals that we are getting very close to the possibility of opening the door to begin to see that this isolation and these practical tools available to all nations and the UN to be used.
“Then they will start giving results to force Israel to change its behavior and to begin the process of ending this occupation, hopefully soon in order to enjoy freedom and independence of the Palestinian people and the occupied land of the state of Palestine and to have the state of Palestine completely free, fully member of the UN, and to end this occupation in that process as well.”
He remains hopeful that the two-state solution can be realized, despite the challenges. “It is complicated, it is difficult, but we have a tremendous amount of help and support, globally speaking,” he said.
Israel reinforces ban on UN chief entering country over Iran attack comments
On Oct. 2, Katz said that he was barring Guterres from entering Israel
He posted on X on Sunday that “Guterres can continue seeking support from UN member states, but the decision will not change”
Updated 13 October 2024
Reuters
JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz reinforced on Sunday his decision to declare UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres persona non grata over what he described as a failure to condemn Iran’s missile attack and antisemitic and anti-Israel conduct.
On Oct. 2, Katz said that he was barring Guterres from entering Israel. He posted on X on Sunday that “Guterres can continue seeking support from UN member states, but the decision will not change.”
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described the initial announcement on Oct. 2 as political and “just one more attack, so to speak, on UN staff that we’ve seen from the government of Israel.” He said the UN traditionally does not recognize the concept of persona non grata as applying to UN staff.
When asked to respond to Katz’s remarks on Sunday, a UN spokesperson referred to Dujarric’s earlier comments.
Dujarric also said last week that the UN had not received any formal communication from Israel on the matter.
On Oct. 3, the UN Security Council expressed its full support for Guterres, saying in a statement that “any decision not to engage with the UN Secretary-General or the United Nations is counterproductive, especially in the context of escalating tensions in the Middle East.”
When asked last week if Guterres had been made persona non grata by Israel, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters: “There was a statement made ... we will evaluate the relationship. We are here at the UN, we work with the UN agencies, but we were disappointed.”
Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Oct. 1 amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. Many were intercepted in flight but some penetrated missile defenses.
Guterres condemned the missile attack and “the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation.” Earlier the same day, Israel had sent troops into southern Lebanon.
During a Security Council meeting a day later, Guterres said: “As I did in relation to the Iranian attack in April — and as should have been obvious yesterday in the context of the condemnation I expressed — I again strongly condemn yesterday’s massive missile attack by Iran on Israel.”
UN says Israeli tanks burst through gates of peacekeeper base
Netanyahu called on the UN to evacuate the troops of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force from combat areas in Lebanon
Hours later, the force reported what it described as additional Israeli violations, including tanks forcibly entering through the gates of a base
Updated 13 October 2024
Reuters
JERUSALEM/NEW YORK: The United Nations said on Sunday Israeli tanks had burst through the gates of a base of its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, the latest accusation of violations and attacks that have been denounced by Israel’s own allies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations to evacuate the troops of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force from combat areas in Lebanon. Hours later, the force reported what it described as additional Israeli violations, including tanks forcibly entering through the gates of a base.
“The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones,” Netanyahu said in a statement addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
“The IDF has requested this repeatedly and has met with repeated refusal, which has the effect of providing Hezbollah terrorists with human shields.”
Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah denies Israel’s accusation that it uses the proximity of peacekeepers for protection.
Five peacekeepers have so far been wounded in a series of strikes that have hit peacekeeping positions and personnel in recent days, most of the attacks blamed by UNIFIL on Israeli forces.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, typically one of Israel’s most vocal supporters among Western European leaders, spoke to Netanyahu by phone on Sunday and denounced the Israeli attacks.
Italy has more than a thousand troops in the 10,000-strong UNIFIL force, making it one of the biggest contributors of personnel. France and Spain, which each have nearly 700 soldiers in the force, have also condemned the Israeli attacks.
“Prime Minister Meloni reiterated the unacceptability of UNIFIL being attacked by Israeli armed forces,” the Italian government said in a statement.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz reiterated on Sunday that the country has banned UN chief Guterres from entering, due to what it says is his failure to adequately condemn Iran for a missile attack at the start of this month, and for what Katz described as antisemitic and anti-Israel conduct.
UNIFIL was set up in 1978 to monitor southern Lebanon. Since then, the area has seen persistent conflict, with Israel invading in 1982, occupying southern Lebanon until 2000 and again fighting a major five-week war against Hezbollah in 2006.
Israel’s assault against Hezbollah over the past three weeks has been the deadliest in Lebanon in decades, driving 1.2 million Lebanese from their homes and has inflicting an unprecedented blow against the group by killing most of its senior leadership.
Israeli officials say UNIFIL has failed in its mission of upholding UN Resolution 1701, passed after the 2006 war, which calls for the border area of southern Lebanon to be free of weapons or troops other than those of the Lebanese state.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a call with Israeli Defense Minister Gallant on Saturday, expressed “deep concern” about reports that Israeli forces had fired on peacekeeper positions and urged Israel to ensure their safety and that of the Lebanese military, the Pentagon said. The Lebanese military is not party to Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah.
Security in jeopardy
The Israeli military asked the UN peacekeepers nearly two weeks ago to prepare to relocate more than 5 km (3 miles) from the border “in order to maintain your safety,” according to an excerpt from the message, seen by Reuters.
UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the Security Council on Thursday that “the safety and security of peacekeepers is now increasingly in jeopardy.” They remained in position but operational activities had virtually come to a halt since Sept. 23 and peacekeepers were confined to base. Three hundred had been temporarily relocated to bigger bases.
Attacks on a watchtower, cameras, communications equipment and lighting had limited UNIFIL’s monitoring abilities, a UNIFIL spokesperson said on Thursday. UN sources said they feared Israeli attacks would make it impossible to monitor violations of international law.
Lebanon’s government says more than 2,100 people have been killed and 10,000 wounded in over a year of fighting, mainly during the escalation of the past few weeks. The toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but includes scores of women and children.
Under bombardment, Lebanon’s expectant mothers fear for their unborn babies
Nicolas Baaklini, an obstetrician and gynaecologist in Beirut, says he has noticed an increase in premature births and foetal deaths since hostilities began last year
Updated 13 October 2024
Reuters
BEIRUT: Tahani Yassine was in her third trimester of pregnancy when she chose to return to her hometown of Beirut to deliver her baby.
Living in Equatorial Guinea with her husband and three young children, she had more faith in the Lebanese health care system.
But just a few days after her arrival in Beirut, Yassine began to regret her decision. Israel intensified its military campaign in Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah strongholds in the south, the Bekaa Valley in the east and the southern suburbs of Beirut, close to her home.
Although her area wasn’t directly hit, the strikes were unnervingly close, and the boom of Israeli warplanes breaking the sound barrier overhead filled her with fear.
Anxious for the safety of her unborn child, the 36-year-old moved to an apartment closer to hospital where she was due to deliver.
“My doctors told me that I was too far along in my pregnancy to travel. I had no choice but to stay and deliver here,” she told Reuters just hours after giving birth at Trad Hospital in central Beirut on Oct. 10.
Lying in her hospital bed, with her newborn girl nestled next to her in a crib, Yassine expressed her relief that both she and her baby were healthy — a very different experience to many expectant mothers in the escalating conflict in Lebanon.
Nicolas Baaklini, an obstetrician and gynaecologist in Beirut, says he has noticed an increase in premature births and foetal deaths since hostilities began last year.
“What has increased the most, and what was shocking to me, is the number of foetal deaths in in-utero babies who died in their mothers’ wombs,” said Baaklini, 61, who has a private clinic and also works in several Beirut hospitals.
“There are many malformations, and surprisingly, several colleagues have observed the same. When ... in one year, you have two foetal deaths in-utero, and then suddenly, in two months, you have about 15, it indicates that something is wrong,” he added.
Mothers flee their homes
Around 11,600 pregnant women remain in Lebanon, of whom around 4,000 are expected to deliver in the next three months, according to a flash appeal published by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in October.
Many of them are displaced and lack adequate shelter, nutrition and sanitation. Access to safe antenatal, post-natal, and paediatric care is increasingly difficult.
Since the war intensified in late September, the Israeli campaign has forced about 1.2 million people from their homes, according to the Lebanese government.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants erupted a year ago when the Iranian-backed group began launching rockets at northern Israel in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war.
Dressed in white scrubs in the neonatal intensive care unit of Trad Hospital, Baaklini stroked the tiny feet of a baby girl in one of the incubators. The baby and her twin brother had been delivered prematurely by a mother who had to evacuate her home in southern Beirut due to Israeli airstrikes.
He believed that the mother’s early contractions were partly caused the stress of the bombardments and having to flee.
He said all the ICU beds were occupied, attributing this to the intensifying bombardments.
“It is not panic that makes you give birth,” Baaklini said, as machines monitoring the premature babies beeped in the background. “It is the act of running, falling, and experiencing trauma to the abdomen that triggers contractions, leading to premature delivery.”
