Iraq

Iraq Names New President and Prime Minister

On Thursday, after a year of stalemate in government formation, Iraq’s parliament named Abdul Latif Rashid as president. He in turn announced Mohammad Shia al-Sudani as prime minister-designate. Rashid, who is 78 and British-educated, served as Iraq’s minister of water resources from 2003-2010 and won against former President Barham Salih. Sudani, who is 52, was the chosen candidate of the Iran-linked Coordination Framework, and previously served as Iraq’s human rights minister and minister of labor and social affairs. This comes after Muqtada al-Sadr’s bloc, which received the most votes in the last election, withdrew from parliament. This opens the prospect of increased Iranian influence in Baghdad’s politics, with the potential for more street protests by Sadr allies.  

Israel and the Palestinian Territories 

Palestinian Rivals Hamas and Fatah Sign Reconciliation Deal in Algiers 

Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation deal in Algiers on Thursday, vowing to hold elections by next October in their latest attempt to end a rift that has now lasted more than 15 years. The deal was signed by a leading figure from the Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas and by the chief of the Islamist movement Hamas, which rules Gaza. But Abbas himself, president of the Palestinian Authority since 2005, was not present. "We signed this agreement to get rid of the malignant cancer of division that has entered the Palestinian body," said the head of the Fatah delegation, Azzam al-Ahmed. "We are optimistic that it will be implemented and will not remain ink on paper." Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said it was "a day of joy in Palestine and Algeria and for those who love the Palestinian cause, but a day of sadness for the Zionist entity (Israel).” Fatah and Hamas have been at odds since the elections in 2006, which were won by Hamas but never recognized by the international community. Under Thursday's "Algiers Declaration,” also signed by other major Palestinian factions, elections will take place for the presidency and for the Palestinian Legislative Council, which acts as a parliament for Palestinians in the occupied territories.  

Lebanon 

Hezbollah Welcomes Israel-Lebanon Maritime Border Deal 

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech on Tuesday, just as Israel and Lebanon were giving their final approvals for the U.S.-mediated deal demarcating the maritime border between the two countries. “Tonight we won’t threaten and won’t promise, tonight we’re calm, tonight there is joy and applause,” he said, stressing that he would choose his words very cautiously that night, lest he say anything that could benefit the enemy. “We want to eat the grapes [i.e. the fruits of the deal],” he said.

In his speech, Nasrallah tentatively welcomed the deal, saying that he gave his full support to the Lebanese State, represented by President Michel Aoun, to accept or reject the terms of the deal, but that Hezbollah would not consider the deal final until Israeli and Lebanese representatives signed the deal at a joint meeting in Naqoura. When the deal was finalized, he said, Hezbollah would continue to press – but this time the Lebanese side – to ensure that exploration and extraction proceeds on schedule.

Nasrallah also said the naming of the deal was “irrelevant” – whether it would be called an agreement or an understanding – and what mattered was the content.

Nasrallah also addressed Hezbollah’s stance on the deal, saying “Israeli media and some Arab media are operating on the idea that Hezbollah wants to ruin the deal, and that Hezbollah has no interest in the agreement and has no interest in the understanding. It’s strange that people are still using this terminology after all of Hezbollah’s behavior from the start of the opening of this file until today,” stressing again that the group would support whatever position the Lebanese state took on the deal and Lebanon’s interests and rights. “In this matter, from the first minute and after that, when there was a verbal escalation and threats, I always stated that we want to eat the grapes [i.e. achieve the fruits of a deal], and I was direct and clear – what interests us is the extraction of oil and gas from Lebanese fields. When we were told this was connected to dividing [the disputed waters], we said fine, go divide them.” Nasrallah stressed his support for the deal came from the fact that it was “the only hope for Lebanese to exit their economic, financial, monetary, living crisis…it’s not clear there’s another exit.”  

Echoing Nasrallah, an unnamed Hezbollah official told Newsweek on Wednesday that his group was “behind the [Lebanese] state” and supported the deal because “the important thing is not to abandon our rights and water resources.” The anonymous statement tracks with Hezbollah’s position throughout the negotiation process of the maritime border deal. Additionally, in the wake of the deal being signed, reports emerged that Hezbollah had greenlit the U.S.-mediated deal, Reuters reported, quoting two senior Lebanese sources – one senior Lebanese government and one unnamed official close to Hezbollah. According to them, the party “agreed” to the terms of the deal and considered negotiations “over.”  

Syria

Hamas, Syria Revive Ties

Hamas is reviving relations with the Iran-backed regime in Damascus after a decade-long rupture sparked by the outbreak of Syria’s civil war. A delegation led by Hamas officials is expected in the Syrian capital next week, following a series of preparatory meetings. The group last month hailed its newly warming ties with the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad as “a service to the (Palestinian) nation” whose people also live under Israeli rule in the West Bank. Hamas’s decision to ally again with Damascus follows numerous visits by its officials to Syria, both “secret and public,” a senior Hamas source told AFP on condition of anonymity. Those meetings were mediated by Iran and Hezbollah, which have both fought on Assad’s side in the civil war, the source said. As the Hamas group returns to Syria, the senior Hamas source told AFP, it plans to “open a representative office in Damascus soon, as a first step towards the return of normal relations.” The head of Hamas’s political committee, Bassem Naim, said the decision followed years of regional and international discussions. “In the end, Hamas went with the majority opinion on the resumption of the relationship with Syria,” said Naim. “There is no choice but for Hamas to be at the center of the resistance axis.”