An explosion inside the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces east of Baghdad

Although Iraqi parties celebrated their representatives obtaining the vacant and newly created positions in the government of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, which Parliament approved last Thursday, the controversy and widespread popular criticism against them are still continuing, especially with any stumble that may face the disbursement of salaries of public sector employees.

In addition, during the past two days, many questions were raised about the issue of restricting weapons to the state and the future of the armed factions that obtained important positions in the government in the new formation.

Although successive Iraqi governments adopted consensus and quotas in distributing positions, the Zaidi government is receiving an unprecedented torrent of criticism due to the creation of new positions and the appointment of controversial figures, in a difficult financial situation, and amid fears of renewed war between the United States and Iran.

The expansion of government positions and the creation of new ministries sparked popular discontent, especially with the financial distress that the country is suffering from. The general popular trend was towards the government adopting austerity measures and severely compressing expenditures to confront the financial crisis that is on the country’s doorstep, but the political forces created four deputy prime ministers, in addition to splitting the Ministry of Culture and Antiquities into two ministries, and creating a new ministry called “Digital Economy and Governance,” and another for the state concerned with minorities.

The selection of representatives of the armed factions to occupy ministerial positions came as a surprise to public opinion, and instead of continuing the measures to restrict weapons in the hands of the state, which the government has been talking about for months, representatives of these parties now occupy high-ranking positions. US Representative Joe Wilson launched an attack on the inclusion of figures from the factions under US sanctions in the new government, and described the matter as “infuriating.”

Assigning positions to the circle of relatives also aroused the anger and ire of a wide segment of those interested in political affairs. The position of Ministry of Interior in the new government was assigned to Yasser al-Maliki, the son-in-law and nephew of the head of the “State of Law” coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, just as the position of Deputy Prime Minister was assigned to Qais al-Khazali’s brother.

The Syrian governor of As-Suwayda, Mustafa Al-Bakour, renewed his call to the people of the governorate for dialogue in order to resolve the ongoing crisis since the bloody events of July 2025, stressing that the government “opens its doors to resolve disputes in accordance with the law, and in a way that guarantees rights, preserves dignity, and puts people’s interests above all else.”

Israeli settlers in the West Bank received political and religious support in their open war against the Palestinians, which has intensified these days during the olive season, which has turned into an economic war with religious dimensions as well. The strict Israeli rabbi, Dov Lior, issued a religious fatwa allowing Jews to harvest olives from the Palestinian territories. The fatwa affirmed that Jews could take olives from “areas far from Jewish communities to publicly demonstrate their ownership of the land.”