ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government plans to dedicate one percent of the civil servants’ salaries to its Lebanon and Gaza humanitarian response for six months.
Last week, the Iraqi government issued a decree seeking the deduction of one percent of each public employee’s salary to be used in the cabinet’s plan to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Employees and retirees unwilling to donate can opt out by submitting requests to their respective institutions, the decree clarified.
The Iraqi parliament said in a statement on Tuesday that Shakhawan Abdullah, deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament had directed the general secretary of the legislature “to contact the Council of Ministers regarding the decision to deduct one percent of the salaries of employees and retirees for the purpose of amending it.”
The statement did not elaborate.
Hours later, the Iraqi government approved “an amendment” to the decision, saying the deduction will be applied for only half a year, reported state media without explaining which amendment was approved.
Sabah Habib, an Iraqi lawmaker, told Rudaw that the measure does not apply to civil servants in the Kurdistan Region.
Baghdad has sent several rounds of aid to the Gaza Strip since October 7, when Palestinian Hamas militants launched a large-scale incursion into southern Israel, killing more than 1,170 people, according to Israeli figures. Israel responded with a massive ongoing offensive in Gaza, killing over 43,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Gaza Strip’s health ministry.
Iraqi aid has also been supplied to Lebanon since the spillover of the war to the country, and Iraq has received thousands of Lebanese refugees since Israel intensified its strikes on Lebanon, labeling them as “guests of Iraq.”
