In a bold and sobering statement, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid has declared that “the world cannot stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza.” The Iraqi leader’s comments reflect deep frustration over what he calls the global community’s failure to halt the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the Palestinian enclave.
President Rashid strongly condemned what he described as the daily crimes committed by the Israeli military, denouncing the silence and inaction of both Arab nations and Western powers. His words come amid escalating violence in Gaza, where mounting civilian casualties have drawn widespread international concern—but little decisive intervention.
Speaking from Baghdad, the 80-year-old president, a seasoned statesman and veteran observer of regional conflict, expressed his dismay at what he sees as “a global paralysis in the face of injustice.” He accused powerful nations of turning a blind eye while entire communities are razed and countless lives are lost.
Rashid’s perspective is shaped by decades of political and diplomatic experience. Before becoming president in October 2022, he served as Iraq’s Minister of Water Resources after the fall of Saddam Hussein and was also a high-ranking official at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization during the 1980s. He has lived through, and at times participated in, some of the Middle East’s most defining conflicts—from Kurdish uprisings in the 1990s to civil unrest in Lebanon.
A close associate of the late Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani, Rashid was once the spokesperson for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in the UK and remains deeply connected to the Kurdish political movement.
His presidency followed a long period of political stalemate in Iraq, culminating in his election after the 2021 legislative elections led to months of deadlock. His rise to power, alongside Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, was hailed as a new chapter for Iraqi leadership—but now, Rashid is using that platform to speak out on regional issues beyond Iraq’s borders.
His condemnation of Israeli actions in Gaza and the international community’s failure to act underscores the growing outrage across parts of the Middle East. Rashid warned that without immediate intervention, the damage to regional stability and to humanity could be irreversible.
Reporting by Carl Montel.
