MILAN, Italy - On Tuesday evening, as the division bell rang calling on MPs to attend a session which could have led to a historic declaration of Halabja as Iraq’s 19th province, several lawmakers sat back to watch a football match of the national team; one that ended in a crushing defeat.

All eyes were on the Iraqi parliament session on Tuesday, as Kurds around the world anticipated the long-delayed passing of a bill regarding Halabja’s accession to provincial status - a recognition long-demanded by the city’s afflicted population.

Yet, despite taking a sacred oath to serve their legislative duties, several Iraqi lawmakers were captured watching the national football team’s World Cup qualifier match against Palestine, instead of attending the parliamentary session; a session ultimately delayed as the number of MPs in attendance did not meet quorum.

The images show the MPs watching the match inside the parliament building, with the writing on the wall above them ironically reading "martyrs are more honorable than all of us."

The failure to hold the session sparked anger among the Kurdish public and lawmakers, who vowed to not enter another session of the parliament if it did not lead to Halabja’s accession to province.

“We have decided that Kurds will not participate in any parliamentary session that does not include Halabja’s accession to province,” Rebwar Hadi, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) MP told The New Region, after the session was postponed to Wednesday.

The match ended in a 2-1 win for the Palestinian team, marking their first win in the third round of the Asian qualifiers, and significantly diminishing Iraq’s chances of reaching the World Cup as they brace themselves to face an intimidating South Korean team, which has successfully qualified for the last ten World Cups, in June.

Adding to the Kurds’ frustration, footage captured by fans near the arena showed Kurdish player Akam Hashem, still in his full kit, left behind by the Iraqi team’s bus after the match was over.

After their 2-1 defeat to Palestine in a World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday, the Iraqi national football team left behind Kurdish player Akam Hashem pic.twitter.com/julvPCjTks

— The New Region (@thenewregion) March 25, 2025

Hashem has been one of the Iraqi team’s standout players in recent matches, scoring a last minute goal in the team’s last match against Kuwait, which helped Iraq gain a crucial single point which kept the team’s World Cup dreams alive.

Prior to the bout with Palestine, Hashem had only played 26 minutes for the national team in seven matches. His decisive goal against Kuwait started an uproar among the fans, Kurds and Arabs alike, demanding the player becomes part of the starting 11.

The bill for Halabja’s accession to province has been highly contested for years, with repeated attempts at passing proving futile, due to the opposition of a number of Shiite and Sunni parliamentary blocs, who raise other Iraqi districts for accession as well.

On March 16, the 37th anniversary of the Halabja chemical attack, Kurdistan Region officials renewed their call for the ascension of Halabja to an Iraqi province, urging the parliament to expedite the process.

"No more negligence must be done against Halabja’s sacrifices and that they will have to be properly compensated, and Halabja's ascension to a province must be passed as soon as possible," Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani wrote on X.

The session and the vote on Halabja’s status have been postponed to Wednesday, but the scenes from Tuesday provide very little hope for the passing of the bill and threaten further cracks in the relations between Erbil and Baghdad, one that is already scarred by years of budget dispute.