During his daily walks in the mountains around Ramallah, Khaled Jarrar began collecting handfuls of soil. Stored in jars, these pieces of Palestinian land are now part of the artist’s first blockchain project, with two new works issued as NFTs (non-fungible tokens).
“I see that these lands are in danger of annexation sooner or later, so I’m taking the soil and putting them in these jars,” he says.
Jarrar's NFT is an animated image entitled If I don't steal your home, someone else will steal it, which shows a valley in the West Bank overtaken by Israeli settlement homes cascading across the screen. In reality, the valley, situated between the villages of Kobar and Jibiya, is controlled by Israeli settlers who moved from the nearby Halamish – also known as Neveh Tzuf – settlement and live under the protection of the Israeli army.
The limited edition NFT comes with a handful of soil that will be sent from Ramallah to the collector.
The fight for land rights is not new in Palestine, nor is it for the Palestinian artist, whose work centres on politics and power, specifically linked to the Israeli occupation.
The significance of the soil also references the ecological and agricultural violations inflicted on Palestinians by Israeli civilians, often with knowledge of the army, over the years. "They transform the soil. They burn the trees. They change the entire landscape," Jarrar says.
“They take the soil in these trucks and take it to the settlements. They’re not just stealing land, but soil as well ... they bring invasive trees and species. They don’t just change the demography, they also try to change nature and the land,” he says.
The artist is referring to incidents of topsoil stripping and the transfer of piles of fertile soil from Palestinian villages to Israeli settlements for horticultural use. He also decries the planting of non-native species on Palestinian land, including destroyed villages, resulting in biodiversity loss and what the artist calls “green-washing colonialism”. Reports of water and soil contamination, as well as the restriction of access to safe and clean water to the West Bank and Gaza by the Israeli government, have been cited by human rights groups for years.
Jarrar says that Palestinian youths are responding to this with “agricultural and farming-based activism” as a form of decolonisation, employing permaculture practices long established by their ancestors over centuries. A portion of the proceeds from his NFT sale will be used to plant indigenous seedlings and trees in the farmlands of Kobar.
His second work, State of Palestine Postage Stamp, is a unique NFT edition of his 2012 series, which featured the Palestine sunbird and the phrase "State of Palestine" in English, Arabic and Hebrew. The stamps were later produced and used by countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Norway.
For the 2021 version, the artist traded in the sunny yellow background of the previous work with a blood-red splatter, and added a glitch, so that pixelated elements now cover the bird's body as it flies over a jasmine flower. The word "annexation" is written at the bottom of the image.
“It reflects what is happening in Palestine ever since the British occupation ... there have been divisions between people since 1947 until now,” he says. “When you go to one place, within years, you will see one house becomes 100 houses by settlers.”
These offences are being thrust back into international consciousness after evictions in the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah and Israeli air strikes in Gaza in response to rockets fired by Hamas.
With his entry into the world of NFTs, the artist acknowledges that he is still familiarising himself with the technology and is working closely with the blockchain-focused collective Strc prst skrz krk (SPSK) that minted his works on the Our Zora platform. The works will also be presented at the Crypto and Digital Art Fair in Paris, with the third edition taking place in June.
"I have concerns [about NFTs], but I don't want them to prevent me from my goal and fight for freedom," he says. "Travel is also not easy now ... and that is the good thing about this medium, is that it also will be available online."
He says that his focus continues to be on Palestinian freedom and that his latest project will highlight the political power of boycott and sanctions against Israel. "That's our strongest power as Palestinians. That's our weapon as Palestinians," he says.
"I hope that this project will highlight that we have a responsibility to the Earth, the people living here, to the trees and the water," he says. "What is happening in Palestine are crimes against humanity that is supported by normalisation and the buying of Israeli weapons.
"When it comes to Palestinian rights, we have nobody but ourselves and the people, not governments, who have goodwill.”
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More coverage from the Future Forum
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
FIGHT INFO
Men’s 60kg Round 1:
Ahmad Shuja Jamal (AFG) beat Krisada Takhiankliang (THA) - points
Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) beat Akram Alyminee (YEM) - retired Round 1
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Bhanu Pratap Pandit (IND) - TKO Round 1
Men’s 71kg Round 1:
Seyed Kaveh Soleyman (IRI) beat Abedel Rahman (JOR) - RSC round 3.
Amine Al Moatassime (UAE) walk over Ritiz Puri (NEP)
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
