With a war, protests and political upheaval, 2021 has been marked by violent and unexpected events for Israelis and Palestinians.
The darkest month of the year was certainly May, when the Israeli military and Gaza militants fought an 11-day war which had ramifications for people well away from the line of fire.
The conflict was preceded by weeks of protest in occupied East Jerusalem, initially sparked by the Israeli police refusing to allow Palestinians to gather at the Old City’s Damascus Gate during Ramadan.
The rallies coincided with an increase in demonstrations against a lawsuit filed by Israeli settlers to evict Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. The case is before Israel's Supreme Court, which has yet to issue its decision.
More than 1,000 Palestinians and a few dozen Israeli police officers were wounded in Jerusalem before the war broke out, according to paramedics and police.
Thirteen people in Israel and 261 Gazans were killed during the conflict, UN figures indicate.
Intercommunal violence broke out across Israel. In the West Bank, the UN documented 34 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during May and one case of a Palestinian killing an Israeli.
The violence followed a landmark report by Human Rights Watch, which accused Israel of the international crime of apartheid against Palestinians. The charge, which the government denies, was also laid by Israeli rights group B'Tselem in January.
While 2021 saw a shift in the language used by NGOs, Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as its blockade of Gaza, continued this year without significant policy changes.
Israeli politicians were largely focused on their own internal strife, with March resulting in the fourth inconclusive election in less than two years.
With voters exhausted at the prospect of yet another trip to the polling station, politicians from across the political spectrum united to build an unprecedented coalition.
An Arab-Israeli party entered government for the first time, working alongside left-wing legislators in an eclectic cabinet led by right-wing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
They were united by one aim: to oust Benjamin Netanyahu.
After 12 consecutive years in office, the former prime minister was consigned to the opposition in June. Mr Netanyahu’s political misfortunes have played out against the backdrop of his continuing trial on corruption charges that he denies.
While Israel was getting its political house in order, there were hopes at the start of the year that Palestinians would vote for the first time in 15 years.
A symbolic end to the Netanyahu era - in pictures
Legislative elections were slated for May 22, only to be scrapped at the end of April by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The elderly leader blamed Israel for failing to guarantee voter rights in East Jerusalem, though his detractors claim he feared losing the elections.
The same night the Palestinian president cancelled the vote — April 29 — Israel experienced the worst civilian disaster in the country’s history.
Forty-five people were crushed to death during a Jewish holiday on Mount Meron, in northern Israel, where an estimated 100,000 worshippers had gathered. The new government ordered a state inquiry, which started hearing witnesses in August.
While Mr Bennett’s coalition has been labouring over home affairs, it has also been trying to forge relationships with its closest ally in Washington.
Since taking office in January, US President Joe Biden has sought to reverse some of the controversial policies enacted by his predecessor Donald Trump.
Spyware firm blacklisted
At the end of the year, Israel remained at loggerheads with Washington over its plans to reopen its consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Bilateral relations were further strained in November by the US blacklisting Israeli spyware firm NSO, whose technology has allegedly been misused to target activists around the world.
The Palestinians have also been wooing the Biden administration, which in April restored funding to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
By the end of December, ties with Washington had largely returned to their pre-Trump norms for both Israelis and Palestinians.
As in the preceding few years, 2021 passed without peace talks.
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
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.
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
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”
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Benevento v Atalanta (2pm), Genoa v Bologna (5pm), AC Milan v Torino (7.45pm)
Sunday Roma v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Udinese v Napoli, Hellas Verona v Crotone, Parma v Lazio (2pm), Fiorentina v Cagliari (9pm), Juventus v Sassuolo (11.45pm)
Monday Spezia v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More coverage from the Future Forum
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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The five pillars of Islam
Packages which the US Secret Service said contained possible explosive devices were sent to:
- Former first lady Hillary Clinton
- Former US president Barack Obama
- Philanthropist and businessman George Soros
- Former CIA director John Brennan at CNN's New York bureau
- Former Attorney General Eric Holder (delivered to former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz)
- California Congresswoman Maxine Waters (two devices)
Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
