An agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority that could lessen West Bank violence and revive Middle East peace talks generated controversy almost as soon as it was concluded in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba on Sunday.
The US said the Aqaba Communique commits Israel and the Palestinian Authority to “de-escalate and prevent further violence.”
“We recognise that this meeting was a starting point,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. “Implementation will be critical.”
What was in the Aqaba Communique?
The communique was jointly agreed upon by Israel, President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority, the US, Jordan and Egypt at the end of a one-day meeting attended by senior security officials from each country.
Here are its main points:
Israel and the Palestinian Authority “confirmed their joint readiness” to work to end “unilateral measures”.
“This includes an Israeli commitment to stop discussion of any new settlement units for four months and to stop authorisation of any outposts for six months”, the communique says.
The participants also agreed to pursue confidence-building measures and strengthen mutual trust in order to address outstanding issues through direct dialogue
Aqaba Communique
This line was widely misinterpreted as a commitment to freeze settlement building, but Israeli government officials quickly said that no such promise had been made.
The two sides “affirmed their commitment to all previous agreements”, and to work for “a just and lasting peace”.
“They reaffirmed the necessity of committing to de-escalation on the ground and to prevent further violence”, the communique said, without mentioning the rising violence in the West Bank or whether Israel would stop raids in the area.
Referring to a Jordanian claim of custodianship over ancient holy sites in Jerusalem, the communique said the five parties noted what it described as the Hashemite Custodianship, or special role of Jordan, in the context of “upholding unchanged the historic status quo at the holy sites” in the city.
“The participants also agreed to pursue confidence-building measures and strengthen mutual trust in order to address outstanding issues through direct dialogue”, the document said.
It said the Aqaba meeting was the first of its kind in years and that the participants “agreed to continue meeting under this formula, maintain positive momentum and expand this agreement towards wider political process leading to a just and lasting peace.”
Why did the Aqaba Communique cause confusion?
Washington appears to have kept the deal purposefully vague, especially regarding Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, to assuage the two sides.
President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority has struggled to stem rising anger in the West Bank as more Palestinians see armed resistance as the main way of countering Israel's insistence on building more settlements.
On Sunday, two settlers in a car were shot dead near a West Bank town, days after an Israeli raid in Nablus killed 11 people.
On the Israeli side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government came to power in late December through the support of ultra-right wing parties who are vehemently opposed to any change in settlement policy.
Mr Netanyahu is seen as a more pragmatic figure, although he is also a hardliner and well versed in using loopholes to advance ideological agendas.
The massive expansion of the settlements, however, has vastly undermined the possibility of executing a two-state solution, embedded in UN resolutions from as far back as the late 1940s.
Before the ink had dried on the Aqaba deal, Mr Netanyahu wrote on Twitter that “the building and authorisation” of settlements “will continue according to the original planning and building schedule, with no change.”
“There is not and will not be any freeze,” he said.
But the text of the Aqaba Communique indicates some kind of a curb, and Mr Netanyahu did not say what Israel had agreed to.
Quoting the paragraph about the settlements verbatim, Jordan's Foreign Ministry said the communique contains “important commitments” that could lead to “progress towards a larger political engagement”.
Why did the Aqaba Communique lack detail?
Vague language has been a hallmark of Middle East deals for decades.
UN Security Council Resolution 242, one of the first to address the 1967 Israeli occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territory, said a lasting peace should include the “withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict”.
By omitting the word “the,” it does not explicitly refer to all the land occupied by Israel during the six-day conflict.
Some on the Arab side have taken advantage of cryptic language, such as the 1989 Taif Accord, which ended the Lebanese civil war but contained loopholes that covered what many Lebanese regarded as a de facto Syrian occupation of their country.
Similarly, the Geneva Declaration on the Syrian conflict, agreed between the US and Russia in 2012, stipulates a political transition in Syria without specifying what it means by such a transition.
In the Aqaba Communique, the most certain clause may be one about the two sides agreeing to meet again in Sharm El Sheikh in March.
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
- Peter Bone
- Ben Bradley
- Andrew Bridgen
- Maria Caulfield
- Simon Clarke
- Philip Davies
- Nadine Dorries
- James Duddridge
- Mark Francois
- Chris Green
- Adam Holloway
- Andrea Jenkyns
- Anne-Marie Morris
- Sheryll Murray
- Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Laurence Robertson
- Lee Rowley
- Henry Smith
- Martin Vickers
- John Whittingdale
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
RESULTS
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
Winner: Miller’s House, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Kanood, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Gervais, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Important Mission, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Firnas, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Zhou Storm, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
The%20specs
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Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 4 (Salah (pen 4, 33', & pen 88', Van Dijk (20')
Leeds United 3 (Harrison 12', Bamford 30', Klich 66')
Man of the match Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PLUS
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
SPECS
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Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
BLACKBERRY
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
