Squatting on a mattress under a pergola, Ali Araarah said it was only a matter of time before his small Bedouin community of 200 would be evicted to make way for a new Jewish neighbourhood east of Jerusalem.
“There's only one person who can save us,” he said. “Him,” he added as he pointed to the sky above.
Mr Araarah, a 60-year-old widower and father of 11 children, is an elder of the Kasarat community, one of four in a 12-square-kilometre area known as E1 that Israel plans to develop into a major settlement.
The four communities are part of the Jahalin tribe whose original home is the Negev desert in southern Israel.
The announcement of the plan for the 3,400-home development has caused an international outcry, with critics saying it will divide the occupied West Bank and disrupt the territorial continuity of a future Palestinian state.
Israel agrees. It openly said that the goal is to “bury” a Palestinian state, while also meeting the “natural growth” requirements of nearby Maale Adumim, a settlement built more than 40 years ago that's now home to 44,000 Israelis.
“I don't know where we will go when we leave here, but maybe Israel will find us another place. Only God knows where that is,” said Mr Araarah, who wore a grey robe and a black waistcoat, as he puffed on a cigarette and sipped sweet black tea from a paper cup.
Captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, the occupied West Bank's population includes 700,000 Israeli settlers and 2.7 million Palestinians. Since the Gaza war began nearly two years ago, the area has been under a wave of settler violence against Palestinians and their property, as well as a series of deadly army operations against suspected militants.
Building a Jewish settlement in the E1 area is a project that had been shelved by Israel for decades in the face of international opposition.
Last week, however, the plan received final government approval and construction is expected to start within six months. When completed, it will house about 15,000 people.
That Israel chose to press ahead now with a controversial settlement plan that had long been on ice is seen as the latest evidence of the extremist government's belligerent mood in the face of growing international criticism over its war in Gaza, where it killed more than 62,000 Palestinians and is starving hundreds of thousands, as well the prospect of several major European powers recognising a Palestinian state.
It also speaks to the uncompromising assertiveness of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which has been emboldened by US President Donald Trump's seemingly unrestricted support at a time when many Western powers are beginning to express their deep dismay with Israel.
Illegal projects
Israel's parliament last month voted overwhelmingly in favour of a non-binding declaration to annex the West Bank. It was a symbolic move that, nonetheless, seemed to have further emboldened leaders of the settlement movement and revived calls on the government to do more to strengthen its grip on the area.
Israel Ganz, leader of the West Bank settlement movement and a rising political star, told reporters this week that he has been urging the government to exercise sovereignty over the entire region except areas under direct control of the Palestinian Authority, which he accused of being corrupt and inefficient. If his proposition is embraced, it will place about 70 per cent of the West Bank under direct Israeli rule.
“We will not change what already exists in areas populated by Arabs. We will develop empty [uninhabited] areas,” he said on Tuesday. “We must stop listening to people who tell us what to do,” he added, alluding to international pressure on Israel to stop building settlements in the West Bank.
“The real significance of E1 is to stop the nonsense idea that Jerusalem can be the capital of a Palestinian state."
Later on Tuesday, he hosted a gala dinner for Mr Netanyahu to celebrate the announcement of 17 new West Bank settlements.
“I promised 25 years ago that we would deepen our roots, and we have done so, together,” said the prime minister. “I said we would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and we are doing that, together. I said that we would build and hold fast to our land, our homeland, and we are doing it. And this is not the end – this is the beginning.”
Another settlement leader, Maale Adumim's Mayor, Guy Yifrah, offers a similar sales pitch when he speaks of the E1 development. He told reporters, also on Tuesday, that building illegal settlements allows a “normal life for future generations” and bolsters Israel's security.
A reservist army battalion commander, the mayor of 18 months insists the E1 development would not impede the creation of a Palestinian state, but was quick to state his uncompromising opposition to such an entity.
“I was born here and I want to make sure that the younger generation can continue to live and thrive here,” he said.
"It [the E1 development] will meet the natural growth of Maale Adumim, which needs 800 new housing units every year, something he said it did not have for 20 years,” he claimed as he stood on a ridge with a bird's-eye view of the barren hills that are E1.
No eviction notices yet
The Kasarat community visited by The National this week has lived in the same place by a West Bank motorway for 45 years.
Boasting 400 heads of sheep, it is also home to a large quarry. Its potable water is piped from nearby Palestinian urban centres, although residents complain they only get it late at night.
The caravans they live in are provided by the European Union, and the Palestinian Authority takes children to and from school 5km away by bus.
Unemployment is rife after many lost their jobs in nearby Jewish settlements following Hamas's deadly attack on southern Israel 22 months ago.
The UN food organisation FAO provides the community with fodder for the sheep, and the UN refugee agency UNRWA gives them wheat flour once every three months.
Abdullah Araarah, another one of the community's elders, is taking a dim view of what the future holds for him and his people.
“We haven't received any eviction notices yet, but we expect them along with a demolition order any time,” he said. “When this happens, we will have no land to go to or a home to live in. Only God knows what we will do.”
The predicament and helplessness of his community contrast sharply with the over-assertive and gung-ho attitude of West Bank settlers, whose current defiant mood has chiefly been shaped by the vulnerability Israel had shown on October 7, 2023.
Ariel Greenglick, a 32-year-old settler, runs a goat farm and a restaurant in the occupied West Bank desert near the illegal settlement of Keidar.
A veteran of Israel's wars in Lebanon who served a four-month tour in Gaza last year, he says he set up the farm six years ago to “protect” the spot where his illegal establishment stands as well as the surrounding area, which is the designated site of a new Jewish settlement.
“When my task is done here, I will move elsewhere and do the same,” he said, adding that he was ready to move with his wife and children and settle in Gaza, if they could.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
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Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
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Read more about the coronavirus
Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now
Alan Rushbridger, Canongate
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
THE POPE'S ITINERARY
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
New Zealand
Penalties: Barrett (7)
British & Irish Lions
Tries: Faletau, Murray
Penalties: Farrell (4)
Conversions: Farrell
The biog
Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages
Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”
Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”
Favourite film: “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”
Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Mane 51', Salah 53'
Chelsea 0
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Fixture
Friday, March 29, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, The Sevens, Dubai
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.”
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
Brief scores:
Day 2
England: 277 & 19-0
West Indies: 154
Dubai World Cup draw
1. Gunnevera
2. Capezzano
3. North America
4. Audible
5. Seeking The Soul
6. Pavel
7. Gronkowski
8. Axelrod
9. New Trails
10. Yoshida
11. K T Brave
12. Thunder Snow
13. Dolkong
Tour de France
When: July 7-29
UAE Team Emirates:
Dan Martin, Alexander Kristoff, Darwin Atapuma, Marco Marcato, Kristijan Durasek, Oliviero Troia, Roberto Ferrari and Rory Sutherland
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Squads
India: Kohli (c), Rahul, Shaw, Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Vihari, Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Shami, Umesh, Siraj, Thakur
West Indies: Holder (c), Ambris, Bishoo, Brathwaite, Chase, Dowrich (wk), Gabriel, Hamilton, Hetmyer, Hope, Lewis, Paul, Powell, Roach, Warrican, Joseph
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
