Israel blows up house of alleged Jerusalem attacker


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The Israeli army has blown up the two-storey house of a Palestinian man suspected of carrying out a shooting attack that killed six people in Jerusalem this month.

The home of Muthanna Amro was destroyed in the town of Al Qubeiba, north-west of Jerusalem on Saturday, official Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

Wafa said Israeli soldiers stormed the area and blocked it off, closing main roads and surrounding Mr Amro's home, whose demolition order was issued last Monday.

Israeli forces also forcibly evicted people from several nearby buildings before detonating the structure. Footage from news agency AFP showed explosives ripping through the house, leaving two gaping holes and piles of debris inside.

The town's mayor Nafiz Hamouda said the Israeli military notified residents 10 days earlier of its intention to demolish the property.

The blast also caused significant damage to four or five neighbouring houses, Mr Hamouda said.

Israeli forces blew up the home of slain Palestinian Muthanna Amro. Photo: Wafa
Israeli forces blew up the home of slain Palestinian Muthanna Amro. Photo: Wafa

"This is the nature of the occupation. It does not stop at harming one individual, but seeks to inflict damage on as many citizens as possible," he added.

Israel, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967, regularly destroys the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks against Israelis, even after they have been killed.

The UN and other international rights groups have called this collective punishment that leaves families homeless. The Israeli government argues that these demolitions serve as a deterrent.

Mr Amro and another suspected assailant, Mohammed Taha, were shot dead by a security officer and armed civilian after they allegedly carried out a shooting at a bus stop in Jerusalem on September 8.

The attack was later claimed by Hamas.

Violence in the West Bank has soared since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023 following Hamas's attack on Israel. Since then, Israeli troops and settlers have killed at least 983 Palestinians in the West Bank, including many militants, according to health ministry figures.

Over the same period, at least 36 Israelis, including members of the security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official figures.

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Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm

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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.”

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. 

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Updated: September 27, 2025, 2:33 PM