Raghida Dergham is the founder and executive chairwoman of the Beirut Institute, and a columnist for The National
May 19, 2024
Despite some success being achieved at the 33rd Arab League Summit in Manama on Thursday, a war of attrition is almost certain to prolong in Gaza, making both Palestine and Israel losers.
The idea of holding an international peace conference in the Middle East, as proposed by Bahrain’s King Hamad at the summit, is unlikely to find consensus. Nor will the Arab world’s call be heeded for the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in Palestinian territories until the “two-state solution” is implemented.
Israel will not agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state, not only because of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s obstinacy but also because the Israeli public has revealed its opposition to the idea, despite global consensus around it. On the flipside, the disparate Palestinian factions will not reconcile with one another, and the Palestinian “Axis of Resistance” won’t accept the Palestine Liberation Organisation taking power.
The Gaza war won’t cease as long as the US fails to exert serious pressure on Israel, and as long as Hamas’s allies in the region do not persuade its leaders to leave Gaza.
The group, absent from the Manama summit, was nonetheless at the receiving end of some cutting remarks from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who accused it of “providing excuses” for Israel to attack Gaza in the first place. Mr Abbas said that “the military operation carried out by Hamas unilaterally on October 7 provided Israel with more pretexts and justifications to attack Gaza, kill, destroy and displace its people”.
The group shot back, saying in a statement that the October attack represented “the most significant episode in our Palestinian struggle ... restoring our issue to the top of the priorities list”.
However, the strategic gains that Hamas is talking about exist only in their leadership’s imagination. Gaza’s reality today is complete devastation, Israel’s occupation of a significant part of the territory, the forced displacement of more than a million people, and an unprecedented hunger crisis.
Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip, on Sunday. AP
Riyadh has put its future relationship with Israel on hold, pending serious steps towards the creation of a viable Palestinian state
True, Israel’s actions stand exposed to the world. But it also true that its leadership – and that of Hamas – has accomplished the demolition of the “two-state solution” and the indefinite postponement of the establishment of a Palestinian state.
There is no doubt that Mr Abbas’s remarks in Bahrain were bold, and Palestinian Authority deserves tangible support from Arab countries. Not only does he need consistent affirmation that the Palestinian Authority is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, but action needs to be taken to address the less-than-expected financial support Ramallah's government receives from the international community.
For his part, Jordanian King Abdullah emphasised the need to support the PA and to mobilise international efforts to prevent the separation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He, after all, understands that the threat to Jordan comes not only from Israel but also from extremist Palestinian factions.
At the same time, however, the PA needs to prove that corruption within its ranks has been eradicated and that it is diligently working to form a serious technocratic government commensurate with the current situation. Otherwise, Mr Abbas’s call will garner little sympathy and raise few funds.
Meanwhile, speeches made by other Arab leaders in Manama were noteworthy – particularly those directed at Israel.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for instance, criticised Israel’s “brutal aggression” against “our Palestinian brothers”, affirming that Riyadh is serious about placing the two-state solution at the forefront of its conditions for establishing relations with Israel.
Prince Mohammed called for working jointly with the international community to stop the “aggression of the occupying forces”. He also reiterated the Arab Peace Initiative proposed at a summit in Beirut in 2002, detailing Saudi Arabia’s position supporting the Palestinian people’s right to “establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital”.
He welcomed the recent UN General Assembly resolution recognising that the state of Palestine is eligible for full membership in the body and called on countries to “bilaterally recognise” the state.
Taken together, these are primarily messages directed at Israel. And they are essentially reminding its government of the various conditions – including the equation of land for peace – that need to be met before ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel can be established.
In other words, Riyadh has put its future relationship with Israel on hold, pending serious steps towards the creation of a viable Palestinian state. In the process, it has shown firmness towards Israel while being simultaneously being comfortable in its relationship with the US, with which it is seeking a security agreement, independent of any American-Saudi-Israeli trilateral arrangement.
A displaced Palestinian carries a box of food aid that entered the southern Gaza Strip through the UN World Food Programme, past ships, in the Wadi Gaza area of central Gaza, on Saturday. Bloomberg
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, meanwhile, highlighted his concerns about the forced displacement of Palestinians and the outbreak of further chaos in the region amid deterioration in Cairo’s relationship with Israel.
There is no threat to the collapse of the peace treaty between the two countries, but Mr El Sisi said that “this critical moment imposes a choice on all parties involved”, which is “between the path of peace, stability and hope, or the path of chaos and destruction driven by the ongoing military escalation in Gaza”. This is a serious statement from the Egyptian President.
Also noteworthy is King Hamad’s call for a peace conference in the region. But while this is a worthy cause, it needs to be accompanied by a concrete proposal with a coherent roadmap.
The US is also not prepared for such a conference because it prefers to focus on its efforts to end the Gaza war, which involves defeating Hamas, before moving forward with any major regional deal. Besides, the question of who will partake in this conference remains. For instance, will American diplomats be willing to sit across from Russian officials at the peace table, at a time when there is a war raging in Ukraine?
Moreover, the Manama summit’s proposal to deploy international forces in Palestinian territories until a two-state solution is achieved was nipped in the bud when Washington signalled that this proposal could harm Israel’s efforts to defeat Hamas. (For its part, the group appears determined to keep fighting, as its leadership believes that a war of attrition – involving urban and tunnel combat – may be in its interest.)
Much of note was broadcast from the Manama summit, ranging from Arab security and global security through navigation, to addressing Iran’s impact in the region. But, perhaps, the most notable takeaway was the absence of a collective will to confront Israel but, at the same time, a receding collective desire to build relations with it.
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Turkey - because the government look after animals so well there.
Favourite film: I love scary movies. I have so many favourites but The Ring stands out.
Favourite book: The Lord of the Rings. I didn’t like the movies but I loved the books.
Favourite colour: Black.
Favourite music: Hard rock. I actually also perform as a rock DJ in Dubai.
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
What should do investors do now?
What does the S&P 500's new all-time high mean for the average investor?
Should I be euphoric?
No. It's fine to be pleased about hearty returns on your investments. But it's not a good idea to tie your emotions closely to the ups and downs of the stock market. You'll get tired fast. This market moment comes on the heels of last year's nosedive. And it's not the first or last time the stock market will make a dramatic move.
So what happened?
It's more about what happened last year. Many of the concerns that triggered that plunge towards the end of last have largely been quelled. The US and China are slowly moving toward a trade agreement. The Federal Reserve has indicated it likely will not raise rates at all in 2019 after seven recent increases. And those changes, along with some strong earnings reports and broader healthy economic indicators, have fueled some optimism in stock markets.
"The panic in the fourth quarter was based mostly on fears," says Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist for Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. "The fundamentals have mostly held up, while the fears have gone away and the fears were based mostly on emotion."
Should I buy? Should I sell?
Maybe. It depends on what your long-term investment plan is. The best advice is usually the same no matter the day — determine your financial goals, make a plan to reach them and stick to it.
"I would encourage (investors) not to overreact to highs, just as I would encourage them not to overreact to the lows of December," Mr Schutte says.
All the same, there are some situations in which you should consider taking action. If you think you can't live through another low like last year, the time to get out is now. If the balance of assets in your portfolio is out of whack thanks to the rise of the stock market, make adjustments. And if you need your money in the next five to 10 years, it shouldn't be in stocks anyhow. But for most people, it's also a good time to just leave things be.
Resist the urge to abandon the diversification of your portfolio, Mr Schutte cautions. It may be tempting to shed other investments that aren't performing as well, such as some international stocks, but diversification is designed to help steady your performance over time.
Will the rally last?
No one knows for sure. But David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Private Bank, expects the US market could move up 5 per cent to 7 per cent more over the next nine to 12 months, provided the Fed doesn't raise rates and earnings growth exceeds current expectations. We are in a late cycle market, a period when US equities have historically done very well, but volatility also rises, he says.
"This phase can last six months to several years, but it's important clients remain invested and not try to prematurely position for a contraction of the market," Mr Bailin says. "Doing so would risk missing out on important portfolio returns."
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
Final round
25 under - Antoine Rozner (FRA)
23 - Francesco Laporta (ITA), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG)
21 - Grant Forrest (SCO)
20 - Ross Fisher (ENG)
19 - Steven Brown (ENG), Joakim Lagergren (SWE), Niklas Lemke (SWE), Marc Warren (SCO), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
