Palestinian protests offer a new chance to break deadlock



With the March 15 movement taking to the streets of Gaza and the West Bank last Tuesday, Palestinian youths have made their mark on the wave of protests that have rejected the status quo in the Middle East and North Africa.

Rallying under the banner of national unity, the protesters' demands addressed more than just the acrimonious split between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. The core of Palestinian politics and the fruitless process of negotiations with the Israelis have been challenged.

It is a point that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took note of, responding that Palestinian unity would deal a death blow to the negotiations process. It is clear that in practice his government will only deal with a divided Palestinian people. But after 16 years of failure since the Oslo Accords, which have driven a wedge between Palestinians and seen the occupation expand, many young Palestinians on the streets would actually welcome an end to negotiations.

Starting on Tuesday, tens of thousands of people rallied in Gaza while thousands came out across the West Bank demanding an end to disunity, the release of political prisoners and immediate elections of the National Council of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. They demanded that all Palestinians, including refugees, be allowed to vote. It was a call directed as much at Israel's divide-and-rule strategy as the shortcomings of the current Palestinian leadership.

"The point made clear in the slogans is not that they are about bringing Hamas and Fatah together," said Jamal Juma, the coordinator of the grassroots Stop The Wall Campaign. "They are about Palestinian national unity, responding to the current political and economic situation."

While Hamas security in Gaza used force from the start to repress the demonstrations, in Ramallah the Palestinian Authority first tried to flood the crowd with Fatah party loyalists and plain-clothes police.

As night fell, tensions grew between demonstrators and supporters of President Mahmoud Abbas, who were backed by both undercover and uniformed security forces. Clashes started breaking out as demonstration organisers tried to set up tents, attempting to turn Ramallah's central Al Manara square into a Tahrir-inspired protest camp. Following news of a violent crackdown in Gaza, uniformed PA police commanders began handing out food and water in Ramallah, announcing that Mr Abbas supported the protests.

Standing in the crowd, most people appeared to reject this PA attempt to lay the blame on Hamas. And the public relations cover soon faded when undercover security and police forces seized tents and attacked the crowds, leaving seven people hospitalised and six arrested. Meanwhile, official statements from the PA called for elections in the West Bank and Gaza, while Hamas called for direct talks to end the national division.

Despite the reaction from security forces, people in Ramallah held part of the square late into the night; some protesters are still there. Gazans also have continued to protest amidst repression.

At the same time, protests have not escalated because seemingly there are serious negotiations going on to end the factional divide. Protesters are willing to cautiously watch and wait for the results of these talks - a central difference between the Palestinian protests and that other revolts in the region.

Revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt transformed state power and fought for social justice from the bottom up; Palestinians recognise that Israel's system of segregation bars them from self-determination and they demand a strong unified and representative leadership to confront the occupier.

There is an understanding in the Occupied Territories that, at this stage, these demands will not lead to immediate freedom. And there is a fear that this struggle could bring back Israeli soldiers to the streets of Ramallah and the Gaza Strip. Nonetheless, many recognise that the current state of affairs has to be rejected. That realisation of the March 15 movement has brought together Palestinian youths and social organisations from Israel, East Jerusalem and refugee camps outside the country to protest alongside West Bankers and Gazans.

"What people need is not an introduction to their rights but the hope that they are possible, a hope that the Oslo process, the PA and Hamas have made impossible," said Fadi Quran, a March 15 organiser. "There is no real difference between what Fatah and Hamas want, it's just about power."

As a result, now it is the Palestinian people themselves who are saying they have had enough with this festering internal division. Unity is an issue that runs far deeper than simply putting an end to factional conflict - it is about charting a new course of struggle for the Palestinian people as a whole.

"This is the opening shot of this generational power clash, things won't be the same after today," Mr Quran said on Tuesday.

The protests might be calling for national unity, but a power-sharing agreement between Fatah and Hamas would not solve the problem. These protests reflect the will of a younger generation that was raised during two intifadas and lives with the failure of those struggles. Fatah and Hamas leadership may be discussing representation in a unity government, but without PLO elections including the whole Palestinian community, the status quo of internal division and Israeli hegemony is unlikely to change.

Jesse Rosenfeld is a journalist based in Ramallah and Tel Aviv since 2007

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THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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Anti-semitic attacks
The annual report by the Community Security Trust, which advises the Jewish community on security , warned on Thursday that anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had reached a record high.

It found there had been 2,255 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021, a rise of 34 per cent from the previous year.

The report detailed the convictions of a number of people for anti-Semitic crimes, including one man who was jailed for setting up a neo-Nazi group which had encouraged “the eradication of Jewish people” and another who had posted anti-Semitic homemade videos on social media. 

A new relationship with the old country

Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates

The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.

ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.

ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.

DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.

Signed

Geoffrey Arthur  Sheikh Zayed

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
UAE jiu-jitsu squad

Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)

Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)

Electric scooters: some rules to remember
  • Riders must be 14-years-old or over
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  • Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
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  • Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
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Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

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FINAL RESULT

Sharjah Wanderers 20 Dubai Tigers 25 (After extra-time)

Wanderers
Tries: Gormley, Penalty
cons: Flaherty
Pens: Flaherty 2

Tigers
Tries: O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons: Caldwell 2
Pens: Caldwell, Cross

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Director: Brady Corbet

Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn

Rating: 3.5/5

At a glance

- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years

- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills

- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis

- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector

- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes

- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government

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Name: Enhance Fitness 

Year started: 2018 

Based: UAE 

Employees: 200 

Amount raised: $3m 

Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors 

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The specs

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Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
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Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
MATCH INFO

World Cup qualifier

Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')

UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')