Israel-Gaza ceasefire holds despite single rocket strike

The fragile truce that ended five days of strikes between Israel and the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad was holding on Monday, despite a single rocket fired from the enclave into Israeli territory.

The missile activated warning sirens in the south of the Israeli city of Ashkelon and surrounding areas on Sunday night. It fell on open ground and no injuries were reported.

A source in a coalition of Gaza’s militant groups told Al Jazeera the launch was the result of a malfunction and “the resistance confirms its commitment to the ceasefire”.

Israel’s military subsequently said its tanks fired on two observation posts belonging to Palestinian Gaza-based group Hamas.

Gaza residents and supporters of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group celebrate on a street in Gaza city, after a ceasefire agreement was reached with Israel on Saturday. All photos: AFP
A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza militants took effect on Saturday evening after five days of intense fighting
After days of deserted streets, hundreds of people in Gaza began to venture out
The ceasefire agreement has been confirmed by both Palestinian and Israeli government sources
The truce is the result of Egypt's mediation
Gaza residents and supporters of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group celebrate
Gaza residents and supporters of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group celebrate
A junction in Gaza city as Palestinians celebrate
A junction in Gaza city as Palestinians celebrate

The brief exchange followed the culmination of international efforts, led by Egypt, to broker a ceasefire to the violence that killed 33 Palestinians and two people in Israel. One was an elderly Israeli woman, the other a Gazan farmworker who had crossed into Israel for work. About 20,000 Gazans have permission to work in the country.

Israel, the US and the UN thanked Egypt for its efforts to negotiate the ceasefire, which came into effect only days before the Israeli celebration of Jerusalem Day, which has at various points been the trigger for violence between Israeli forces and Gaza militants.

As part of the celebrations, mostly right-wing and far-right Israelis march through Jerusalem’s Old City, including most controversially through its Muslim Quarter.

Despite calls to do so for security reasons, Israeli authorities do not plan to alter the traditional route on Thursday, leading to fears the march could trigger another wave of violence.

In the West Bank, a Palestinian man was shot dead on Monday morning, as Israeli forces prepared to demolish the home of a Palestinian who killed two Israeli brothers in the West Bank in February.

The total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire has risen to 152 this year, including 33 who were killed during the most recent bout of violence in Gaza.

Barefoot and pushing their belongings in prams and carts, Arab families leave the Mediterranean costal town of Jaffa in 1948. Photo: UN

The latest killing also comes on the day of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba — the day marking a mass displacement of around 700,000 Palestinians from their homes following the creation of Israel.

Many people argue that the Nakba is still happening, due to continued killings and displacement of Palestinians.

Last week, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territories said it was “deeply concerned” by the forced eviction of the Ghaith-Sub Laban family in the Old City of Jerusalem.

An Israeli court had previously ruled that the home of Nora Ghaith, 68, and Mustafa Sub Laban, 72), would be seized by a settler organisation called the Galicia Trust.

The Sub Laban family has been fighting the trust in a legal battle since 2010.

The eviction notice against the Ghaith-Sub Laban family is scheduled for June 11.

“The forced eviction of the Sub Laban family is part of ongoing evictions of Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem, primarily based on discriminatory laws and practices, which violate the human rights of Palestinians, resulting in forced evictions, the loss of property and sources of livelihood,” the UN said in a statement.

Forcible transfer is prohibited under international law “and may amount to a war crime”, it added.

Barings Bank

Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal.

Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson.

Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.

THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

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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.”

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

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Read part one: how cars came to the UAE