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Egyptians have reacted to the Israel-Gaza war with sympathy and support for the Palestinians, but have concerns over a potential influx of refugees as the country struggles with economic difficulties.
Egypt borders both Israel and the Gaza Strip, which has been under a "total siege" by Israeli forces since Monday, after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack into southern Israel on Saturday.
The conflict on Egypt's border has captured the attention of Egyptians, with coffee shops in Cairo broadcasting live coverage of the war.
Most Egyptians who spoke to The National expressed their support for the people of Gaza, with some calling for a stronger Egyptian response after its only border crossing with Gaza was hit by Israeli shelling several times.
“Hundreds of women and children have been killed and likely more will follow them. What makes me angry most is the fact that despite three bombardments on the Rafah border crossing, Egypt’s military has not responded,” said Hassan Yehia, 38, a resident of Cairo’s Nasr City neighbourhood.
Mr Yehia is one of many Egyptians calling on President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to take a more pro-Palestinian stance in the war. Egypt has had diplomatic relations with Israel since the two countries signed a peace deal in 1979 and has co-ordinated with Israel on counterterrorism measures in recent years, but officially backs the creation of a Palestinian state.
“The state should at least expel the Israeli ambassador as a show of solidarity with Gaza,” said Salma Hamdy, 43, a history teacher at a secondary school in Nasr City.
On Wednesday, protesters reportedly chanted pro-Palestinian slogans and burnt Israeli flags outside the headquarters of the Syndicate of Journalists in Cairo.
Other Egyptians said that while they did not support violence against Israeli citizens, they condemned the Israeli state's actions against Palestinians.
“I did not like a lot of the videos of the Israeli civilians being abused by Hamas, and I wish there was a way to separate my support of Palestine with my dislike of violence, but the reality is, I don’t think there is in this situation," said Habiba Gad, 28, a filmmaker.
"The Israeli state has committed unspeakable crimes against Palestinians for decades and has not been held accountable so it seems that violence has been the language of this exchange since the start,” he said.
Mixed feelings on opening border
While many Egyptians sympathised with the Palestinians besieged in Gaza, there were mixed opinions on whether Egypt should open the Rafah crossing and allow Palestinians into Sinai.
The Egyptian government shut the only entry to Gaza on Tuesday.
“It’s inhumane whichever way you want to rationalise it. It’s a matter of letting people in danger through the crossing and then figuring out the politics afterwards. Some of these are women and children who have bombs falling on their heads,” Ms Hamdy said.
President El Sisi on Tuesday said that he would not allow the war in Gaza to be resolved “at the expense of others”, referring to suggestions that Gazans should be resettled in Sinai, a plan Egyptian leaders have consistently opposed.
Many Egyptians share the president’s unease about relocating Gazans in Sinai, especially given the security situation in the north of the peninsula, where the Egyptian military has been battling a low-level ISIS insurgency.
The insurgents have reportedly co-ordinated with Hamas, which is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Since coming to power in 2013, Mr El Sisi has cracked down on the Brotherhood and other Islamist groups.
Concerns over refugees as economy struggles
Others voiced concerns about the country's ability to cope with more refugees amid soaring inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.
“Egypt has enough refugees living in it. Just over the past 10 years or so, many Syrians came here to flee their war, then many thousands of Yemenis came when war broke out over there too," said Noha El Sayed, 50, an antique shop owner in Cairo.
"Then just this year, when war broke out in Sudan, the same happened and we allowed Sudanese refugees in,” she added.
Egypt is home to nine million foreign migrants, almost 9 per cent of its population, according to a 2022 report by the International Organisation for Migration.
An ongoing economic crisis has increased the cost of living to unprecedented heights for Egyptians.
The Egyptian pound has lost half its value since March 2022, and the government is considering another devaluation before the end of the year.
Echoes of October War
Many Egyptians saw meaning in the timing of Hamas's attack, which took place 50 years and a day after the October War of 1973, known as the Yom Kippur War in Israel.
Egyptians celebrate the October War as a victory because it resulted in the eventual return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, which had been occupied after the defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
Both the October War and the current Gaza-Israel war began with surprise attacks on Jewish holidays. Hamas launched its recent attack on Simchat Torah, while Egyptian forces took the Israeli military by surprise by attacking on Yom Kippur.
“Hamas launched its attack 50 years and a day after the October 6 victory against Israel. They look up to Egypt’s military back when it was good," Mr Yehyia said.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
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.”
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Ultra processed foods
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- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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