Hundreds attend funeral of unarmed Palestinian killed in error by Israeli troops

Hundreds of mourners descended on the village of Al-Lubban in the northern West Bank on Wednesday for the funeral of a Palestinian intelligence officer who was shot by Israeli soldiers who claimed they had "neutralised" an armed terrorist.

Ahmed Daraghmeh, an officer in the Palestinian Authority’s security service, died on Tuesday after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers mistook him for an armed militant and opened fire on the car he was in, killing him and critically injuring another Palestinian.

The IDF said on Twitter that “two terrorists were neutralised” during an attempted attack on Israeli troops guarding the Tapuah Junction.

But the IDF’s Army Radio later reported the soldiers had opened fire after mistaking an object being held by one of the men for a weapon.

“The soldiers at the checkpoint at Tapuah Junction were a little too alert, a week after the attack on the spot –they thought they saw a gun – and fired,” the IDF told Army Radio.

No weapons were found in the vehicle, it said, adding the incident was under investigation.

Mr Daraghmeh's funeral was held as tensions between Israel and the Palestinians continued to climb after a night of rocket attacks and air strikes.

Israel’s security forces are bracing for continued unrest.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a state of emergency in the city of Lod, home to both Arabs and Jews, where police reported widespread rioting.

Meanwhile, protesters clashed with Israeli police and attacked Jewish motorists in several Jewish-Arab towns.

The bloodshed was triggered by clashes at the weekend at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque, sacred to both Muslims and Jews.

Israeli police stormed the compound and used tear gas and stun grenades on worshippers as they gathered for Friday prayers.

In the ensuing escalation, which was also fuelled by Israeli threats to evict Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, militant groups fired more than 1,000 rockets at Israeli towns, causing six deaths.

At least 56 Palestinians, including 14 children, have been killed in retaliatory air strikes targeting Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language

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November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
November 2024: All 127 volumes completed

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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

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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Brief scores

Barcelona 2

Pique 36', Alena 87'

Villarreal 0

Fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit

As he spoke, Mr Aboul Gheit repeatedly referred to the need to tackle issues affecting the welfare of people across the region both in terms of preventing conflict and in pushing development.
Lebanon is scheduled to host the fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in January that will see regional leaders gather to tackle the challenges facing the Middle East. The last such summit was held in 2013. Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told The National that the Beirut Summit “will be an opportunity for Arab leaders to discuss solely economic and social issues, the conference will not focus on political concerns such as Palestine, Syria or Libya". He added that its slogan will be “the individual is at the heart of development”, adding that it will focus on all elements of human capital.

THE BIO

Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.

Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.

She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.

Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.

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