US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels aboard a plane during his week-long trip across the Middle East, on January 10, 2024. AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels aboard a plane during his week-long trip across the Middle East, on January 10, 2024. AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels aboard a plane during his week-long trip across the Middle East, on January 10, 2024. AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels aboard a plane during his week-long trip across the Middle East, on January 10, 2024. AFP

World powers must stand up to 'extremist' Israel, Jordan says


Khaled Yacoub Oweis
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

The Middle East has fallen “hostage” to an “extremist” Israeli government and the only way out is to resume peace talks for an independent Palestinian state after ending the war in Gaza, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Tuesday.

Mr Safadi repeated Amman's calls for a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as the US and Israel discuss postwar scenarios for Gaza, after more than three months of Israeli bombardment of the enclave prompted by a surprise attack on southern Israel by Hamas on October 7.

“We all need to make progress according to a defined timetable and with enough guarantees to reach the goal of peace based on a two state solution,” Mr Safadi said after meeting Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

“Without that, the region will remain hostage to the struggle and to an extremist Israeli agenda, which will take us to more struggles.”

Jordan, along with Egypt, were the first Arab countries with a peace treaty with Israel. The kingdom also has security co-operation with Israel and a defence pact with the US.

Support for Gaza runs particularly high in the kingdom, partly because a large part of its population are descendants of Palestinians who fled the creation of Israel in 1948, and Israel's expansion in the 1967 Middle East War.

Ten days ago, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Palestinians should be in charge of Gaza after the war but did not rule out presence of Israeli troops.

On a visit to the Middle East last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington wants to see the integration of Israel in the region after the war, “with security assurances and commitments from regional countries”, and “a Palestinian state – at least a pathway to get to that state”.

Mr Blinken's trip included meetings with the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and Israel.

Israel pulled out from Gaza in 2005, two years before Hamas took control of the area from the Fatah faction of President Mahmoud Abbas in a Palestinian civil war.

The war between Israel and Hamas, which is supported by Iran, started on October 7, when Hamas and other militant groups killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in an attack on southern Israel.

They also took more than 240 Israelis hostage.

The subsequent Israeli offensive on the enclave has killed more than 24,200 people, according to Gazan health officials, who have given no estimate for the number of combatants killed.

On Monday, Mr Safadi said that any plans for a postwar phase must be based “on rejection of any security role for Israel in Gaza or any Israeli presence” in the area.

He said that any “approaches” to shape the future of Gaza must be preceded by international pressure to stop Israel's attacks on the enclave.

“This war is threatening the security of the whole region. It is time to stop it,” Mr Safadi said after meeting Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis in Amman

“Any vision for the future must aim at a comprehensive solution,” he said.

Six things you need to know about UAE Women’s Special Olympics football team

Several girls started playing football at age four

They describe sport as their passion

The girls don’t dwell on their condition

They just say they may need to work a little harder than others

When not in training, they play football with their brothers and sisters

The girls want to inspire others to join the UAE Special Olympics teams

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Silent Hill f

Publisher: Konami

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Rating: 4.5/5

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The story in numbers

18

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed

Based: Muscat

Launch year: 2018

Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception 

SCORES

Multiply Titans 81-2 in 12.1 overs
(Tony de Zorzi, 34)

bt Auckland Aces 80 all out in 16 overs
(Shawn von Borg 4-15, Alfred Mothoa 2-11, Tshepo Moreki 2-16).

UAE SQUAD

 Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).

BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The biog

Hometown: Cairo

Age: 37

Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror

Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing

Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
England squads for Test and T20 series against New Zealand

Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes

T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince

Updated: January 16, 2024, 4:42 PM