Israel arrests two Jordanians who crossed border with knives

Israeli security troops on Sunday arrested two Jordanians armed with knives who crossed into Israel illegally overnight, the two governments said.

“The suspects were armed with knives and are being questioned by security intelligence services,” Israel’s security forces said.

They said the two suspects crossed the border on foot during the night and were apprehended on a main road near Maaleh Giboah in northern Israel.

It was a rare infiltration across the usually secure border, at a time when ties between Jordan and Israel were already strained by unrest and fighting between Israel and Iran-backed militants in Gaza.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Tel Aviv was “in contact with the Israeli authorities” about the release of the two Jordanian citizens.

Jordan's King Abdullah said on Sunday that Jordan was making "intensive efforts and continued contacts with all active international parties to stop the dangerous Israeli escalation".

"There are positive messages from the United States and a bigger supporting role to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the two-state solution," King Abdullah told parliamentarians, state media reported.

He said Jordan had repeatedly warned that lack of a just solution to the Palestinian problem "would lead to the explosion of the situation in the region.

"We as Jordanians will never change our position," King Abdullah said.

The two countries have been at peace since the 1994 Wadi Araba treaty, but Jordan blames Israel for sparking the Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Jordanian officials say increased Israeli pressure on the Palestinians, including property seizure, could prompt another wave of refugees into Jordan.

The kingdom received most of the refugees from the conflicts east of the Jordan River in 1948 and 1967.

Jordanian officials have persistently warned that the rise of Israeli ultra-nationalist groups in the past decade could lead to another wave of Palestinian refugees fleeing to Jordan.

That would pose a threat to cohesion in the kingdom, where stability is partly underpinned by tribal power balances.

Eviction orders against several Palestinian families living in East Jerusalem have created friction between Israel and Jordan in recent weeks.

The eastern sector of the city was ruled by Jordan from 1948 until 1967. It retains custodianship of holy Muslim and Christian sites in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967.

The kingdom responded to the latest violence by increasing diplomatic contact with the US, Russia and other powers to try to curb what it regards as Israeli aggression.

The authorities also allowed anti-Israeli demonstrations across the kingdom in recent days.

Hundreds of mostly young demonstrators in Amman and other regions denounced Israel’s actions, demanding the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and criticising the peace treaty with Israel.

On Friday, Jordanian security forces fired tear gas to disperse about 500 demonstrators who tried to penetrate a cordoned area near the border with the occupied West Bank.

No one was injured in the brief confrontation several kilometres away from the Allenby Bridge.

The 500 men broken off from a larger demonstration approved by the government in the nearby Karameh area.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi told a meeting of the Organisation for Islamic Co-operation that Jordan will “take necessary steps” to support the Palestinians in the current war. He did not give details.

“Israel is pushing the whole region toward more tension and conflict,” Mr Al Safadi said.

On the seventh day of violence on Sunday, Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed 33 Palestinians, while Hamas and other Iranian-backed militants continued firing rockets at Israel.

Mr Al Safadi said curbing the escalation “requires halting all the illegitimate and provocative Israeli practices that caused it, and an immediate halt to the aggression on Gaza".

Tank warfare

Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.

“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.

“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.

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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