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Belgium's Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib described the conflict in Gaza as "terrorism", calling for an immediate ceasefire and warning of further regional spillover.
In an interview with The National during a visit to Abu Dhabi, the top diplomat said that Belgium, in collaboration with the EU, has developed a peace plan ahead of an anticipated peace conference in April.
“What is happening in the Middle East, in Gaza right now is, it's not really a war. It's terrorism," said the minister on Thursday evening.
"The terrorist attack on the seventh of October, we completely condemned it," she added, but emphasized that "on the other side, if Israel has the right to defend itself, it has to be within the limits of international law".
Israel's war in the besieged Palestinian territory started after militants of Hamas, the de-facto rulers of the coastal Strip, launched unprecedented attacks on southern Israel, killing more than 1000 people and taking around 250 hostages.
Since the start of the assault, more than 30,000 people in Gaza including thousands of women and children have been killed in Israeli strikes, with tens of thousands more missing under the rubble of bombed buildings.
Ms Lahbib said that for several months, she has been calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, unhindered humanitarian access, the release of hostages and to ensure that dialogue is ongoing between the two sides.
But despite a regional diplomatic push for a ceasefire, the bleak humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in the Palestinian enclave.
Aid 'catastrophe'
The minister of foreign affairs was speaking after Israeli soldiers opened fire on Thursday near a convoy of food trucks trying to take food to northern Gaza, killing at least 112 and injuring 760 Palestinians who were trying to access aid on the vehicles.
Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic stampede for food aid and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the hungry crowd.
“What happened this morning in Gaza, the killing of hundreds of people because of mistakes is a catastrophe, but it could happen on a large scale and provoke a spillover of the conflict,” Ms Lahbib said.
“That's why I constantly asked for a ceasefire."
Thursday's bloodshed in the besieged Gaza Strip came as the war was nearing its sixth month.
Israel is seeking to destroy Hamas, the Iran-backed group considered a terrorist organisation by the US and European Union, after its militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7.
“This move must be punished,” Ms Lahbib said of the militant attacks.
On the other side, the relentless bombardment of the enclave — home to about 2.3 million people before the conflict began — has left hundreds of thousands with limited or no access to food and health care.
“I want to be precise, we are not for Palestinians and against Israel. We are not for Israelis and against Palestinians, we are for peace,” said the European minister.
“And for me, I would like to have both sides around the table. That's very important,” she added.
European peace conference
Ms Lahbib hopes that an EU peace conference with the participation of Arab states can be an “evolution” to the Middle East peace process. The conference, expected to be held in April, will aim at buoying the two-state solution, the minister said.
“We have prepared with the EU a comprehensive peace plan. And the aim is to have, let's say in April, a peace conference preparing peaceful two-state solutions,” she said.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders might not be present at the conference, explained the diplomat, but added that the hope is that representatives of European and Arab states will attend to help relaunch the negotiations.
“There are many scenarios on the table and we are negotiating with Jordan, Egypt, and others,” she said.
One recent particular area of concern for the EU states and other major stakeholders, including the US, is Israel's plans to attack the southern border city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million has taken refuge.
Aid organisations also say a Rafah offensive could decimate what remains of humanitarian operations, occurring close to the main aid crossing to the enclave.
Ms Lahbib said she spared no effort when attempting to get all 26 European States to advise Israel against a ground operation in the southern area.
“The statement was not easy at all to get the EU to say no to a ground operation in Rafah,” she said, adding that she spent ten hours shuttling between all sides.
“The main priority for me was to launch a strong signal to Israel, please don't start a ground military operation in Rafah that could lead to a catastrophe," she told The National.
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
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The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
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The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Under 19 World Cup
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UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch
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.”
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
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