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The UN Security Council on Monday adopted a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Joe Biden’s ceasefire plan for the Gaza Strip.
The measure won 14 votes in favour, with Russia abstaining. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East to promote the proposal.
The vote marked the first time the world body has backed a comprehensive peace agreement aimed at ending the Gaza conflict.
Israel has already accepted the ceasefire terms, according to the document's text.
The proposal urged Hamas and Israel to fully implement the ceasefire's terms “without delay and without condition”, and calls on the Palestinian militant group to accept it.
“We're all waiting and waiting on Hamas to agree to the ceasefire deal it claims to want,” the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told council members before the vote.
"But we cannot afford to wait and wait and wait.
“Israel accepted this deal because it ensures its security. As President Biden made clear, Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another October 7, and the United States' commitment to Israel's self defence is ironclad."
Ms Thomas-Greenfield said that after consultations with all council members, support for the resolution clearly indicates that the “world wants an immediate ceasefire with the release of hostages".
The text also underscored “the importance of the continuing diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States aimed at reaching a comprehensive ceasefire deal, consisting of three phases".
While the US text is "not perfect", said Algeria's ambassador to the UN, Amar Bendjama, "it offers a glimmer of hope to the Palestinians as the alternative is continued killing and suffering of the Palestinian people".
"We voted for this text to give diplomacy a chance to reach an agreement that will end the aggression against the Palestinian people. That has lasted for far too long," Mr Bendjama said.
Whether Israel and Hamas will agree to implement the ceasefire plan remains in question.
"From the very beginning of escalation in Gaza, the Council has adopted three resolutions, which have remained on paper in terms of implementation," Russia's UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya said.
"Here, we can add a fourth This is not something we could call a positive trend," he noted.
The proposal comes in three phases that firstly would comprise “a full and complete ceasefire,” the withdrawal of Israeli forces from “all populated areas of Gaza,” and the release of “a number of hostages – including women, the elderly and the wounded – in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners".
The initial phase is expected to last six weeks, during which Israel and Hamas would “negotiate the necessary arrangements” to move to the second phase, which would centre on the “release of all remaining living hostages” in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The final phase would include a “major reconstruction plan for Gaza” and the return of “any final remains of hostages who have been killed” to their families.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Mr Biden presented only parts of the proposal and that any discussion of a permanent ceasefire before dismantling Hamas’s military and governing ability is unacceptable.
Hamas welcomed the adoption of the resolution that “affirmed the permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” the militant group said in a statement.
The group also said it was willing to engage in indirect negotiations over implementing the principles "that are consistent with the demands of our people and resistance."
Israel's UN political coordinator, Reut Shapir Ben-Naftaly, pointed out that Israel will not allow Hamas to rearm, regroup, or remain in power.
“This also means that Israel will not engage in meaningless and endless negotiations, which can be exploited by Hamas as a means to stall for time," she said.
Israel’s military assault has killed more than 37,100 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
It has also destroyed about 80 per cent of Gaza’s buildings, according to the UN.
The assault was in response to the October 7, Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and abducted 240.
This was the 11th Security Council vote on a draft resolution concerning the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The resolution rejected any attempt to change Gaza’s territory or demography, including any actions that reduce the territory of Gaza.
It repeats the Security Council’s “unwavering commitment to achieving the vision of a negotiated two-state solution where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognised borders".
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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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
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Rating: 3/5
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
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