US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.
His comments came two days after he met Arab leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. I will not allow it. Not going to happen,” Mr Trump said in the Oval Office.
"It's time to stop now," he continued, apparently referring to the war in Gaza.
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address the UN on Friday, and will meet Mr Trump at the White House on Monday.
The US President presented a 21-point plan to end the Gaza war to Arab leaders on Tuesday. It includes a pledge that Israel will not annex the occupied West Bank and that it will freeze building new Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, US and international sources have told The National.
The plan includes the release of all remaining hostages and provides for a long-term truce in Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and Israel's gradual withdrawal from the strip. Under the proposal, Hamas's leaders would be allowed to leave Gaza and live in exile abroad.
The plan would also see Israel allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, where starvation is widespread among its estimated two million residents, with pockets of famine.
Palestinians injured in the almost two-year Gaza war will be allowed to leave the devastated territory to receive medical care abroad, along with civilians who wish to leave.
There was no immediate comment from Israel or Hamas on the plan. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said it could only move forward if Arab states formally sign on to it.
Mr Barrot said the plan has been in the works for months, drawing on input from European allies and “ideas that all of us have been putting together for past months and years for what a day-after plan would look like”. He said the plan “requires the Arab countries to sign, to endorse it, to be ready to contribute to it”.
Mr Netanyahu has been coming under growing pressure from extremist right-wing members of his government to annex the West Bank, or at least large parts of it, and give Jewish settlement proponents a free hand to expand.
Mr Trump, who met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Thursday, told reporters that “we're close to getting some kind of a deal [on Gaza] done”.
“I have to meet with Israel,” he said at the White House. “I think we can get that one done. I hope we can get it done. A lot of people are dying, but we want the hostages back.”
Hamas has repeatedly said it is not willing to disarm unless it is as part of a comprehensive peace deal, although it has suggested that it could become a solely political force and stay out of Gaza's postwar governance and reconstruction.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said in a social media post on Wednesday that the Trump plan was an “important foundation that can be built on”. He did not elaborate but appeared to suggest that Egypt had some reservations.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said a post-war administration in Gaza should be run by a temporary, non-partisan committee working with the Palestinian Authority until a handover of full control is possible.
Egypt, Qatar and the US have been trying for months without success to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Sources said the Trump plan also provided for the reconstruction of Gaza, mainly with funds provided by Arab states, and the policing of the territory by an international force that includes US and Arab troops.
The sources said Arab nations, including Egypt, were reluctant to be part of the disarmament of Hamas or policing Gaza, as their participation could pull them into inter-Palestinian fighting.
“The Americans and the Egyptians have opened channels to discuss the plan in detail,” said one of the sources.
Hamas is believed to be holding about 48 hostages, of whom 20 are thought to be alive.
The Gaza war was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that killed 1,200 people. The militants also took 240 hostages.
Israel's response has been a relentless military campaign that has killed more than 65,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health authorities, displaced most of the territory's inhabitants and reduced most built-up areas to rubble.
News of Mr Trump's plan broke as the Israeli military pressed on with a major air and ground offensive on the Palestinian territory's main urban centre, Gaza city, in what it claims is a bid to root out Hamas.
Adla Massoud contributed to this report from the UN.
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
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.”
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
Company%20Profile
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The%20Boy%20and%20the%20Heron
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
BABYLON
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Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
Brief scores:
Toss: India, opted to field
Australia 158-4 (17 ov)
Maxwell 46, Lynn 37; Kuldeep 2-24
India 169-7 (17 ov)
Dhawan 76, Karthik 30; Zampa 2-22
Result: Australia won by 4 runs by D/L method
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
